According to Dr. Ibrahim Goni, Conservator-General of the National Park Service, the Federal Government would assume control of 10 additional parks between November 2023 and December 2023.
Goni made this disclosure on Wednesday in Abuja when he met with the nine commissioners from the ten new national parks.
In order to be included in the federal budget by 2024, he suggested the parks might be transferred to the federal government between November and December.
The Federal Ministry of Justice is currently gazetteing the authorized national parks.
He said that the gazetting made them official national parks. “We are waiting for the parks to be handed over by the respective state governors to the Federal Government as national parks,” he added.
According to the conservator-general, the purpose of the gathering was to provide stakeholders with an update on the status of the Federal Government’s efforts to hand over and take control of the ten new national parks.
“Before this time, we convened two stakeholder meetings where we talked about the presidential proclamation and the National Assembly’s approval.
“The majority of the states have informed us that they have purchased office space, administrative offices, and lodging for park personnel in order to facilitate the opening of the ten new parks in their respective states.
The corporation of the villages where these parks are located has also been promised to us, they have added, he said.
According to Goni, residents of the villages indicated a desire to help the parks launch smoothly.
He expressed hope that the act will help their communities grow and create job opportunities.
Security, climate change mitigation, and regeneration to reduce rural migration were among the other advantages Goni identified for the host communities.
