The Conservator General, National Park Service, Dr Ibrahim Goni says its parks across the nation have enough plants for pharmaceutical products research and are ready for collaboration with all critical stakeholders for that purpose.
Goni disclosed this in Abuja on Thursday while receiving a 6-man delegation from the Environment Media Correspondents Association of Nigeria (EMCAN) and others, who were on a courtesy visit to felicitate with him on his reappointment.
He noted that the service will in addition to enhanced security, welfare, capacity building and sourcing of independent funds, focus more on research in the next five years of his second tenure.
He said that with proper funding and training, the service has the capacity to provide enough plants for medical research that will make Nigeria’s pharmaceutical products more sought-after.
“As one of the basic mandates of the service, we have been carrying out research of our plants and animal resources in the parks.
“We need to carry out more extensive research on them and collaborate with organisations such as NAFDAC, Pharmaceutical Institutes, Traditional medicine dealers and others to use the findings of our research to move Nigeria forward.
“We can find solutions to most of the diseases out there through nature with the use of our plant and animal research”.
He called on entrepreneurs to key into the available Public Private Partnership (PPP) of some parks to take the national parks to global standards.
“The office of the Vice President under the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) had listed three national parks for commercialisation.
“The service would key into the plans to source for entrepreneurs that would provide the needed infrastructure at the parks.
“National parks in Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa don’t depend on government for funding, We want to explore the areas to see how we can improve our revenue generation through PPP
“Some of us had traveled to understudy the workings of other national parks and we have gathered a lot of knowledge from the visit”.
He said that the service is committed to improving on the security of lives and property of both the tourists and personn of the service.
“We plan to acquire an aircraft for increased surveillance of the parks in order to curb insecurity”.
According to him, “We are aware of what is happening in our country and the President said that he’s aware of our efforts in trying to keep the national parks secure.
“We are also proposing the acquisition of ICT equipment to get detailed digital intelligence and thwart the efforts of would-be invaders at the national parks.
“This would eliminate the series of deaths and injuries sustained by the officers while confronting invaders and poachers at the parks”.
“The officers of the service are currently fighting bandits, poachers and hoodlums alongside the army, police and other security agencies
“The Chief of Army Staff had earlier given approval to send additional officers during the service field work in any of the national parks and we are delighted about that”.
He appreciated God, President Muhammadu Buhari, Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi as well as men and officers of the service for their massive support and roles, which led to his reappointment for another five-year term.
President Buhari had on May 10 2022, extended the tenure of Goni for another five years given his milestone achievements during his first term.
The CG said that though the task ahead is tougher compared to his initial achievements, the service performed excellently in the areas of welfare, trainings and partnerships, targeted at boosting the morale of the officers.
He commended the media for their massive support during his first tenure, adding that the courtesy visit would open new windows of opportunity for the service.
Earlier, the leader of EMCAN delegation, Comrade Chuks Oyema lauded the CG for his numerous achievements that led to his reappointment, even as he prayed for him to excel in the next five years.
Oyema said though the task ahead is tedious, the media is willing to work and support his efforts towards enhancing the country’s flora and fauna.
