National Park budgets for N512m surveillance helicopter

All things being equal, the National Park under the leadership of Conservator General, Dr. Ibrahim Musa Goni, would take delivery of a helicopter for surveillance of the park in the course of her security of the flora and fauna of the Nigerian environmental space.

The National park in its budget proposal for 2022 has requested the approval of the national assembly for the new project, which it intends to use for the purposes of monitoring logging, poaching, and other security concerns of the parks nationwide.

The sum of N512,271,341 was earmarked for this purchase in the “ERGP 19170999” described as “Procurement of surveillance equipment (Helicopter),” Tribune Online, can authoritatively report.

The new security bird would undoubtedly boost the ability of the National Park Service to mount security cover of the seven national parks, covering a total land area of 22,000km² which also represents about three per cent of the country’s total landmass.

It would be recalled that the National Conservator General had lamented that “We have been confronted with series of challenges like insecurity; poor park infrastructures; absence of private sector involvement; poor domestic tourism, poor communication facilities in parks and inadequate manpower among others.’’

He said this at the Naija Seven Wonder’ webinar meeting with the theme: “Eco-tourism in Nigeria with the National Park Service” where he was represented by the Assistant Conservator-General, Yakubu Kolo.

The Nigerian National Park Service, also proposed N100 million for the establishment of new parks in the country to complement the already existing seven parks.

The planned purchase of the helicopter would be complemented by other security considerations in the parks which included: “ERGP 19171008” for the “Construction of Armoury” which is also a new project at the cost of “N25 million,” according to the Tribune Online‘s findings in the proposed budget.

“ERGP1910450” in the same budget proposal would cost taxpayers N70,856,195 for the “provision of security/patrol equipment” for the service.

Training to expose officers of the national park while in the jungle contending with the challenges of insecurity, threats from animals, environment etc was identified and the budget for this stood at over N30 million.

It reads: “ERGP19104551, Jungle and survival techniques for officers and men of national park service N37,000,000” and “ERGP19104570” for “Kitting officers and men of the national park service” to cost Nigeria N35,000,000.

These requests before the National Assembly would be considered by the Senate committee on environment, Chaired by the former Deputy President of the Senate, Senator, Ike Ekweremadu.

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