The Senate and House of Representatives has approved the request of President Muhammadu Buhari on the National Park (Declaration) Order, 2022 in line with section 18 of the National Park Service Act, 2004 which states that:
“(1) Subject to this Act, the President with the concurrence of the National Assembly, may by order published in the Gazette- [National Park Service (Amendment) Act, 2006.]
(a) declare such areas in the Federation as he may deem fit as National Parks which shall be subject to the provisions of this Act; or
(b) alter the boundaries of an existing National Park”.
“(2) An order made under subsection (I) of this section shall—
(a) set out the situation and limits of each National Park;
(b) specify the interim management policy for the National Park; and
(c) specify the classification of the National Park.”
In the letter dated 16 November 2022 to the Senate and the House of Representatives, President Buhari stated that the National Park (Declaration) Order seeks to establish 10 additional National Park upon completion of feasibilities studies and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) across 12 selected forest and game reserves in various states across the federation as follows:
- Alawa National Park, Niger State;
- Apoi National Park, Bayelsa State;
- Edumenun National Park, Bayelsa State;
- Galgore National Park, Kano State,
- Hadejia Wetland National Park, Jigawa State;
- Kempe National Park, Kwara State;
- Kogo National Park, Katsina State;
- Marhi National Park, Nasarawa State;
- Oba Hill National Park, Osun State; and
- Pandam National Park, Plateau State;
In addition, President Buhari in his letter mentioned that the creation of additional parks is necessary for regulating of use of Nigeria’s ecosystem, addressing the rate of forest degradation, achieving, and developing tourism infrastructure, and protecting and preserving the biodiversity and natural heritage of Nigeria.
The request of President Muhammadu Buhari received the concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives at the plenary session of Wednesday, 29 March 2023 and Thursday, 30 March 2023 respectively.
