Twelve years after Osun state government expressed interest in the transition of Oba Hills Forest Reserve to the federal government, Governor Ademola Adeleke, has handed over the site to be managed as national park.
Adeleke stated that the reserve spans about 4,225 hectares across Iwo, Ejigbo, and Ola-Oluwa local government areas and noted that the site is also home to five unique hills which provide habitats for diverse plants and animals.
Speaking at the handling over in Osogbo, Wednesday, Governor Adeleke said the state government engaged the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) in April 2013 to conduct a comprehensive survey of the reserve because the animals are endangered due to activities such as logging, hunting, and other human factors.
He urged the National Park Service to prioritise the recruitment of qualified indigenes of Osun as officers and men to operate the park.
In his response, the Minister for Environment, Balarabe Abass, who was represented by the Conservator General, Musa Ibrahim, stated that the park will undoubtedly become an ecotourism hotspot, attracting visitors from far and wide, not only contributing to local economy but the country’s GDP.
He said, “The service will absorb indigenes of this state who indicated interest in working with the federal government and tax (Paye) will be remitted to the state.
“There are opportunities for indigent contractors and other jobs seekers to be empowered. Apart from the carbon credit market that will improve the resources of the state, opportunities abounds for access to green funds, climate funds and many other infrastructure such as roads, portable water, from solar powered bore-holes, procurement of drugs and educational material are some of benefits that the service could provide as part of its corporate social responsibility in collaboration with Donor agencies and development partners such as United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), African Nature Investor ANI), United Nation Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Sustainable Conservation Education for Rural Areas (SCERA), Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), United Nation Development Programme (UNDP), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Global Environment Facility (GEF) etc,” Abass stated.
