NKRUMAH BANKONG-OBI/Lafia
The process of handing over the Marha Forest Reserve to the Federal government by the Nasarawa State government will soon be completed. The permanent secretary, of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Garba Mohammed gave this indication during an exclusive interview with TheNEWS in Lafia. “We are working towards handing over the forest to the National Park Service. The process is on, I happen to be the chairman of the State handing over committee from the State and the Assistant Conservator-general is the chairman from the other side. So, we are just trying to see how we will synergize to do the handing over. And His Excellency, Governor Abdullahi Sule has even directed that we expedite action on it. Honestly, we are working seriously to see that we hand over the Marha Forest to the National Park Service.,” Mohammed said.
Giving an overview of actions undertaken to put the Reserve in shape, he noted that the state government is putting the finishing touches to the infrastructure. “Soonest, maybe by next month, we will hand over, the State is doing her counterpart funding by providing some new buildings and developing others right inside Marha. I have been there.”
The Permanent Secretary described Marha Reserve will was one of the ten national parks created by former Muhammadu Buhari in 2021 as safe and free from the kidnapping and banditry that has bedevilled parts of the State for some time. “We have never heard of this issue of kidnapping, especially around that Marha axis. But you know, you can be on your own and somebody can come and kidnap you, you may be travelling and somebody will go and kidnap you. honestly, as for the Marha, we have never had such an incident. So, I can’t say there is an issue of kidnapping there. His Excellency, Governor Abdullahi Sule doesn’t take the issue of security lightly. He tries to see that every place within the state is secure.so, Marha is secured.
The permanent secretary also spoke of the challenge that delayed the project from being accomplished. Chief of which is the tricky terrain which impeded the construction of facilities in the area. “The contractor [handling the infrastructure] has been doing well, only that the distance and the terrain. They complain that anytime they are moving materials to that place, they have problems. So, we are trying to see how we can help, the best way we can to see that our handing over to the National Park Service is done on schedule.”
Mohammed added that the NPS is appreciative of the state government’s efforts in delivering the project. He said the Federal agencies have “Brought a vehicle, and it is written on it, Marha National Park, to show to us that they are ready to take over.”
Last month, officials of the NPS, led by Abdullahi Ahmed, an assistant conservator-general, were in Lafia to brief Governor Abdullahi Sule on their preparedness to take over the Forest. This forms a plank in transforming the Reserve into a National Park.
It is believed that when fully operational, the would-be Marha National Park, the about 65km2 natural forest located in Wamba Local Government will contribute to Nigeria’s biodiversity and conservation, tourism initiatives, and support the local economy as businesses that cater to tourism begin to rise.