The governor-elect of Plateau state, Caleb Mutfwang, has said there are no animals in Jos wildlife park. 

He said this during an interview with Peoples Gazette on Saturday, April 1. 

When asked what his plans were to revitalise the deplorable state of tourism in Plateau when sworn in, Mr Mutfwang revealed that the Jos wildlife park stood out as one of the points of interest for his administration in the area of tourism. 

“I am sure there’s huge potential there we can harness. As you know now, almost all the animals are dead. It’s a park in name without animals. There’s no wildlife there other than grass and trees,” he said. 

Acknowledging mistakes made by previous administrations, Mr Mutfwang, in proffering a solution, identified the role of the private sector in revamping tourism in the state. 

“We need to revive it. But we must be able to learn lessons from the past and know that there is a limit to which we can manage it from the public sector, and therefore, there must be a partnership and synergy with the private sector to be able to drive that revival. 

Mr Mutfwang also spoke about how insecurity has stunted the growth of tourism in the state. 

“(The) key to tourism is security. We (have to) start to work on the security situation and give confidence to people. I was conversing with someone via Whatsapp yesterday who wants to come in from America, and he is so scared because of the narrative that is out there in (the) public domain,” he said. 

The park, established in 1972 by the first military governor of Benue-Plateau, Joseph Gomwalk, is a habitat for some endangered species of animals.

However, many have argued that the park has not lived up to its expectations. 

In December 2015, residents of Jos were thrown into panic as a lion escaped from the park. A park official confirmed that the lion, called Leo, escaped from its rusty cage.  

The lion was eventually killed by soldiers who shot at it severally.