Checks showed that Ebonyi State does not have a public zoo yet.
A review of the Ebonyi State budget performance document has shown that the state budgeted the sum of N3billion for “wildlife conservation” in the 2024 financial years.
Review shows that in the nine months period between January and September, 2024, the state spent N1.1billion for the purpose of wildlife conservation.
Checks showed that Ebonyi State does not have a public zoo yet.
A zoo is where animals are kept for entertainment, research or educational purposes. Zoos are man-made habitats built to house wildlife.
It is unclear how Ebonyi State spent N1.1billion in nine months for wildlife conservation.
The money spent is more than the N443million spent by the state on internal security capital project.
It is also more than the N105 million spent by the Ebonyi State road maintenance agency.
The money spent on "Wild-life conservation” is also more than the N200 million spent on the state’s rural water and sanitation agency.
The N1.1 billion on wild-life conservation is also more than the N314.4 million spent on the Ministry of Environment’s capital expenditure.
Meanwhile, only N340.8 million was spent on the capital expenditure of the state owned Ebonyi state university.
It is also more than the N865 million the state spent for the construction/provision of water facilities, and more than N341 million spent on construction/provision of hospitals/health centres.
Already, 87% of households in Ebonyi state are deprived access to sanitary facilities, 71% are deprived access to clean drinking water.