The Permanent Secretary, Imo Ministry of Environment, Mrs Lilian Asuzu, said the government was determined to upgrade the state Zoological Garden in Owerri to become an international tourist site.

She told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Owerri that the measure would equally go a long way to boost the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

According to her, the proposed upgrading will attract huge patronage from tourists across the nation.

The permanent secretary said the zoological garden would promote education and research which was one of the government’s priority.

“As an economist, I know that government needed to diversify its economy to boost its IGR and one of the key areas was the state’s zoological garden,” she said.

She explained that in the entire South East, the Imo zoological garden was the only existing zoo, adding that government needed to improve its quality to make it more attractive to tourists.

Meanwhile, Prof. Udochukwu Nnadi, a tourist, told NAN that there was urgent need for the state government to carry out maintenance, especially at the Lion’s Cave.

He said the zoo had potential but the government should put certain infrastructure in place for it to be fully harnessed.

(NAN)