…….announces reopening of center on February after completion of Annual Routine Maintenance
The Nigerian Conservation Foundation, NCF, has assured the public of its utmost dedication to safety and security within the Lekki Conservation Centre, LCC.
Head of Communications of NCF, Mr. Oladapo Soneye who gave the assurance during an interactive session with Radio Nigeria in Lagos, emphasized that it was because of the premium the foundation attaches to safety that it had to shut down the center after the yuletide celebrations for maintenance purposes.
Mr. Soneye noted that it is customary for the NCF to close the center against visitors for what they call “Annual Routine Maintenance” after the Yuletide celebrations.
He said the annual routine maintenance for this year would be completed before February , when the center would be opened again to start receiving visitors.
“Normally, when we are through with the festive period, our tradition in Lekki Conservation Centre is to shut down the center for what we call Annual Routine Maintenance. It usually takes up to three weeks or more to fix everything. We are doing that this year which we put up the notice to members of the public”, he said.
Reacting to the video making rounds on social media about an exposed broken metal brace on the Canopy Walkway in the center, Soneye said the Foundation was fully aware of it and had fixed it even before the celebration.
According to him, as soon as the issue was reported, the technical protocol of the center immediately swung into action and fixed it on the 16th of December.
He said the person who filmed the exposed broken metal brace did so when the team of technicians was about to fix it but failed to do another recording to indicate that it had been repaired.
Soneye noted that with the huge crowds of visitors that come to the nature Conservation Centre including International tourists, it is expected that the walkway experiences wear and tear, explaining why there is a measure in place for its continuous maintenance.
He said, “On December 16, 2023, it was reported that there was a broken metal brace, which is out of place because we receive thousands of visitors every day. But the moment the attention was drawn to it, it was fixed. We are always very honest”, he assured.
The management of NCF in a notice had assured the general public that the Canopy Walkway which is the longest in Africa remained strong and posed no safety risk.
The public notice followed the video on social media about the exposed broken metal brace on the Canopy Walkway that had long been fixed.
It reads in part, “Our attention has been drawn to a video making the rounds about an incident that happened on the 16th of December,2023 of one broken metal brace on the Canopy Walkway of the Lekki Conservation Centre, LCC.
“Before the festive period, we conducted pre-festive maintenance from 4th to 13th December 2023.
“It is with the utmost sense of responsibility that we state that it did not fall on our blind spot. In line with our response protocol, the team of technicians swung into action immediately, closed the Canopy Walkway to tourists, and repaid it. Our team of technicians was part of the team that constructed the Canopy Walkway. They are well-trained and have the requisite knowledge to operate and maintain the facility.
“With safety on the Canopy Walkway assured, we were prepared to host our respected guests both local and international, to an enjoyable yuletide which went on without any negative incident on the Canopy Walkway.
“LCC plays host to tons of visitors and the facility is not immune from expected wear and tear. Yet, we have maintained an accident-free reputation on Africa’s largest Canopy Walk since the official opening of the facility in 2015. This is due to the diligence of our expert technicians and maintenance staff as well as other relevant Stakeholders including our vigilant visitors”.
While confirming that the LCC would be reopened to the general public on February, 2024 after the annual routine maintenance, the NCF management pledged its commitment to the ideals of Nature Conservation and protection of the Nigerian environment.
“Kindly bear with us in the period of temporary closure for thorough facility maintenance. We shall reopen to the general public on February 1st, 2024.
“We remain dedicated to the ideals of conservation of nature, protection of species, restoring and maintaining biodiversity for the present and future generations and showcasing same to all lovers of nature with safety and security assured”.
By Innocent Onoh
