Jonathan Nwokpor
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Prof. Attahiru Jega, the former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), gave President Bola Tinubu a 152-page report on Thursday that included reform recommendations for the livestock industry.
A ten-year transformation plan that would allow Nigerians and the government to capitalise on the sector’s gains was suggested in part of the report.
In July of this year, Prof. Jega was named Co-Chairman of the Presidential Livestock Reforms Committee.The Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, a recently established ministry under the Tinubu administration, has operational rules included in the report as well.
The 152-page document also offers suggestions on how to settle disputes that lead to the farmers-herders conflict in a cooperative manner.
Jega further suggested that ranching and livestock grazing continue side by side while the nation advances a long-term goal of having an intensive livestock sector.
Jega, briefing State House media on Thursday, chastised Nigerians for consistently linking cattle to the farmers-herders conflict, emphasising the industry’s huge investment potential.
Winnie Lai-Solarin, a director and national project coordinator of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture’s Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project, stated that the poultry industry alone has N1.7 trillion in potential, particularly in the value chains.
Recall that Tinubu emphasised during the committee’s establishment that reforming the livestock industry was now essential in order to create new chances for the gain of farmers, herders, processors, and distributors along the value chain of livestock production.
Tinubu also underlined that state governors, committee members from the public and commercial sectors, and others would need to work together to achieve the reforms.
He warned them to remove every iota of partisan politics from it.
“This is not about politics; this is about opportunity. This is about our nation. While I may be absent, Jega will preside and continue to promote our objectives,” the president stated.
Using the occasion, Tinubu also declared the establishment of a Ministry of Livestock Development to investigate the region’s possibilities in more detail.
“When we have great opportunities in our states, why should Nigerians continue to experience conflicts?
“With the calibre of people here, this presents a unique opportunity to delineate and establish a centric ministry called the Ministry of Livestock Development.
“It will give us the opportunity so that our veterinary doctors can have the necessary access to research and cross-breeding. We can stop the wanton killings,” Tinubu said.
In order to create new avenues for development and prosperity, he said, the conventional approach to cattle farming would need to be reevaluated and repositioned with the cooperation of all relevant parties, including state governments.
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