Federal Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has declared the Semi Mechanised Abattoir built and unveiled by Governor Olusegun Mimiko as up to the World Health Organisation, (WHO) standard just as he challenged other state governments to emulate Ondo State.
In the same vein Council of Nigeria, and Professor of Veterinary Public Health and Provost Federal College of Animal Production and Health, Vom, Jos, Prof Garuba Sharubutu, declared that the unveiling of the Semi Mechanised Abattoir, will remove the state from those with high predisposition to infections.
Ogbeh said this as the Guest of Honour at the unveiling of the Abattoir, Ado-Ekiti road, Akure.
“I want to commend the resolve of the government to build an Abattoir of WHO standard and challenge other state governments to consider emulating this great state. This infrastructure will no doubt hold the key in the provision of hygienically processed meat which will enhance good, healthy eating habits, job opportunities for those who will be directly involved, as well as other markets which its presence will attract and develop”, Ogbeh said.
Represented by the Ondo State Director of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs. Funke Omagbemi, Ogbe described the project as timely, particularly now that the nation is diversifying from an economy dependent on oil to other critical sectors like agriculture
He said the new abattoir would enable Ondo State people to process and eat hygienic meat as well as open doors for socio economic development of the state.
Ogbeh, who described the Ultra-modern Abattoir as fantastic said it signifies a departure from the old filthy abattoir that could possibly breed diseases and infections. He said the project is not only a beacon of hope to “our economic revival, but also an assurance of constant production of wholesome meat in Akure.”
On his part, Prof. Sharubutu said the project could only have been achieved through a visionary leader like Governor Mimiko, stressing that Mimiko has set a benchmark for good governance in the state.
He said the Governor has set a benchmark for the succeeding Governors in the state and called on other Governors in Nigeria to emulate him.
Addressing the large audience at the occasion, Governor Mimiko emphasised the need for a modern abattoir to give way for more hygenic meat for human consumption to eradicate avoidable diseases. He said the abattoir represents one of his administration’s legacies in the state and that all the butchers in the state were adequately carried along in the process of building and concessions of the abattoir
Mimiko, who noted that the new Semi Mechanised Abattoir will open up socio- economic development in Akure and its environs, said it was semi mechanised so as to be religiously-compliant for the Muslim community.
