The Federal Ministry of Livestock Development has urged the Abia government to establish additional veterinary clinics to complement the existing federal clinic, ensuring humans are not served diseased meat.

The team leader of the Tsetse Fly Surveillance and Control Project, Gilbert Okoro, gave the advice on Monday after his team concluded a verification tour of the three senatorial districts to assess tsetse fly infestation.

Mr Okoro stated that intelligence gathered by his team regarding operations at the Lokpanta Cattle Market, the largest livestock trading hub in the southern region, prompted his counsel to the state government.

He cited market sources who revealed that diseased livestock frequently escape into the wider Abia market ecosystem due to a critical shortage of veterinary clinics and regulatory personnel there.

While praising Governor Alex Otti for his ongoing upgrades in the state’s health sector, Okoro stressed that an unmonitored livestock market, operating without a veterinary clinic and adequate staffing, could undermine the administration’s healthcare milestones.

The team leader described the state’s previous failure to site the federal veterinary clinic—originally allocated for the state—at the strategic Lokpanta Cattle Market hub as a dangerous political mistake.

He recommended that the Abia Government establish state-owned veterinary clinics across all three senatorial districts to improve disease control and livestock monitoring.

According to him, the establishment of veterinary clinics across Nigeria’s 36 states remains a novel intervention by the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, adding that the ministry cannot allocate more than one federal clinic per state.

He thanked the Abia government for its logistical support during the project and urged other state governments to replicate the model to enhance public safety.

Earlier in the week, the team’s veterinary technician, Chimobi Ebisike, lamented the total absence of critical safety measures at the Lokpanta market during an inspection tour.

Mr Ebisike further decried the absence of a permanent security post at the market, noting that relying on security reinforcements from Umuahia during emergencies leaves the facility vulnerable, as significant harm occurs before teams arrive.

He restated that establishing a fully staffed clinic at Lokpanta would curb the dangerous trend of livestock owners indiscriminately injecting sick animals with drugs before sale.

Mr Ebisike said that because a sick animal lying down has a reduced market value, livestock owners would inject sick animals with drugs like procaine penicillin to make them stand up, thereby increasing their market value.

He noted that while achieving 100 per cent operational control over the massive hub might be difficult, the presence of adequate personnel and a dedicated clinic would reduce dangerous sharp practices to the barest minimum.

Mr Ebisike called for proper budgetary allocations, prompt implementation, and strict monitoring of the Veterinary Department under the Ministry of Agriculture to protect meat consumers from preventable health hazards.

(NAN)