NAN – Gov. Abubakar Bello of Niger on Thursday announced the ban on use of tyres and plastic materials to process meat for consumption, following health hazards emanating from such practices.
The governor said this when the nine man committee on improvement of abattoirs in the state submitted its report at Government House, Minna.
“The use of tyres and other materials to process meat must stop in Niger state due to health hazards from such practices.
“We should introduce other modern hygienic methods of processing meat for consumption,’’ he said.
He said that during his electioneering campaigns, he saw the deplorable condition of abattoirs across the state, hence the inauguration of the committee by government in July to recommend ways of improving them.
“Our abattoirs are in deplorable condition aside the slaughtering of meat there are environmental hazards coming from them,’’ Bello said.
The governor said that government would engage Private /Public Partnership arrangement to improve abattoirs in the state.
Bello then set up another committee involving government officials and stakeholders to implement the recommendations of the committee.
Earlier, Dr Mohammed Kudu, chairman of the nine man abattoir improvement committee recommended ban of illegal materials for processing meat.
Kudu urged the state government to license all slaughtering facilities in the state as provided in the law.
The committee recommended that all slaughtering slabs outside the main township abattoirs should be shutdown.
He said that government should train butchers and other stakeholders in the modern ways of slaughtering and handling meat before consumption.
The committee also recommended long term measure of constructing 17 new abattoirs and short term measure of rehabilitating 11 abattoirs across the state.
