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With butchers finally settling down at the Ibadan central abattoir at Amosun village in Akinyele local government area, the Oyo state government has promised to provide more refrigerating vans and transport facilities for them.
The secretary of the butchers’ association, Mr Lateef Olagoke, explained that the vans would be provided based on a loan scheme. According to him, the butchers will pay for them over a period of time.
He also expressed joy at the transport facilities provided to ease the challenges many of the butchers had complained about.
He said: “The government gave us four Ajumose buses for the transportation of meat to the four major area of the state and they also promise to get us a refrigerating van and we will pay for the vans instalmentally. Commercial buses are now available and Amosun is becoming a city gradually.”
The mass transit buses provided by the government will ply four routes as follows:
- Amosun- Ojo- Iwo- Olomi- Oremeji- Challenge
- Amosun- Ojo- UI- Bodija- Bere- Molete- Orita Challenge
- Amosun- Ojo- UI- Sango- Dugbe- Apata
- Amosun- Ojo-, Iworoad- Alakia- New Gbagi- Olode
The closure of all abattoir in Ibadan and their relocation to Amosun village had sparked crisis and tension between the butchers and law enforcement agents.
Last Tuesday, butchers protested against the demolision of the abattoir in Bodija market stormed the state secretariat, and on Thursday, they clashed with policemen, causing the death of at least four persons.
But the state government insisted that meat processing activities can not continue in the unhealthy environment at the Bodija abattoir.
The deputy director of vertinary services, Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Foluke Ibitoye who spoke to journalists during a media tour of the demolished Bodija abattoir, explained that “the sanitary condition of the abattoir is very appaling as you can see maggots and the heap of dumps everywhere. In this kind of environment, epidemic can break out at any time. In the light of this, the state government decided to build an ultra modern abattoir.”
Business activities have peaked at the new abattoir. There are veterinary doctors who inspect cows before the butchers take them to the slaughter house. There is also a cold room for storage.
A butcher who chose to remain anonymous told Newspeakonline that “the only issue that caused crisis was the payment for slaughtering a cow. In Bodija, we pay N1000 for slaughtering a cow but at Amosun we pay N3000″.
He however pointed out that they get value for the fee. “We are really benefitting here, and there’s no dirt that can cause sickness in Amosun. We are still making sales, relocating here has not affected our sales,” he explained.
But in Olagoke’s words, “the N3000 we are paying is not only for slaughtering, but also for maintenance of the abattoir. In Bodija the money we pay was not used for maintenance. Our health is not safe in Bodija. Moving from Bodija to Amosun is like moving from a room to a duplex, so the payment will differ. As part of the agreement there’s security and task force who will ensure that there’s no one who will slaughter in a bush or sell dead cows.”
The Executive Secretary ,Bureau of Investment Promotion and Public Private Partnership, Mr.Yinka Fatoki explained further that “the N3000 was an agreement between the butchers and the government. It was not imposed on them. The money they pay for ticket, water, maintenance, union and other little payments at Bodija is more than the N3000 at Amosun.”
He also said that government would offer butchers micro- credit loan and assist them in acquiring more meat vans.