…as Emir of Dukku hails Governor Inuwa
By Deborah Hassan
365Daily – Gombe State Commissioner of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Muhammad Magaji Gettado, has assured that Wawa Zange grazing reserve will soon be completed.
This is just as Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, has been commended for working in synergy with the Federal Government and other relevant agencies to ensure the smooth implementation of the National Livestock Transformation Programme.
The programme seeks to boost the production of livestock and its value chain in the country.
The Gombe State Agriculture Commissioner, said during a tour of the project site, that it will be equipped with State of the art facilities.
Sites inspected by the Commissioner include the completed 20-bed capacity hospital, the ongoing construction of a veterinary clinic and large expanse of ware hay currently being nurtured to maturity, according to a statement issued by the Gombe Government House Director of Press, Ismaila Uba Missili, on Tuesday, June 15, 2021, in Gombe.
He said other areas visited by the Commissioner and members of his entourage include the already dredged dams located at the grazing reserve settlements centre and one in Galumji which was recently awarded by the administration Governor Yahaya to harvest more rain water for the benefit of the livestock.
Gettado expressed satisfaction with the level of work at the grazing reserve, but challenged the contractor handling the veterinary clinic to speed up work so that herders can begin to enjoy services to be provided there.
“When eventually completed, the grazing reserve will house 6 hospitals, 6 veterinary clinics, a milk collection centre, 16 boreholes and a modern abattoir to add up to the existing schools for nomadic education,” the Commissioner was quoted to have said.
He continued: “Gombe State Government will leave nothing to chance. We will employ health workers and veterinary staff to man each facilities when completed and ready for use and we are going to equip these facilities with state of the art equipment”.
Gettado said Yahaya is committed to the successful completion of the project hence the award of contract for the dredging of two earth dams which were left unattended to since it was dug some 40 years ago.
It will be recalled that Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya had last week, while featuring in a special NTA’s current affairs programme, Tuesday Live, said his administration is working assiduously to explore various value chain opportunities in the livestock sector through the planned dedication of about 250 hectares in the proposed Gombe industrial park for agricultural industrial cluster.
He equally maintained that Gombe was among the first states to key into the Federal Government’s Livestock Transformation Project, which identified the Wawa-Zange grazing reserve as the pilot site, saying the state is taking maximum advantage of the grazing reserve, which is a gazetted reserve with over 140, 000 hectares and carrying capacity of about 2 million heads of cattle and other small ruminants.
Meanwhile, the Emir of Dukku, His Royal Highness, Alhaji Haruna Abdulkadir Rashid II, has commended the Governor for working in synergy with the Federal Government and other relevant agencies to ensure the smooth implementation of the National Livestock Transformation Programme.
The Emir gave the commendation when Gettado visited his palace in Dukku shortly after undertaking a tour of Wawa-Zange grazing reserve.
The visit was one in a string of visits undertaken to inspect completed and ongoing projects at the colony to make it habitable for herders and their animals.
The monarch said his emirate council is in full support of the initiative because of the fact that if fully implemented, it will not only help herders from risky distant travels by foot, but will also curtail the perennial farmers/herders clashes.
He particularly praised Governor Inuwa Yahaya’s passion and determination towards ensuring the revival of Wawa-Zange grazing reserve and for his “wonderful policies” targeted at revamping agricultural activities and livestock production in the state.