By Abba -Eku Onyeka, Abuja
The Senate Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan (SAIL) foundation has on Saturday flagged off its 8th edition of free medicare and free animal vaccination in his senatorial district of Yobe North.
According to a statement signed by Sen. Lawan himself on Sunday, the former senate president said: “I flagged-off the 8th edition of the free medical outreach and free animal vaccination programme sponsored by my foundation, SAIL in Yobe North. This is not just an annual event which I’ve undertaken in the last seven years; it is part of my commitment to the health and well-being of my people and their livestock across the six local government areas in my zone.
“I was pleased to flag-off the free animal vaccination in Machina local government area, while the free medical outreach was flagged-off at Federal Medical Centre, Nguru; and Yobe State Specialist Hospital, Gashua. Over the years, this programme has become an indispensable part of my service to Yobe North constituents. It provides critical healthcare services to thousands of families who may have otherwise lacked access to them.
“The free medical outreach covers a wide range of services, including eye treatments and surgery, gynecological check up and surgeries for families, screening for clinical cancer for women, free surgical services, and the distribution of essential drugs. Furthermore, the free animal vaccination programme, is a way of safeguarding the health of our animals and ensuring the sustainability of our agricultural sector. The programme covers donkeys, horses, cattle, goats, sheep, and poultry against diseases such as Contagious Bovine pleuropneumonia for cattle; and Peste des petits Ruminants for sheep and goat.”
He continued: “Let me commend the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Bola Tinubu, GCFR, for creating the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development. Surely, this is one action that will help to develop the livestock sector in Nigeria. I want to also, in a similar way, commend our Governor Mai Mala Buni, for equally creating the ministry of livestock development in Yobe state. This is in recognition of the livestock industry in Yobe.
“Yobe state has the largest number of livestock in Nigeria. I believe that if we harness our livestock properly, our people will gain employment and wealth, and, therefore, these two developments are positive ones that will make Yobe, and, indeed, the entire country, very successful in terms of ensuring that the livestock industry continues to play a major role.
“For the records, the livestock industry in Nigeria is worth about N30 trillion. That is a huge industry. I’m sure with what has happened in the area of creating this ministry at the federal and state levels, we will see very important improvement in the contribution of the livestock industry to the economy.”
