The Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA) President Moses Arokoyo has appealed to the Kogi State Government to recruit more veterinarians and offer them a N300,000 special package allowance to retain them.
He made the appeal during the association’s Dinner and Award Night on Friday night at Government House Lokoja. Arokoyo lauded Governor Ahmed Ododo for creating the Ministry of Livestock Development and appointing a veterinarian as the first Permanent Secretary.
However, he expressed concern that many veterinarians were leaving the country due to the “japa syndrome”. According to him, only 28 veterinarians are presently working in the state’s civil service, hence the need to employ more.
He emphasised the importance of veterinarians in ensuring animal health and preventing zoonotic diseases, citing statistics that 55 to 60 percent of global diseases come from animals and 75 per cent of emerging diseases originate from animals.
