Nobody Asks Umuahia Butchers to Relocate, Govt only frowns at unhygienic nature of Abbatoir

Nobody Asks Umuahia Butchers to relocate, Govt only frowns at unhygienic nature of Abbatoir -Ubah
By Sam Obinna Ibe, Umuahia

The Special Adviser to the Governor of Abia State on Security Matters, Commander Macdonald Ubah (retired) has said that contrary to the claims by the Umuahia Butchers Association that Butchers were asked to relocate to Lokpanta Cattle Market in Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia State that there is no truth to that effect.

Ubah who described their protest as out of place insisting that nobody is asking them to relocate from Ubakala Abbatoir to Lokpanta Cattle Market in Umunneochi
but rather said that the concern of the government is to improve the sanitary condition of place, to make the place hygienic friendly, a modernized abbatoir that would meet the present day standard compared to the current sorry state of the place.

The Special Adviser to the Governor made this revelation to newsmen at Government House Umuahia while reacting to the protest by the Umuahia Butchers Association that accused the traditional ruler of Mbaraakuma, HRH Eze Ebere Ubani, himself, Commander Macdonald Ubah (retired), Special Adviser to the Governor on Security Matters and other Ubakala sons are forcing the butchers to vacate the slaughter house without providing another alternative.

He added that the government has taken the Bulgarian investors to the place with a view to modernizing the slaughter house and raise the revenue base of the government.

According to the Security Adviser to the Governor, Abia State Government fenced off over 20 hectres of land at Lokpanta Cattle Market in Umunneochi local Government Area, trying to modernize and make it a daily non-residential market at Umuahia South, government is worried by the unhygienic nature of the abbatoir where cows are slaughtered on bare ground, with maggots coming out from the ground, no bore hole, butchers bought water with Jerry cans which is not enough to wash off the dirts after slaughtering of cows.

The retired naval officer now Security Adviser to the governor maintained that nobody is planning to sack butchers from Ubakala Abbatoir to Lokpanta Cattle Market as they claimed, rather government wants the place to be clean. Since the inception of Dr. Alex Chioma Otti ‘s Government, they have not been paying taxes either to the local or state governments wondering why they should be slaughtering about 150 cows on the bare floor, no slab, no bore hole, no refrigerator for storage facilities adding that it is the intention of the government is to modernize the place and not to sack them as misconstrued in some quarters.

The Umuahia South Local Government wants to build a modernized abbatoir with about 100 stalls with concrete slabs where each of the butchers will cut their meat rather than putting them on carpet, to provide storage facility where they will store meats they did not sell, security office, etc.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Security Matters, Commander Macdonald Ubah (retired) therefore called on the public to discountenance the claims by the Umuahia Butchers Association saying that nobody wants to relocate them but to make the place to be hygienic friendly , modernize it in order to drive revenue for the government.

It could be recalled that butchers in Umuahia under the aegis of Umuahia Butchers Association, UBA on Thursday had staged a peaceful protest, which took them to Okpara Square, Bank Road, Government House and Abia House of Assembly protesting the alleged plans by the aforementioned individuals to eject them out of the abbatoir.

Speaking on behalf of the group, Comrade Ngozi Williams, Chairman, Umuahia Butchers Association said that they have been staying at Gariki in Umuahia North until in 1994, the State Military Admistrator then, Col. Ike Nwosu decided to relocate them to Mbaraakuma/Amizi Ubakala Abbatoir stressing that they have been operating there unmolested until the current administration came on board asking them to relocate to Umunneochi, which he said is too far from the state capital, Umuahia.

The Butchers Association therefore called on the intervention of Dr. Alex Otti led administration not to relocate them from the original site government allocated to them way back in 1994 by the then administration of Col Ike Nwosu and Mallam Adamu Ciroma as the Minister of Agriculture.

Speaking with the Mayor of Umuahia South LGA of Abia State, Barrister Ejike Obike told our Correspondent that there was no intention by Umuahia South LGA to relocate Butchers to elsewhere but we want a win win situation where traders, local government, state and federal can sit down and discuss how to change the poor narratives of the place and ultimately add value to the place.

He explained that the power of administration of abbatoir resides with the local government since assumption of office, the butchers have not paid any tax to the local government and he was reliably informed by the state that they are not paying too. At weekends, they slaughter between 150 to 200 cows without paying anything to the government.

Umuahia South Mayor pointed out that the concern of the Council is to change the poor face of the abbatoir and modernize it in a manner that it can yield revenue to all the critical stakeholders concerned in the area.

Meanwhile, newsmen later visited Ubakala abbatoir to see things themselves, discovered that the slaughter house looks old, which has outlived its usefulness going by poor state of facilities as seen in the pictures captured and attached with this story for public to see and evaluate themselves.