Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has said the administration is poised to check the proliferation of unregistered veterinary facilities across the FCT, to curb the activities of quacks in the profession.
The FCT minister of state, Dr Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, while inaugurating the FCT Veterinary Practicing Premises Committee yesterday, said the move has become necessary due to the continuous violation of prescribed safe bio-security measures in illegal veterinary clinics.
She added that the committee would help regulate the activities of veterinary premises not just to promote public health safety, but also to align veterinary practices in Nigeria with globally acceptable standards.
Aliyu, therefore, charged adherence of all veterinary premises in the FCT to observe professional tenets enshrined in the operational ethics of the veterinary profession.
“Constitution of the committee as you already know is in compliance with the Official Gazette which requires states of the federation to set up committees to regulate the activities of veterinary premises not only to promote public health safety but align veterinary practices in Nigeria with globally acceptable standards.
“Available records have shown that the FCT has a high population of animals which by implication has resulted in the proliferation of unregistered veterinary facilities offering a range of services that are below standards; constituting great risks to both animals and humans.”
“Of great worry to the Administration is the fact that there is little or no effort on the part of these illegal facilities to adhere to the prescribed safe bio-security measures in veterinary clinics, laboratories, animal farms, and markets amongst others.
“It is against this background that the FCT Administration is taking this bold step of inaugurating this committee to ensure the adherence of all veterinary premises in the FCT to set professional tenets enshrined in the operational ethics of the veterinary profession,” she said.
The minister also noted that the administration has been taking measures to standardize veterinary operations in the FCT.
“We have for instance approved the conduct of monthly clinical conference to give opportunity for our veterinarians to share ideas on disease management to improve our capacities,” she stressed.
Speaking at the event, the secretary of agriculture and rural development secretariat, Mallam Abubakar Ibrahim, pointed out that the increasing population surge in the territory has made it more difficult for the administration to effectively maintain the expected high standards required of veterinary premises in the FCT.
He said one of the areas affected by this challenge was the veterinary services sector which was faced with the challenge of the proliferation of unlicensed veterinary practicing premises offering quack services to residents.
Ibrahim revealed that apart from the government-owned facilities, the number of registered and licensed veterinary premises currently licensed for practice in FCT was about 14.
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