Council Plans Retreat To Advance Renewed Hope Agenda

The Veterinary Council of Nigeria (VCN) has announced plans to hold its second annual staff retreat in Abuja from Monday, 26th January to Wednesday, 28th January 2026, as part of efforts to strengthen institutional capacity and support national economic growth under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

The three-day retreat, which will bring together the council’s 35-member workforce, builds on significant achievements recorded in 2025 with support from Propcom+. These include the successful hosting of VCN’s maiden staff retreat, a comprehensive review of the Community Animal Health Curriculum and the Veterinary Surgeons Act, as well as the development of the Council’s first Strategic Plan covering 2026–2030.

Speaking ahead of the event, the Acting Registrar of VCN, Dr. Oladotun Ebenezer Fadipe, said the retreat is designed to prepare staff for effective implementation of the newly developed strategic framework, in alignment with national priorities in the livestock sector.

According to him, “Propcom+’s landmark support in 2025 delivered VCN’s first staff retreat, the revised Community Animal Health Curriculum, the Veterinary Surgeons Bill, and our Strategic Plan for 2026–2030. This second retreat will equip our team to operationalize this historic framework, aligning with the Renewed Hope Agenda and the Nigerian Livestock Growth Acceleration Strategy (NL-GAS) of the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development.”

Dr. Fadipe noted that, for the first time in the Council’s history, VCN now has a comprehensive strategic roadmap, which requires enhanced staff capacity to ensure regulatory excellence across animal health, public safety, and livestock productivity.

The retreat is also expected to position the Council more firmly within the ten strategic pillars of NL-GAS, particularly in regulating veterinary education and practice to reduce the burden of zoonotic diseases, which account for over 75 per cent of human illnesses. Strengthening veterinary regulation, he added, is critical to food security for Nigeria’s over 200 million population and to economic growth through improved production of beef, milk, hides, and skins.

The Deputy Registrar of VCN, Dr. Helen Ego Oputa-Chime, recalled that the first retreat in January 2025 was held during a period when the Council was excluded from the federal budget, yet it served as a major morale booster for staff.

“Following last year’s retreat amid budget exclusion, we are now restored and strategically positioned,” she said. “With the Renewed Hope Agenda’s eight priority areas and the development of NL-GAS by our supervising Ministry, VCN is finding its place as a critical stakeholder in the livestock industry. Our mandate to regulate veterinary training and practice directly supports animal health, public health, food security, and economic development.”

Dr. Oputa-Chime emphasised that effective control of animal diseases is essential to safeguarding human life, noting that most human illnesses are linked directly or indirectly to animals. She added that VCN’s regulatory oversight ensures adherence to global best practice, curbs the spread of zoonotic diseases, enhances public health, boosts livestock productivity, and contributes to exports and GDP growth. “It is Animal Health for Human Health,” she stated.