Butchers protest sudden abattoir fee hike in Kwara
Members of the Irepodun United Butchers Association of Nigeria, operating at the Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki Abattoir Market in Ilorin, Kwara State, staged a protest on Monday over increase in the daily levy imposed by the Ilorin East Local Government.
The aggrieved butchers condemned the rise in levy per slaughtered cow from N500 to N2,000, describing it as arbitrary and excessive.
According to the association’s chairman, Alhaji Moshood Abdulqodir, and two other executive members, the new rate was introduced without prior consultation or dialogue. They alleged that the increment was the result of a decision taken jointly by the local government chairman and an undisclosed private investor.
“This hike is completely unjustified and has placed a heavier financial load on our daily operations,” Abdulqodir said.
Another butcher, Mallam Kale Onimalu, decried the increase, stressing that it comes at a time when the cost of living continues to rise sharply. He warned that the added burden threatens the survival of many in the trade who are already grappling with dwindling profit margins.
The butchers barricaded the entrance to the abattoir, refusing to comply with the revised levy until the policy is reversed.
Reacting to the development, Ilorin East Local Government Chairman, Lukman Olayinka-Agbelere, said his administration, upon assumption of office, discovered that the abattoir was being operated under a public-private partnership arrangement. He did not, however, elaborate on the nature of the partnership or the basis for the new levy.
Butchers protest sudden abattoir fee hike in Kwara
