The National Assembly has expressed dissatisfaction over what it described as the Federal Government’s “lip service” treatment of the livestock industry, nearly two years after the creation of a full-fledged Ministry of Livestock Development.
The lawmakers’ concerns arose as the Minister of Livestock Development, Alhaji Idi Maiha, disclosed that approximately 65 per cent of the animals consumed annually in Nigeria are imported, despite the country’s vast potential for red meat production and export, valued at N3.2 billion.
The criticism was made on Friday during a budget defence session between the ministry and the joint National Assembly Committee on Livestock Development.
In his presentation on the performance of the 2025 budget and proposals for 2026, the minister disclosed that funding for the ministry had been grossly inadequate since its establishment.
He told lawmakers that “out of N70bn approved as take-off fund for the Ministry in 2024, only N20bn has been released so far.”
Maiha added that despite the N10bn appropriated as capital vote for the 2025 fiscal year, “nothing was given.”
The submission triggered sharp reactions from members of the committee, who described the development as inconsistent with the Federal Government’s avowed policy of economic diversification under President Bola Tinubu.
