National President of the Association Dr. Onallo Akpa |
The
president of Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN)Dr. Onallo Akpa has confirmed
that the Federal Government of Nigeria had made the payment of N2.4billion as
compensation to poultry farmers who suffered losses from Avian Influenza across
the country over the last four years. He made this statement during the just
concluded maiden summit of the Agriculture Correspondents Association of
Nigeria [ACAN] in Abuja.
Akpa
who used the occasion to debunk the rumor making the rounds that the money for
the compensation had been embezzled by government officials said that the government
had approved the payment of N1.8 billion to the affected poultry farmers’ across
the 36 states of the Federation and Abuja.
He
explained that the first tranche of the compensation of N500 million was paid by
the immediate past administration to the affected poultry farmers through the
Federal Ministry of Finance directly to the farmers using the computed list.
Said
he, “when there was an outbreak of Avian Influenza on our farms, the government
intervened and de-populated the birds and then paid compensation.Before this
present administration assumed office, a compensation of over N500 million was
paid to some of the affected poultry farmers during the outbreak. Eighty per
cent of farmers were not compensated. In the last three years, we have taken
our cry to the government and early this year, over N1.8 billion was paid to the
affected farmers.
“All
the names of the poultry farmers affected were computed and the money was
credited to their bank accounts.It was paid on the approval of Mr. President
through the Federal Ministry of Finance,” he affirmed.
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