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Stories makng the rounds that the Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi and his immediate predecessor and party man, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, both own stakes in the Ibadan Central abattoir at Amosun village us false, Mr Kehinde Ahmadu, the Chairman, Ahmak Group, the private company that built the abattoir said on Tuesday.
Ahmadu who addressed journalists after a tour of the facility located at Akinyele Local Government area of the state explained that the project started during the Akala administration with government investing 70 per cent and his company, C & E Consulting Ltd, putting in 30 per cent. He said the terms changed when Ajimobi assumed office, as the ownership structure was renegotiated in favour of the government and the butchers.
He said his company which is a party in the current Public Private Partnership arrangement that gave birth to the abattoir could not have given shares to the governor who renegotiated ownership against his firm, in favour of the butchers and the state.
He said the new ownership arrangement allocated 50 per cent to his company, ten per cent to the state government, 36 per cent to the 11 local governments in Ibadan and four per cent to the butchers association.
The closure of all abattoir in the state and their relocation to Amodun village sparked crisis in the state last week, causing deadly clashes between butchers and policemen at the Bodija market. The butchers had protested against the movement citing various reasons.
But the State Secretary, National Butchers Association of Nigeria (NUBN), Mr Lateef Olagoke, described the relocation as a good one. He said that apart from the state-of-the-art facilities that would promote the hygiene of the consumers of meat, the relocation would largely help cut down the cost of moving cows from the market in Akinyele to the new central abattoir, which will also save both the butchers and the cows the stress of commuting before slaughtering.
He assured that all the issues that led to the rancour have been amicably resolved, adding that there is no more division within members of the association as they have all resolved to continue their trade in the central abattoir.
He said he was never in support of the government but supporting truth, having being involved in the entire negotiation process that birthed the central abattoir, on behalf of the butchers. He said the partnership agreement was in the best interest of the butchers and the state.