Kano Govt budgets N350m for upgrade of cattle markets
The Kano State government has budgeted N350 million for the upgrade of infrastructure in five major cattle markets in the state.
Malam Zaharaddeen Hamisu, the Coordinator of the project, said this when he spoke with newsmen in Wudil, headquarters of Wudil Local Government Area (LGA) of the state on Wednesday.
Hamisu named the markets to include Falgore, Wudil, Dumbulum, Danbatta, and Getso, saying that the upgrade would be carried out through the State Agro-Pastoral Development Project.
He said that the project would include the construction of loading ramps, toilet facilities, boreholes, solar lighting for enhanced security, and drainage systems, among other improvements.
Hamisu said that these efforts were aimed at enhancing the standards of the markets and addressing challenges faced by traders.
“The state government did its best to address the challenges facing the markets to enable the traders to carry out hitch-free business activities.
“The project is expected to be completed by June 2025, with additional work planned for the Wudil cattle market,” he said.
Hamisu said that market users must play a role in maintaining the infrastructure.
“For sustainability measures, we believe that the market users should do something as a revenue-generating body to complement the government’s efforts,” he said.
The acting Chairman of the Wudil Cattle Market Union, Malam Ahmad Dauda, said that over 3 million cows were brought to the market every Friday from states such as Borno, Bauchi, Yobe, Sokoto, Taraba, Plateau, and Adamawa.
He called for the establishment of a bank within the market to help traders manage large sums of money, as the market generates over N50bn in weekly sales.
“We, therefore, call on the state government to provide a bank in the market, because traders are generating more than N50bn on every market day, to reduce the risk involved in handling huge amounts of money,” he said.