Nigeria to redouble efforts on tsetse flies eradication – Minister

The federal government has reiterated commitment to intensify effort on tsetse flies eradication to achieve food security in the country.

Ogbonnaya Onu, Minister of Science and Technology, said this in a statement by Abdulganiyu Aminu, Head of Press in the Ministry, on Friday in Abuja.

Mr Onu, according to the statement, made the remark when he paid a facility visit to the National Institute for Trypanosomiasis Research (NITR) in Kaduna.

“For Nigeria to provide livestock to meet the protein needs of the people, tsetse fly eradication is quite important.

“NITR has an important role to play in ending the herdsmen/farmers clashes by helping to eradicate the menace of tsetse flies, thereby assisting the herdsmen to get settled in one place to tend their livestock,” he said.

Mr Onu urged NITR to intensify its research on tsetse fly eradication, adding that the president is determined to bring to an end the incessant clashes.

He further said that the institute should get prepared to expand its mandate to include the war against malaria parasites, which affects all countries in Africa.

The minister explained that the institute was well placed to beam its research light on eradication of the mosquitoes which is the prime cause of malaria in Africa.

The statement also quoted the Director General of NITR, Augustine Igwe, as saying that the institute intends to build new laboratory structures, as the ones in use were built during the colonial era.

Mr Igwe added that the institute was also trying to introduce certain innovations, enabling it deploy laboratories to the areas where tsetse flies were prevalent. (NAN)