Meat consumers in Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Monday raised alarm over the deplorable state of infrastructure and unhealthy operational environment of the council’s abattoir.
Some of the consumers who spoke to the NAN in Kuje faulted the reliance of the abattoir on stream water for the washing of meat before conveying to market.
Mr Adekunle Odunayo, a meat consumer, stated the use of stream water and car tyres for roasting meat for human consumption was unhealthy.
He stated that “the state of the abattoir, as you can see, is not healthy because in the first instance, there is no water to wash the slab after use.
“It is not healthy using stream water to wash meat for human consumption because the water is flowing from places where it has been messed up.
“People defecate and throw all manner of things inside the water before getting to where it is being used to wash meat for human consumption; that is unhygienic.”
He, therefore, called on relevant authorities, particularly Kuje Area Council administration to restore water supply to the abattoir by repairing the borehole that was originally servicing the abattoir.
Mrs Esther Okoro, another meat consumer, faulted the use of motorcycles to convey meat from the abattoir to the market, attributing this to the deplorable state of the road linking the abattoir.
She said “if the road is fixed, the abattoir operators will certainly resort to use of vans to convey meat to the market.
“It is really not healthy conveying meat to the market with motorcycles because on several occasion, we have seen them falling off on the road with the meat.
“The annoying part of it is that the same meat is being carried to the market and consumers are forced to buy because they have no option.”
Okoro called for the rehabilitation of the road so as to encourage consumers to patronise the abattoir directly without having to wait for the meat to get to the market.
Mr Ike Nwosu, another meat consumer in the area, also called on the area council to ensure the rehabilitation of essential infrastructure in the abattoir to enhance healthy operational environment.
Guardian