From WILLIE ATTAH, Gombe
Gombe State Government has launched a three-week statewide vaccination campaign against major livestock diseases.
The campaign, which began on Wednesday at Tumfure Bashar along the Bye-Pass Road in Gombe, will cover all Local Government Areas and Local Council Development Areas in the state.
Commissioner for Livestock Development, Salisu Baba Alkali, said the exercise would target Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP), Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) in cattle, and Peste des Petits Ruminants (PPR) in sheep and goats.
He urged livestock owners, farmers, pastoralists and breeders’ associations to cooperate with veterinary teams and make their animals available for vaccination.
The Deputy Governor, Manasseh Daniel Jatau, who represented Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya at the flag-off, said the campaign was part of the government’s efforts to improve animal health and livestock production.
The Gombe State Coordinator of the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, Abdulhamid Shauti Garba, said livestock diseases continued to threaten the sector, making vaccination necessary.
The event featured the symbolic vaccination of animals.