By Uzair Adam
The Kano Government Committee probing the Nigerian Meat and Allied Products (NIMAP) abattoir says its inspection of the Chalawa facility has uncovered widespread destruction and missing equipment worth billions of naira.
The panel, chaired by Barrister Muhuyi Magaji Rimingado, visited the site on Tuesday as part of its mandate to examine the fate of the multi-billion-naira project.Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf had last week set up the 11-member committee to probe allegations that the abattoir, established more than 35 years ago, was sold and stripped under the previous administration of Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
Addressing journalists during the inspection, Muhuyi said only fragments of the original structures remain, noting that equipment valued at over N20 billion had either disappeared or been disposed of.
“This was once a facility designed to process halal meat and support fish farming, with the potential to supply both domestic and foreign markets,” he said.
“Today, what we see is monumental destruction of unimaginable magnitude.”
He also disclosed that the land allocated to the abattoir had been divided and transferred to private hands, in some cases through alleged auctions and in others by outright allocation.
Muhuyi assured that the committee would submit a thorough and impartial report to guide the state government on the next steps.
“This assignment is about safeguarding public assets. While some states are just beginning to consider such facilities, Kano had one for decades, and it has been wasted. Our duty is to establish what happened and recommend the way forward,” he added.
The committee’s report is expected to determine those responsible for the destruction and chart a path for possible recovery of the assets.