Livestock stakeholders concerned about committee

Stakeholders in Nigeria’s livestock sector have raised concerns over what they describe as blurred institutional boundaries following the inauguration of the National Economic Council (NEC) Technical Sub-Committee on Livestock Development, with questions mounting over its leadership structure and sectoral accountability.

The technical sub-committee was inaugurated at the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning in Abuja, with the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Sen Abubakar Bagudu, named as chairman. Under the committee’s composition, the Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha, is listed as a member rather than holding a leadership role.

The arrangement has unsettled sector operators, state officials and policy analysts, who argue that chairing a livestock-focused technical body by a minister without statutory oversight of the sector amounts to institutional overreach.

Critics note that while economic planning has a critical cross-cutting function, assuming leadership of a technical committee dedicated to livestock development—especially with the existence of a stand-alone Ministry of Livestock Development—raises questions about judgment, clarity of mandate and respect for sectoral governance.

Stakeholders view the development as inconsistent with the Federal Government’s stated intention to provide focused leadership for livestock reform through the creation of a dedicated ministry. They argue that placing the planning minister at the helm risks weakening the authority of the livestock ministry at a time when coherence and clarity are essential for reform.

Despite these assurances, analysts say the optics of the arrangement remain problematic. They point to a contrast between the administration’s emphasis on livestock development and the decision to have a planning minister chair a technical body in a sector he does not directly supervise, while the minister with statutory responsibility participates without a leadership designation.

A source familiar with the deliberations said commissioners responsible for livestock matters in several states have privately expressed discomfort with the structure. “There is a sense that lines are being crossed. Planning is important, but planning is not the same as sector leadership. When a minister with no direct oversight takes the chair of a sectoral committee, it sends signals that are difficult to reconcile,” the source said.

Explaining the rationale for the committee, Sen Bagudu said it was established to harmonise existing policy frameworks and fast-track the production of a clear, actionable roadmap for livestock development for adoption by the National Economic Council. He said the move followed an earlier NEC decision to set up a high-level committee on livestock development chaired by the Kebbi State Governor, Dr. Nasir Idris, with governors from the six geopolitical zones, relevant ministers and representatives of the Presidential Committee on Livestock Development as members.

According to Bagudu, the technical sub-committee became necessary due to the urgency of the assignment and the competing schedules of state governors. “Our task is not to reinvent the wheel. There is already a substantial body of work. What is required now is to distil these reports into a clear, practical implementation roadmap that the National Economic Council can adopt without delay,” he said.

He added that President Bola Tinubu considers livestock development a central pillar of Nigeria’s economic and agricultural transformation, pointing to the President’s decision to personally chair the Presidential Committee on Livestock Development as evidence of the sector’s strategic importance.

Members of the technical sub-committee include Sen Bagudu as chairman; the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, represented by Dr. Sampson Ebimaro; the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agribusiness, Kingsley Uzoma; the Cross River State Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Dr. Micheal Odere; and commissioners from Kebbi and Niger states, Dr. Abba Kalgo and Mustapha Ndajiwo. Others are the Director of Special Duties at the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Dr. Gloria Ahmed; the National Project Coordinator of the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project, Dr. Sanusi Abubakar; the Executive Director of Niger Foods, Ola Oloyede; a livestock systems specialist and policy adviser, Dr. Winnie Lai-Solarin; and the Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Maiha.

As the committee begins its work, attention remains focused on how institutional roles will be interpreted and exercised within Nigeria’s evolving livestock reform framework, in a sector where clarity of authority is widely regarded as inseparable from the credibility and success of outcomes.

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