Chukwu Obinna 
Vice President Shettima speaking at the Nigerian Renewable Energy Forum.
ABUJA, Nigeria – Nigeria’s National Economic Council (NEC) establishes a specialist committee to fast-track livestock sector reforms, as the government seeks a lasting solution to the farmer-herder conflict and food insecurity.
The decision was reached at Wednesday’s 155th NEC meeting, chaired virtually by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, with representatives from six states and key federal ministries.
The committee is tasked with implementing recommendations from the Presidential Livestock Reform Committee and identifying states ready to participate in the transformation programme.
“This is a moral obligation to our people,” Shettima says. “We cannot feed ourselves without finding a nationally accepted solution to the farmer-herder crisis.”
He describes the violence as a consequence of years of unmanaged tensions that now threaten national stability. “What started as coexistence challenges hardened into cycles of violence that were allowed to persist,” he adds.
Shettima praises President Bola Tinubu’s creation of a dedicated Ministry of Livestock Development, describing it as recognition of the sector’s economic and security potential.
Minister of Budget and National Planning Abubakar Bagudu says livestock development remains a critical economic activity capable of driving growth and eliminating conflict.
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Oluwatobi Adu 
Edino Chubiyo Cornelius 
Koko Maxwella 