Governor of Ondo State, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has urged residents in southwest states to consider killing chickens for ceremonies instead of cows in order to prevent capital flight.
Akeredolu, who made the call while addressing some stakeholders in the education sector in Akure, said the region has been losing nothing less than N2.5 billion daily to the consumption of cows.
The governor, who spoke through his Special Adviser on Agriculture and Agric-business, Akin Olotu, said: “The President said grow what you eat and eat what you grow. I have been a serious advocate and I am reemphasising it, please let us use chicken for our ceremonies.
“Yes, I meant broilers. They are cheaper. I met with the traditional rulers and I told them that those before you have to encourage that.
“Why am I saying this? There is a N2.5 billion beef market in the southwest every day. It means every day in the southwest, we send
N2.5 billion out of the southwest. That is the bedrock of poverty in the region.
“We have a region that is not retaining money. Don’t let any politician tell you any abracadabra, if we don’t reverse that trend, we will continue to remain on the same spot.”