Shamaki whose appointment was contained in a
letter from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development replaces
Dr. Mohammed Ahmed, who recently retired from service after the end of his
five-year tenure as the boss of the institute.
The new NVRI boss joined the services of the
institute as a research officer in 1982, rose to the rank of a director in
2007, and is currently the most senior director in the institute.
According to his statement in Vom on Sunday, he
would focus on production of vaccines to save the nation’s poultry and
livestocks.
“We intend to embark on full production and
commercialisation of vaccines for our poultries and livestocks.
“We have sent a proposal to that effect to
the Minister of Agriculture and he has promised to facilitate it,” Shamaki
said.
Speaking further on the institute, he noted that
about N700 million had been expended on the vaccine production laboratory
project, while about N2.6 billion would be required towards its completion to
complement the that the two laboratories
the institute currently has for the production of vaccines for bacterial
diseases and viral diseases in animals.
However, the NVRI boss decried on the
shortage of funds which he stated cripples the institutes from making
remarkable progress over the years adding that the institute’s main concern is
to raise adequate funds required for research and diagnosis, especially since
all samples were usually brought to the institute.
Shamaki also regretted over the
resurgence of avian influenza that recently led to the destruction of five
million birds on lack of surveillance.
“The disease is usually spread by
migratory birds; we effectively controlled the first outbreak in 2006, but did
not sustain the surveillance against a recurrence.
“Chickens move very fast from one
country to another and from one market to another; so we must be permanently
vigilant and alert,” he said.
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