Following  the recent an
nouncement by the Federal Government on plans to ban the consumption  of “Ponmo” in the country, a businessman, Livinus Odini, has expressed concern over a possible glut of hides and skin if the policy was not properly articulated.
Odini who spoke to our correspondent on the contentious issue in Port Harcourt last Saturday said the policy could only favour businessmen in the northern part of the country.
According to him, the northerners were known  for training hides as and skin in the country while the southern part were identified with the consumption of it.
Explaining further, he called for the setting up of tanneries in all the six-geopolitical zones of the country by the Federal Government in order to facilitate the process of tanning the animal skins to ensure mopping up tanned hides.
However, a Port Harcourt legal practitioner, Mr Churchill Benson who spoke to our correspondent said the government can only affect a total ban on consumption throught a  legal frame work.
According to him, many Nigerians have  come to be identified with “ponmo” as a popular delicacy in both business and consumption.
He said preventing them from eating “ponmo” could amount to an intringent of their human rights hence the need to make the consumption of the product an offence in the eye of the law.
It could  be recalled that the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwumi Adesina while speaking recently at the 3rd joint anniversary of Animal Science Association of Nigeria (ASAN), and Nigeira Institute of Animal Science held at the University of Ibadan called for competent regulations that would check the consumption and sale of hides of animals (ponmo) in Nigeria.
He stated that livestock farmers would stand good chances of making high dollar returns if the hides and skins are tanned into leather.
The Director, Animal Production and Husbandry in the Ministry, Ademola Raji who represented the Minister at the event said “I also commend NIAS for its advocacy and public enlightenment programmes on Radio and Television,” he said.
According to him, such enlightenment promote value addition in livestock as against sale and consumption of primary products alone, particularly with the issue of curtailing  the widespread of consumption of hides and skin.
Training is the process that converts the protein of the raw hide or skin of animals into a stable material which will not putrefy and is suitable for a wide variety of end application.