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Nigeria Needs N7bn For Domestic Production Of Anti-Snake Venom —Expert
The Federal Government needs a whopping N7billion to establish a factory for the production of Anti-Snake Venom for victims of snake bites across the country, according to Dr. Nandul Durfa.
Durfa, who is the managing director, Echitab Study Limited, made the disclosure on Monday in an interview in Plateau State.
He decried the current cost of the Anti-Snake Venom and the hurdles the government has to scale to get the drugs for snakebite victims.
Durfa, who was the pioneer Chief Medical Director (CMD), University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, said that the white Anti-Snake Venom sourced from Britain costs between N35,000 and N37,000 depending on the foreign exchange rate at the time of importation.
“If we continue to import the drugs from overseas, we have to struggle with the cost as well as not getting them at the very time we need them.
“But if we have our own factory, we can always produce the drugs and make them available to our people at a cheaper price,” he explained.
Therefore, he said, “There is a need for the government to have a rethink on the plight of victims of snake bites around the middle belt, North-East and North-West, who spend huge amounts on treatments, given the prohibitive cost of the imported drugs.
“We hope that the government will be willing to sponsor the production of Anti-Snake Venom like some other countries does. If that is done, we can get it cheaper and always available.”
The Echitab MD further stated that as a nation, we need to be more pragmatic and committed to establishing our own factory to produce the drugs and save the lives of our citizens.
He added: “If we can start with snake farms, Sheep or Horse Farms, build the factory, set up clean production areas, then we can conveniently commence production of the drugs.”
Durfa explained that the production of the drugs was time-consuming such that “you can’t rush into producing the drugs as you do for Panadol or other drugs, because we have to wait for nature.”
“But if we have the factory here in Nigeria, we can design when and where to get the drugs for our suffering victims and even export the Anti-Snake Venom, to earn foreign exchange for the country,” he stated.
Durfa noted that at this material time of harvest, the number of victims of snake bites is on the increase as more people get bitten as they go to their farms.
“More people are taking to farming, and it’s not mechanised farming, so many people are being exposed to snake bites. We can only advise people to be more careful whenever they are on their farms, and when bitten, they should ensure that they see a doctor immediately for treatment.
“This is because the venom remains in their bodies and they will either die or get maimed, since the venom attacks the lymph, which sometimes has to be cut off, depending on the extent of damage’’, he said.
The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.
This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.
The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.
Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.
The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.
From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.
From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.
Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.
From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.
The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.
The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.
The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the Polytechnic, recently.
Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.
He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.
This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly, Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.
The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.
Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.
He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.
The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.
Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.
Chinedu Wosu
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