FG Set To Ban Ponmo To Revive Nigerian Economy

FG is set to ban Ponmo to revive the Nigerian economy.

Newsone reports the Federal Government led by President Muhammadu Buhari is proposing a law to ban the consumption of animal skin, locally known as Ponmo, to revive tanneries.

This online news platform understands that the decision to ban Ponmo was disclosed by the Director-General, Nigerian Institute of Leather and Science Technology (NILEST), Zaria, Muhammad Yakubu in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital over the weekend.

The director-general said the litigation was necessary to revive the comatose leather industry. He said the habit of eating animal skin, which has no nutritional value, should be stopped to save the industry and boost the nation’s economy.

Yakubu added that the institute, in collaboration with stakeholders the industry would approach the national assembly and state governments to bring out legislation banning “ponmo” consumption.

“To the best of my knowledge, Nigerians are the only people in the world that overvalue skin as food, after all, ponmo has no nutritional value,” he said.

The director-general also said the current National Leather Policy had addressed some fundamental problems of the sector.

“If we get our tanneries, our footwear and leather production working well in Nigeria, people will hardly get ponmo to buy and eat,” Yakubu said.

“When implemented fully, it would turn around most of the comatose tanneries and ginger greater output in production.”

Yakubu appealed to stakeholders to support the legislation and the national leather policy to revive the sector.

NILEST was set up to promote leather production as provided in the Agricultural Research Institute Act of 1975. The institute conducts research on the production and products of leather and the utilisation of local tanning materials.