Prof Muhammad Yakubu, Director General of NILEST, stated that the legislation will resurrect the country's dormant leather sector.
The Nigerian Government, through the Institute of Leather and Science Technology (NILEST), Zaria, has disclosed that it is proposing a law to proscribe the consumption of animal skin, locally known as kpomo.
Prof Muhammad Yakubu, Director General of NILEST, stated that the legislation will resurrect the country's dormant leather sector.
He stated that consuming animal skin, which has little nutritional value, should be discontinued in order to save the industry and help the country's economy.
He said, “To the best of my knowledge, Nigerians are the only people in the world that overvalue skin as food; after all, kpomo has no nutritional value.
The DG stated that the institution, in partnership with industry stakeholders, would contact the National Assembly and state governments to propose laws prohibiting the consumption of kpomo.
He further said, “At a point, there was a motion before the two chambers of the National Assembly; it was debated, but I don`t know how the matter was thrown away.”
He revealed that the consumption of animal skin was partly responsible for the comatose state of tanneries in Nigeria, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.
He said, “If we get our tanneries, our footwear and leather production working well in Nigeria, people will hardly get kpomo to buy and eat.’’