Determined to succeed through the restoration of the lost glory of the national veterinary research institute that had its share of the unfortunate crisis that rocked Plateau state over the years which affected research and vaccines production with low patronage from pastoralists, the newly appointed executive director of the National Institute for Veterinary Research, Vom in Plateau State, Dr. Maryam Muhammed, has appealed for cooperation from all and sundry in her desire to restore the lost glory of the institute and uplift its status to greater heights in veterinary services as she commended the efforts of her predecessors despite the poised challenges encountered.
Speaking to our correspondent on telephone, Dr. Maryam said: “I cannot succeed as a leader without the required cooperation of the Board members, staff and stakeholders including the host communities. The management team has a blue-print for serial implementation to uplift the status of the institute and position it to compete favorably with sister institutes globally as a pride to Nigeria
“As the oldest veterinary research institute in Africa that has excelled overtime in veterinary research and vaccines production with global recognition and patronage, there are plans to venture into more researches and production of new vaccines for domestic use and export to targeted West African countries in our effort to support the ongoing agricultural revolution in several countries
“With the return of peace to Plateau state where we are relocated, we have joined hands with the relevant organizations including the State Government in our collective desire to have permanent peace on the Plateau while making plans to reach out to pastoralists and other stakeholders to achieve the set goals
“We commend the efforts put-in-place by the Federal and Plateau State Governments, security agencies and the host communities for the return of peace which is jealously maintained that facilitated the resumption of service within the institute and other federal government-owned sister establishments
“We have plans to upgrade our facilities, procure new ones where necessary and reposition our area offices located in some states of the federation as well as to improve staff welfare and discipline for optimum results”.
The executive director therefore, appealed for support from all to journey together as partners to achieve the set goals within a set time frame and commended members of staff of the institute for their understanding and support as the journey to greatness has just began.
