Reports say Nigerian livestock representatives linked backing for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid to a new livestock ministry, but differ on whether one association or a wider coalition made the pledge.
TheCable and Vanguard reported that the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) endorsed Tinubu at a Kaduna rally on Saturday, Oct. 31, identifying MACBAN National President Baba Othman Ngelzarma as the speaker. Nigerian NewsDirect described the event as a pledge by livestock stakeholders, while Voice of Nigeria reported support for Tinubu’s livestock transformation agenda without specifying an election endorsement. The accounts differ over who pledged backing and whether it was specifically for Tinubu’s second term.
In remarks reported by TheCable, Ngelzarma said the ministry’s creation was “something we have been advocating for and looking forward to for decades.” Vanguard and TheCable identified the Fulbe APC Forum and Tinubu Yeso-Yeso Political Forum as rally organizers. EconoTimes has previously covered another group’s endorsement of Tinubu’s 2027 bid.
The Federal Ministry of Livestock Development says it was established on July 9, 2024, following recommendations from a presidential livestock reform committee. Its strategy aims to raise livestock’s contribution to Nigeria’s economy from about US$32 billion to at least US$74 billion by 2035. That figure is a government target, not an achieved result.
A 2026 working paper from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) estimates that livestock contributes about US$32 billion, or 5% of Nigeria’s gross domestic product, and directly supports 30 million livelihoods. The paper identifies feed systems, animal disease, farmer-herder conflict and limited processing and cold-chain infrastructure as constraints on growth.
The ministry says the federal government will coordinate policy and regulation, while state governments and private investors have complementary roles in infrastructure and investment. In a November 2025 update, it reported that seven model veterinary hospitals had been completed and equipped, with 14 more at various stages of completion under the World Bank-assisted Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project.
