Banji Akeredolu, Communication Component National Coordinator, Avian Influenza Control and Human Pandemic Preparedness and Response Project, gave these details at a press conference in Abuja on 16 Jluy, according to Tide News.

Mr Akeredolu said that the World Bank assisted with the compensation and added that the country’s AI control project had one of the best compensation modalities and rates around the world.

"In Nigeria, we paid those who lost one chicken and those who lost thousands. The rate now is much better, between NGN800 and 1,000, depending on the type of bird, compared to the old flat rate of NGN250 per bird," he said.

"A lot of people who lost all their birds have not returned to business. A lot of people who were previously employed are now unemployed," he explained.

Mr Akeredolu also described the Live Bird Market Development Programme, which will include the provision of special stalls in a separate part of a market for the sale of live birds. Each is to be equipped with water and sanitation facilities, and all cages are washable. The measures are aimed at preventing spread of avian flu.

He commended the efforts of the national Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI), saying the results of tests conducted by the institute had been confirmed by the international institute in Padova, Italy.

Finally, Mr Akeredolu voiced his suspicion that the virus entered Nigeria through cross-border trade in live chicken or the processed ones rather than migratory birds.

Nevertheless, he cautioned poultry farmers to ensure that their birds do not mix with wild birds.

View the Tide News story by clicking here.