Acting Chairman of Wudil Cattle Market Union, Alhaji Ahmad Dauda, has said N50 billion worth of transactions are recorded weekly. Dauda told newsmen in Kano yesterday that the amount comes from the sales of no fewer than three million cows at the market, which transacts business every Friday and Saturday.

He said cattle from Kano and several other states, including Adamawa, Bauchi, Plateau, Taraba, Sokoto, Borno and Yobe, come to the market every week. The merchant noted that the animals were largely transported to the South-South, South-East and South-West by dealers.

His words: “Wudil is the biggest cattle market in Kano State and one of the biggest in Northern Nigeria where transactions worth about N50 billion take place every Friday.

“The cattle start arriving at the market from Wednesday in trailers and trucks, while the sales begin on Friday and last till Saturday.” The acting chairman commended the state government for providing facilities for the smooth operation of the market, including drains, solar lighting and toilets. He, however, said it was unfortunate that the drains were inadequate, as the market becomes waterlogged during the rainy season, thus discouraging many customers from patronising it.

Dauda, therefore, asked the government to improve the drains to allow easy outflow of water from the market. He also appealed to the government to provide effective security against thieves, whom he said, had stolen huge sums of money from traders in the past.

Also speaking, the Infrastructure Engineer of the Kano State Agro-Pastoral Development Project (KSADP), Zahraddeen Zarewa, explained that the government, through the project, had provided infrastructure in five major cattle markets in the state.

Zarewa listed the markets as those in Wudil, Dambatta, Getso, Dunbulum and Falgore, adding that the infrastructure included toilet facilities, solar lighting, boreholes, offices, and drains.

He said N350 million was spent on the provision of the infrastructure aimed at upgrading the markets.The engineer added that the projects were financed by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and Lives and Livelihood Funds (LLF), with support from the state government.Zarewa assured that the KSADP would carry out more drainage works in markets before the project winds up next June 2025.