No alternative to ranching, Governor Ortom insists
- There is no alternative to Benue state's ranching law, Governor Samuel Ortom insists
- According to him, discussions between his government and MACBAN would continue in order to find ways of ensuring farmers and herdsmen live in peace
- North-central zonal chairman of MACBAN, said they were ready to obey the anti-grazing law in the state and cooperate with the Benu government
Governor Samuel Ortom has said there is no alternative to the ranching law enacted by the Benue state government to regulate livestock business.
He stated this on Tuesday, March 20, at the Benue Peoples House, Makurdi while briefing journalists after a meeting with the state and zonal leadership of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN).
The governor said the ranching law was the collective decision of Benue people, stressing that he lacks the powers even as governor to reverse or make adjustments to it.
He disclosed that MACBAN had requested for more time to enable them adjust and conform with the law but he had promised them that the law would be implemented with a human face and that was being done.
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Governor Ortom noted that while the law was being implemented, discussions between MACBAN and his government would continue with a view to fashioning out ways of ensuring peace between farmers and herdsmen in the state.
He stated that the main objective of the meeting was the arrest and confiscation of some cattle in breach of the ranching law, saying the state government had agreed to release the cattle to their owners after the payment of fines as stipulated by the law.
On his part, the north-central zonal chairman of MACBAN, Alhaji Danladi Chiroma said they were ready to obey the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law and to cooperate with the Benue state government to expose criminal elements responsible for the current crisis.
Meanwhile, Governor Ortom has pleaded with federal government to upgrade the Exercise Ayem A’ Kpatuma to a full military operation to effectively check the ongoing killings in the state’s rural communities.
Governor Ortom, who made this statement on Monday, March 19, while inspecting four Internally Displaced Persons ( IDPs) camps at Abagana in Makurdi, said full army presence in the state may help to prevent the attacks.
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Victims of Herdsmen killing buried in Benue State on Legit.ng TV
Source: Legit.ng
