Senators from the northern part of the country and senators from other geopolitical zones of the country clashed on Wednesday when a bill for an act to establish the National Animal Husbandry and Ranches Commission for the Regulation, Management, Preservation, and Control of Ranches throughout Nigeria, and for connected purposes, 2024 (SB. 466), came up to be debated.
Following a heated debate, the Senate approved the bill for a second reading.
It was also referred to the Senate Committees on Agriculture, Judiciary, and Legal Affairs, who are expected to respond within four weeks.
Senator Titus Tartenger Zam of Benue North-West sponsored the measure.
Among other things, the goals are to govern and regulate the cattle ranching industry throughout the country.
In his lead discussion on the bill’s broad principles, Zam emphasised the need for the proposed Commission to administer, regulate, and maintain ranches across the country.
He said, “The proposed National Animal Husbandry and Ranches Commission is for the management, preservation, and control of ranches throughout Nigeria.”
Senators Danjuma Goje (APC, Gombe Central) and Adamu Aliero (PDP, Kebbi Central) were among those who strongly opposed the bill.
Both politicians maintained that cattle breeding and ranching were more prevalent in the North than elsewhere in the country.
They reasoned that lawmaking should be done for the entire country rather than just a certain section.
Goje specifically argued that cattle routes begin from the far north and end in Lokoja, as “the route does not extend to the south.”.
In his argument, Senator Hussein Babangida Uba (Jigawa North-West) called for extra caution in passing the bill, given its trail of controversies in the past.
Other senators who backed the bill argued that the proposed commission would handle the farmers/herders conflict; hence, it should be passed.
The bill passed after being put to a voice vote by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
