President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday questioned the ban on open grazing by Southern Governors governors ban, stressing that, it was legally questionable.
The President also accused the southern governors of playing politics with serious security issues while attempting to show power.
The President in a statement by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu, attempted to claim ownership of the ban on open grazing by claiming that President Buhari had put in certain measures.
“The President had approved a number of specific measures to bring a permanent end to the frequent skirmishes as recommended by Alhaji Sabo Nanono, the Minister of Agriculture in a report he submitted and the President signed off on it back in April, well before the actions of the Southern Governors Forum which attempts to place a ban on open grazing and other acts of politicking intended by its signatories to demonstrate their power,” the statement said.
The 17 Southern governors had on 11 May met in Asaba, Delta State capital, to agree on some major issues including the ban on open grazing.
They called on the Federal Government to fund the National Livestock Transformation Programme that was agreed at the National Economic Council.
Attacking the governors for the stance, the President said further, “It is equally true that their announcement is of questionable legality, given the constitutional right of all Nigerians to enjoy the same rights and freedoms within every one of our 36 states (and FCT) -regardless of the state of their birth or residence.
“It is very clear that there was no solution offered from their resolutions to the herder-farmer clashes that have been continuing in our country for generations.
“But the citizens of the southern states – indeed citizens of all states of Nigeria – have a right to expect their elected leaders and representatives to find answers to challenges of governance and rights, and not to wash their hands off hard choices by, instead, issuing bans that say: “not in my state.”
It was not the disposition of the governors alone that rattled the President. The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders in the Southwest met on Sunday and they also endorsed the ban on open grazing and called for restructuring.
The meeting hosted by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State had in attendance Ogun and Osun states governors, Prince Dapo Abiodun and Gboyega Oyetola; House of Representatives Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila; APC national leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, former APC interim national chairman and convener of the meeting, Chief Bisi Akande, former Ogun State Governor Olusegun Osoba and an APC chieftain, Chief Pius Akinyelure.
After the meeting, the Southwest APC leaders said, “We are mindful of the short-term dislocation this might cause but are also mindful that this position is in the best interest of all parties concerned.
”We, therefore, recommend that the federal and state governments cooperate fully with each other to enact the necessary measures to encourage this more effective and modern method of cattle-rearing so that both farmers and herders can pursue their livelihoods with greater productivity and in a more cooperative relationship that minimizes the friction between these two important pillars of our agricultural economy.
“We also urge the Federal Government to provide, through the CBN, short, medium and long term financing for states and those who may wish to set up ranches as part of the agricultural sustainability policy.”
