From Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
Benue State government, yesterday, explained why it has continued to reject the establishment of Cattle Colonies, Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) settlements and grazing reserves proposed by the Federal Government allegedly to curb farmers-herders’ clashes across the country.
The state government premised its rejection on the fact that they all have every tendency of subterranean plots to undermine the safety of lives of indigenous people of the state.
Governor Samuel Ortom who stated this in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Nat Ikyur, said the state’s position has not changed on the matter.
He said Benue State only accepted to key into the National Livestock Transformation Program (NLTP) because the National Economic Council (NEC), which has the 36 state governors as members, approved it after series of engagements and incorporated suggestions by stakeholders from the state.
The governor said with the NLTP, states are at liberty to adopt and implement aspects of the plan that suits their peculiarities, adding that “unfortunately, the presidency rejected this, but would rather continue to dribble Nigerians.
“For us in Benue State, our peculiarities are that we have a ranching law and in the area of livestock farming, our competitive advantages include indigenous cattle, piggery, goats and fisheries etc. All these have been captured in the plan and Benue State has accepted the implementation of the plan based on these conditions.”