From Tony John, Port Harcourt
Rivers Governor, Nyesom Wike, has said the ban on open grazing in the state would be given legal backing to protect the people from marauding herdsmen.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Isaiah Odoli/Omerelu streets, New GRA Phase 1 in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area, yesterday, Wike said an anti-open grazing bill would be sent to the state House of Assembly to legalise the policy.
He said in addition to protecting people and farmlands in Rivers State, the bill is in keeping with the resolution made by the Southern Governors’ Forum at the Asaba meeting.
“You can’t go to farm anymore, those who rear cattle they’ll not allow your crops to grow. Let me say clearly, now that the House of Assembly has come back, we have to submit the bill on anti-open grazing as we agreed in the Southern Governors’ Forum. So everybody must understand it; it’s clear, without any hesitation, we must do it to protect our farms, women, youths, so that nobody will go and kill them.”
Wike said Nigerians who had considered the All Progressives Congress (APC) as better alternative to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015, must be regretting the deplorable condition of the country under APC.
“The exchange rate has now got to N510 to a dollar. When they took over, it was N150 to a dollar. They said they’ll give employment. Do we have employment today? Are your children employed?”
Wike said Nigeria was on life support and required prayers from citizens to survive.
“Since APC came into power, you can now see what Nigeria has turned to. Each day you wake up, you hear that people are being killed.The country is on oxygen (life support). Nobody knows what will happen next. Nigeria needs prayers; to our mothers and sisters, you must kneel down and pray to God to salvage this country.”
Governor Wike also accused the APC-led Federal Government of doing nothing for Rivers State. He described as untrue claim by the Federal Government that it is jointly executing the Bonny-Bodo roads.
“The only thing they are arguing now is that they are doing Bonny-Bodo Road. No, with due respect, that’s no correct. That road was supposed to be done by NLNG and Federal Government. NLNG brought N60 billion, Federal Government did not bring any kobo. Now they are trying to use the tax that NLNG is supposed to pay to do the road. The tax would have been shared from the federation account and part of the money would have come to Rivers State. So, Federal Government cannot say that they’re the one doing Bonny-Bodo road. All of us are jointly doing the road.”
Wike said every road in the Old and New GRAs have been rehabilitated under the Urban Renewal Programme of his administration, except the Orugbum Crescent in the new GRA.
Inaugurating the road project, former Senate president, David Mark, said Rivers people were lucky to have a governor who fulfils promises made and provides infrastructure with a human touch.