Benue State residents, including political office holders, have rejected a Federal Government’s policy focusing on the National Communal Ranching Programme, describing it as land grabbing plan in disguise.
Samuel Iorfa, a farmer from Guma LGA who is currently displaced in Makurdi, told BusinessDay that the ranching plan is unacceptable at this time.
‘Alia has brought back the Benue of our dream. Workers are paid, roads are working. But this ranching programme from President Tinubu is land grabbing in disguise. How can you bring cattle ranching to our land when we the owners of the land are still in IDP camps? Let us return home first,’ Samuel said.
He added that the programme contradicts the existing Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, 2017, which already provides a framework for ranching in Benue.
Terna Andura, Special Assistant to Governor Hyacinth Alia on Community Relations and Engagement, who also spoke to Business Day as part of celebration marking Nigeria’s Independent, commended Governor Alia for his doggedness against all odds which had brought back the Benue of our dream.
‘I want to commend the Governor for taking Benue out of the shame of infrastructural backwardness, what the Governor did in Three years of his administration is more that other Governors in Eight years, and as the Country celebrates it 66th birthday, I want to also use this opportunity to applaud President Tinubu for his love for the country and Benue State’
Other residents echoed Orsember’s concerns, saying that while infrastructure and regular salaries are commendable, the high cost of Premium Motor Spirit has eroded purchasing power and made small businesses unprofitable.
On the ranching issue, residents insisted that Benue is not against ranching, but against any federal imposition that appears to take over their ancestral lands under the guise of livestock development.
They called on the Federal Government to reconsider including Benue among the six pilot states Adamawa, Benue, Kaduna, Kano, Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory for the programme.
They demanded that security be restored first, IDPs be returned home, homes rebuilt and victims compensated before any discussion on national livestock settlements.
The rejection aligns with the position of the Laity Council of the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi, which recently said over 181 Churches and Pastoral Units have been shut down and over 100 Churches burnt, with the faithful ‘ranched in IDP camps like cattle.’
As Nigeria celebrates 66 years of independence on Thursday, Benue’s message is clear: The state has seen progress under Alia, the Federal Government has supported on security and infrastructure, but Three things must be addressed – bring down PMS price to ease hardship, end insecurity and shelve the ranching plan which residents describe as land grabbing in disguise.
For many in Benue, true independence will be when a displaced farmer in Gwer-West, Guma, Logo or Ukum can safely return to his farm without fear, and when a trader like Orsember can afford fuel to move her goods to market.