The Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has continued to kick against the Federal Government’s latest decision to review “with dispatch” grazing sites across some states of the federation with a view to determining the level of encroachment.
Ortom who outrightly rejected the plan insisted that the Federal Government has no right to preside over land in his state.
A recent decision to review the establishment of 368 grazing reserves in 25 states generates quite a reaction from Benue State, northern Nigeria.
Typical of the chief executive, any policy perceived to be geared towards land grabbing is resisted in its entirety.
In its early days in office, the presidency began to push for cattle colonies, then shifted to Ruga settlements, then a livestock transformation plan before its latest decision.
It will be recalled that as means to end the ceaseless killing of farmers by suspected herdsmen terrorising the nation’s food basket, the state government enacted a law prohibiting open grazing of livestock in 2017. A law the Governor intends to jealously protect.