Governor Ortom Denies Signing Agreement...Insist There's No Land for Grazing Reserve in Benue State

Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has debunked claims that he has signed in favour of creating grazing reserves in his state.

Daily Trust Newspaper has published a report which quoted the Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong saying he and his Benue State counterpart had signed a grazing reserve agreement in order to get a World Bank loan.
In a statement through his media aide, Governor Ortom said he never signed such an agreement and maintained that there was no land for grazing reserves in Benue State.
” Governor, Ortom categorically denies that he has not signed any such agreement and is not even aware of the existence of such.
“The Governor believes that his Plateau State counterpart may have been misquoted because since their assumption of office they have worked closely as colleagues but have not signed any such agreement.
“He wishes to place it on record that when Governor Lalong with other All Progressives Governors’ paid him a sympathy visit on the incessant Fulani herdsmen invasion of the state last Thursday, he reiterated his stand on the establishment of ranches as the permanent as the best global practice in cattle rearing as well as permanent solution to herders and farmers’ clashes.
“The visiting Governors were hosted at the New Banquet Hall of the Benue Peoples House publicly and those present including prominent sons and daughters of Benue State were present and all heard Governor Ortom’s position.
“The following is what Governor Ortom said on the issue on that day: “In those days when we had the land and the population was less just like I keep emphasizing, people who propose that we should do grazing areas and grazing routes I tell them, yes, it can be done in other states maybe. I don’t know, we are Governors of various states, but in Benue there is no free land, or is there any land anywhere for grazing? The truth is that in the fifties when cattle routes were carved and areas designated for grazing reserves the total population of Nigeria as at then was less than 40 million. Today as I talk to you, by 2012 projection, Nigeria’s population was over 107 million and by 2016, we all know that it may hit more than 200 million. And likewise Benue state, we were less than a million people in the fifties. Today, we are over six million and we have farms and so there is nowhere that you can go and identify 10 hectares of land that is empty that people can go in and graze. There is nowhere in this state, I’m a farmer, four years ago when I wanted to acquire 500 hectares of land in my own village, it’s one of the remotest in this state where we believe that there is land. I went there and I had to settle more than 100 people to acquire that 500 hectares. So that is the challenge, the land is no longer there, the land that used to be, in the fifties, 923, 000 square kilometers is still the same land that we have andtoday in 2016 the land is even less but the population has grown. If you take away Bakassi that was given to Cameroon, it’s no longer the 923, 000 square kilometers. So this is the challenge we have and for us we are not saying that people should stop raising cattle or breeding them but we must do it in a civilized way. All of us here are educated; we have traveled all over the world, in America, in Europe, and other parts of Asia. What is done is ranches, not grazing because it is impossible when development comes along the way it affects Nigeria and so we are emphasizing that we have no land for grazing but we have land, if people want they can negotiate and get land for ranching.”
“Governor Ortom remains resolute on what he said in the presence of Governor Lalong last Thursday and at several fora and reiterates that he did not sign any grazing reserve agreement for any reason.” the statement read.
Meanwhile, Nasarawa State government yesterday expressed readiness to support the Federal Government’s initiative on creation of grazing reserves in the country.
Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura made the position of the state government on the issue known during a media chat on the state-owned Nasarawa Broadcasting Service, NBS, to mark this year’s Democracy Day celebration.
Consequently, he stated that the state would create the grazing reserve from games reserve areas for cattle rearers in order to mitigate the frequent clashes between herders and farmers.
The governor, however, faulted the idea for the establishment of ranches as according to him, “ranches, if established in the state, cannot even accommodate millions of cattle found in the Lafia senatorial district of the state.”
He also listed the running costs of ranches as another reason for not supporting ranches. “It would be very difficult to maintain such facilities by way of replenishing grasses and other important amenities,” he said. He, therefore, called on cattle rearers in Nasarawa to see the need of vacating all farm lands in the state to pave the way for smooth take-off of this year’s farming season in order to avert any famine.

Source:Benue.com.ng