RUGA: Northern governors dump controversial policy, adopt livestock plan
- The controversial Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) policy has been dumped by northern governors, following their emergency meeting on Thursday, September 12
- Governor Simon Lalong said the Northern States Governors Forum had adopted the National Livestock Transformation Plan which lays out a clear path for modernizing pastoral activities
- The governor further encouraged other states not included as pilot states, to endeavour to join the plan
The controversial Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) policy has been dumped by northern governors, following their emergency meeting on Thursday, September 12.
According to The Nation, the governors instead adopted the National Livestock Transformation Plan as the best way to tackle the persistent clashes between herders and farmers in the region.
Legit.ng gathers that the governors also resolved that they would continue adopting a sustainable and holistic approach towards tackling the region’s security challenges.
At the opening of the emergency meeting, Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau state, who is the chairman of the Northern States Governors Forum, told newsmen that a committee had been set up by the forum, under the chairmanship of Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina, to develop a comprehensive regional plan of action that can bring lasting solutions to the lingering crises.
Lalong, at the end of the meeting, however, disclosed that the National Livestock Transformation Plan which, according to him, lays out a clear path for modernizing pastoral activities, had been adopted by the forum.
He said: “On agriculture, the forum was well informed about the National Livestock Transformation Plan and its disparities with the RUGA plan
“It is expected that the plan would ensure resettling and addressing the dislocated populations in the key conflict zones to enable them become part of the agricultural modernization process.
“In the same vein, it would provide a mechanism for peaceful dialogue and reconciliation in the affected communities towards a harmonious mutually beneficial future.
“The forum, therefore, adopted the National Livestock Transformation Plan which lays out a clear path for modernizing pastoral activities.
“It further encouraged other states not included as pilot states, to endeavour to join the plan.”
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Recall that Legit.ng previously reported that in a bid to address rampant cases of insecurity in the north and misconceptions related to the RUGA project, state governors on the platform of Northern States Governors Forum were holding an emergency meeting.
The meeting, presided over by the chairman of the forum, Governor Simon Lalong, was aimed at resolving and ending the incessant herdsmen-farmers clashes, kidnapping, banditry and other related crimes.
At the meeting, Lalong said: "We shall develop strategies on how best to deal with the misinformation about the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP), which is sometimes confused with the Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) project."
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Source: Legit.ng
