List of 6 Southern States Yet to Enact Anti-Open Grazing Law
As part of their efforts to address the recurrent herdsmen/farmers crisis in their region, southern governors in May unanimously decided to put an end to open grazing.
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To make the ban on open grazing effective, they resolved to put in place laws to that effect.
Source: Getty Images
While many of the 17 governors in the southern region have gone ahead to enact the anti-open grazing law, six of them are yet to, even as the September 1 deadline agreed upon has passed.
States yet to enact the law
- Edo state
- Cross River state
- Imo state
- Ogun
- Delta
- Anambra
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According to The Cable, Edo, Cross River and Imo states are somewhat reluctant about enacting the law.
In Edo, Governor Godwin Obaseki has reportedly not sent the bill to the state House of Assembly for consideration.
Reacting to the development in Edo, Fagoroye Bayo Martins said on Facebook:
"Edo state does not have a functional house of assembly. So, don't expect Edo state to enact any bill."
Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River has also reportedly refused to sign a 2017 anti-grazing bill that was passed by the state legislature.
In Imo, Governor Hope Uzodimma, Imo governor has said the state has no law against open grazing.
The remaining three states, Ogun, Delta and Anambra, are reported to have reached the advanced stage of passing the law.
States that have enacted the law
- Ekiti state
- Ebonyi state
- Abia state
- Oyo state
- Bayelsa state
- Rivers state
- Ondo state
- Enugu state
- Akwa-Ibom state
- Osun state
- Lagos state
El-Rufai backs cattle ranching, says anti-open grazing law unrealistic
Meanwhile, Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai of Kaduna state has said ranching remains the best option to stop the conflict between farmers and herders in the country.
The governor made the comment on Tuesday, September 21 while speaking to reporters at the national secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja.
Referring to states passing the anti-grazing law, El-Rufai said:
“You can legislate but let us wait and see. And I wish them the best of luck.”
"Anti-open grazing policy cannot be sustained"
In a similar development, the Nasarawa state governor, Abdullahi Sule, has also faulted the anti-open grazing policy adopted by some state governments in the country.
The governor, who spoke on Monday, September 20, during an interview on Channels TV, believed the policy was not working.
Governor Sule said all the northern governors have decided that since the policy is not in sync with modern ways, it cannot be sustained. He further claimed that the ban had not worked in the states that introduced anti-open grazing law.
Source: Legit.ng
