Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo
Taraba State Attorney General and commissioner of Justice, Barr. Yusufu Akirikwen, has said that the state’s Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment law is still in place and effective, despite proposed amendments.
Akirikwen stated this, in Jalingo, on Thursday, during an interactive sessions with the media.
The commissioner said that the law has gone through all the processes of law-making and has been duly signed by the state governor and could no longer be suspended by any individual.
Akirikwen also noted that the governor was only showing great human face in considering a review of some sections of the law to accommodate the views expressed by some parties in the state during the three day security meeting held between stakeholders in the state and the National Economic Council technical committee on resolution of farmers/herders crisis in the country.
In the words of Akirikwen, “Let me state clearly that the state’s Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment law is fully in place and effective.
“We have a proposed review of some sections as recommended by the NEC committee but that does not in any way mean that the law is suspended. It is just some sections of the law that are recommended to be reviewed
“The law followed all the process of law making and was subjected to public hearings across the state where all the parties had the opportunity to make their inputs before it was passed into law and eventually signed by the governor. And so it is a clear show of goodwill by the governor to contemplate a review now to accommodate more views from other parties now”, Akirikwen said.
The commissioner also said that the state had suffered great loss in the past due to activities of herdsmen and farmers in the state without any suggestive solutions from any quarters and now that the state government has come up with a law that would protect both the farmers and herders, it was imperative that the law be given adequate support.