… Insists no cattle colony in Ebonyi– Chairman
Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State has set in motion a fresh initiative to end intermittent clashes between farmers and Fulani herdsmen in the state.
This is even as he insists that no part of the state would be given to the Federal Government for the proposed cattle colony.
In a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Emmanuel Uzor, the governor said measures were being taking in concert with traditional rulers and leaders of Miyati Allah to ensure peace between farmers and herdsmen in the state.
Uzor said the governor used the stakeholders’ meeting to reiterate his administration’s resolve to ensure peace in all parts of the state, adding that it is the only panacea to achieving development.
The statement read in part: “The traditional rulers are not just custodians of culture and tradition but also part of peace building. They must ensure peace in their localities by first of all identifying the people living in their communities especially the herdsmen. No herdsman is allowed to graze their cattle in on lands and in an event of that, the herdsmen pay the double value of crops damaged and on repeat of such, the herdsmen will be forced to leave the community. The cows are dear to the herdsmen same way the crops are dear to the farmers most especially our belief in sanctity of human life which has been wasted in some areas in the country”
Umahi also made it clear that Ebonyi State Government has no resources to embark on any ranching or Colony being an agrarian state whose main stead is agriculture.
“To ensure security and safety of our people and herdsmen who have lived peacefully with us all these years without problem and to ensure there is no infiltration of killer herdsmen from neighboring states and countries, traditional rulers are to collate data on herdsmen operating in their communities across the state for easy identification and maintenance of peace. The data should include herdsmen’s names, location and contact phone numbers of their leaders.”
“Traditional rulers should hold constant meetings with the herdsmen so that they can identify those from Niger Republic and other areas that foment trouble”
“Governor Umahi is a member of the Presidential Committee headed by Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo to reconcile and ensure peace between the farmers and herdsmen across the country and he is doing everything within the ambit of the law to ensure peace in his own state as charity begins at home”.