Open Grazing Ban: Presidency faults decision, says southern govs. fail to proffer solution

The Presidency has criticized the recent resolutions of the southern governors, including the ban on open grazing in the  region.

Presidency, in a statement on Monday, by President Buhari’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, noted that the governors have failed to provide any solution to the lingering crisis between farmers and herders in the country.

According to Shehu, “It is very clear that there was no solution offered from their (the Governors’) resolutions to the herder-farmer clashes that have been continuing in our country for generations.

“But the citizens of the Southern States – indeed citizens of all States of Nigeria – have a right to expect their elected leaders and representatives to find answers to challenges of governance and rights, and not to wash their hands off hard choices by, instead, issuing bans that say: “not in my State”, he added.

State governors in the South, at a meeting held on May 11 in Asaba, the Delta State capital, had resolved to ban open grazing and movement of cattle by foot in the region following.

The state gaffers, had , also called for the restructuring of the country along with fiscal federalism, devolution of powers, and state policing, as well as asked President Muhammadu Buhari to convene a national dialogue to address the agitations by various groups in the region.

But, while reacting to the series of calls made by the governors, Buhari’s media aide, Shehu explained that the president has expressed a strong resolve to address the conflicts of herders and farmers in a sustained and lasting manner.

He expressed optimism that this would lead to the emergence of a permanent solution to the frequent clashes between both parties, as well as the associated problem of the gun-wielding killer herdsmen.