Unlike some of his colleagues and many other Nigerians opposed to the plan by Federal Government to establish cattle colonies across the country, Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, sees nothing wrong with the project and wants it implemented in his state as soon as possible.
The governor faulting those claiming that the plan of government was to take over communal land and give it to herdsmen, explained that cattle colonies is for the interest of Nigerians and will ensure safety, develop and boost agricultural production as well as boost the economy and a better life for all.
Stating this in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mrs. Petra Onyegbule, in Lokaja on Wednesday, the governor said he would soon commence stakeholders meeting in the state in order to sensitise the farmers, cattle breeders and others on the implementation of the new policy.
“The governor wishes to allay the fears of the citizens of Kogi State, especially on ownership of communal land, that the policy is never an indirect attempt by the Federal Government to take and handover ancestral land to herdsmen.
“To ensure that everyone is carried along in this process, Kogi State, through the Ministry of Agriculture, will soon be embarking on a series of stakeholders’ engagement to sensitise the people, farmers, cattle breeders and other stakeholders on the implementation of the new policy.
“The traditional rulers, leaders of various communities, opinion leaders, religious leaders and the entire citizens will all be carried along in the course of the stakeholders engagement, so that we can collectively study the merits and demerits of the policy.
“This will enable us to jointly find solutions to the demerit and at same time improve on the merits to make it work for our state and for our people without any form of grievances,” the statement read.
On what the state stands to benefit, Bello said, “The insinuations and speculations from various quarters across the nation that the Federal Government is conspiring to take over communal land and give it to herdsmen is far from the truth.
“The planned cattle colonies are for the interest of our people; to ensure their safety, develop and boost agricultural production; in turn boost the economy and a better life for all.
“It is a Federal Government initiative and the Federal Government will fund the project, but we will need to contribute our quota to this laudable initiative at the state level by making land available for the project in Kogi State and ensuring proper implementation to ensure the goal is achieved.”
