Politics
Anti-Open Grazing: Enforce Law With Amotekun, Ebube Agu, Afenifere, Ohanaeze Tell Southern Govs
A pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, on Friday faulted the claim by the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, that the anti-open grazing law passed by southern governors was unrealistic.
It said the law passed by various Houses of Assembly in the southern region were in accordance with the wishes of residents in the region and the resolution reached by the Southern Governors’ Forum.
El-Rufai had while speaking to journalists during a visit to the National Secretariat of the All progressives Congress, in Abuja, on Tuesday, said it was unhelpful to politicise the clashes between farmers and herders by passing laws that could not be implemented.
While speaking on the need for ranching as a solution, he said, “What is unhelpful is to politicise the situation and pass legislation that you know that you cannot implement. So, we have taken a position and we are working round the clock to implement that position.
“These herders emanate from the North and we are going to centralise them. We cannot do it overnight. We need billions of naira.”
But Afenifer, through its General Secretary, Sola Ebiseni, said, “El-Rufai, with respect to him, was speaking with both sides of his mouth. Of course, the southern people agree that ranching is the best way to go. This is not only in accordance with modern and international best practice but also part of the resolutions of Nigerians at the 2014 CONFAB.
“Therefore, he is not saying a new thing with the recommendation of ranching. But whether it is achieved by legislation or verbal pronouncement by the likes of El-Rufai, what is important is that open grazing becomes a thing of the past; therefore, we are in support of what the governors (in the South) are saying.
“It is not only surprising that the same El-Rufai has gone beyond even what the southern governors have done in his own state. They have taken action even against the transportation of animals even by vehicles outside Kaduna.
“The governors of Kaduna, Zamfara and Katsina have come up with policies and executive orders banning the inter-state movement of animals within their states, which is more cumbersome to the herders than what the southern governors have done. Therefore, to us, he was only playing to the gallery in wanting to satisfy some interest. A leader of his own status should not be afraid to say the truth.”
But the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has called on southern governors to strengthen their local security architectures to implement the anti-open grazing laws in their respective states.
Its spokesperson, Alex Ogbonnia, said, “What he (El-Rufai) was trying to say is that most of the service chiefs are residing somewhere and since we don’t have the service chiefs, we may not be able to enforce it. That is the implication.
“That is why the southern governors should work harder to beef up their security architecture at the state levels in what they call Amotekun and Ebube Agu, so that they would help to enforce some of these laws passed in the states,” Ogbonnia added.
Daniel Bwala, a spokesperson for President Bola Tinubu, has accused Arise Television of exhibiting preferential treatment for the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Mr Peter Obi.
Bwala, in a post on his X handle on Monday, said the station’s presenters often express strong opinions about other political candidates but adopt.a different approach when discussing Obi.
He claimed that the tone of discussions about the former Anambra State governor appeared like advisers offering counsel to their principal.
“Is anyone watching Arise News morning show gossip trending? They have strong opinion on all the candidates, but when it came to Peter Obi, what they have is advice,” Bwala wrote.
“Even the tone of their voices when talking about Peter Obi is like surrogates advising their principal.”
The presidential spokesman further alleged that the television station had not aired any trending reports considered adverse to Obi since he became a presidential candidate.
“I dare to say that they never had any so-called stories trending adverse to Peter Obi since Obi has been on the ballot,” he added.
The African Democratic Congress, ADC, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, on Sunday declared that President Donald Trump of the United States, US, is backing his proposed policy on the restoration of fuel subsidy.
Atiku had pledged to return the subsidy on fuel if elected as the President of Nigeria in 2027.
He made this known in a statement by his spokesman, Phrank Shaibu tagged, ‘Atiku boasts of stakeholders, Trump support on fuel subsidy’.
Parts of the statement read: “This is why my Production Subsidy is about putting money back into people’s pockets. Support what we produce and refine here, increase supply, monitor the price and make sure Nigerians feel the benefit at the pump.
“CORAN is saying support domestic production. America understands the importance of supporting strategic energy production.
“Yet Tinubu attacks relief for ordinary Nigerians while his government understands perfectly well how to grant waivers, incentives and concessions to multinational oil companies and businesses close to his administration.
“So why does intervention suddenly become bad economics when ordinary Nigerians are meant to benefit?”
The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adebayo, has said he is fully aware of the shortcomings of President Bola Tinubu’s administration but would not blame the incumbent if he succeeds him as president in 2027.
Adebayo said he understood the challenges confronting the country and the policies of the Tinubu administration that he considered wrong, insisting that whoever takes over government must accept both its achievements and liabilities.
He made the remarks during an interview on TVC’s Politics On Sunday.
“When I become president by God’s grace, I’m not going to blame President Tinubu. Once I take the oath of office, I am now inheriting everything that the president before me has done,” Adebayo said.
According to him, assuming responsibility for the country’s existing infrastructure and institutions also means accepting the problems inherited from the previous administration.
“Because if I’m going to go and enter a state house that wasn’t built by me, drive on a road that wasn’t built by me, and go and do convocation in universities that were not established by me, it means that the incumbent before me left some assets and if he left some liabilities also, I have to know,” he said.
Adebayo said even though he understands the condition of the Nigerian economy and the challenges facing the country, he’s ready to contest for president.
“Right now, I know the perilous state of the economy. I know the troubled state of affairs in Nigeria,” he said.
He also claimed to understand most of the areas where he believes the Tinubu administration had gone wrong.
“I know 99% of what President Tinubu is doing wrong. I know them, and I’m still hellbent on running for the office,” Adebayo said.
The SDP candidate said his approach to governance would be based on continuity rather than spending time assigning blame to his predecessor.
“So I don’t get in there and start blaming him after that. I know everything that is wrong with the government, and there’s a system of handover. So there’s a continuity in government,” he said.
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