Politics

Fayose’s anti-grazing law stirs controversy

Published

8 years ago

August 31, 2016

FG sets stage for Fayose to fail, allegedly withholds allocation

Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, and Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the socio-political organisation of the Igbo people, have backed Governor Ayodele Fayose grazing bill.

But the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has kicked against it.

Others who have expressed their support for the bill include the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) and Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB).

Governor Fayose had on Monday, August 29, assented to, a bill which categorises grazing with arms in the state as terrorism.

On signing the bill entitled “Prohibition of Cattle and other Ruminants Grazing in Ekiti 2016,’ into law, the governor stated that any herdsman, caught with any form of weapons while grazing his cattle in any part of the state, would be arrested and charged with terrorism.

Reacting on the action of the governor, Afenifere Publicity Secretary, Mr Yinka Odumakin on Tuesday described Fayose’s action as bold and a step others should follow.

Like Afenifere, Ohanaeze Ndigbo also praised Fayose for signing the bill into law, saying that the governor took a “brave” step.

According to its Youth Council president, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, the law should be replicated in all parts of the country.

For the national coordinator of the OPC, Otunba Gani Adams, it is a step in the right direction at curbing the menace of herdsmen in the state in particular, and the South-West region of the country.

MASSOB through its spokesman, Samuel Edeson also commended Fayose for signing the bill into law, advising other governors in the southern part of the country, as well as the Middle Belt, to enact similar laws.

Meanwhile, the umbrella body for northern groups, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), has kicked against the law. It argues that any law which contravened the constitution of the country would be illegal, adding that any Nigerian was free to move in any part of the country.

ACF National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Muhammad Ibrahim, who spoke for the group on Tuesday, said any law passed by Ekiti State, which contradicted the law of the Federal Government should not stand.

“The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees free movement of Nigerians as long as they pursue their legitimate business” he said.

By Ebere Ndukwu …

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