Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has rejected any plan to cede land in the state for ranching without the consent of his administration and the people.
Alia stated this on Tuesday at a town hall meeting with stakeholders from Katsina-Ala, Ukum and Logo federal constituency, warning that Benue residents would resist any attempt by external forces to take over their land for ranching.
“Nobody will force us to cede even an inch of our land to pastoralists for any purpose,” he said.
“If that must happen, I can assure you, it will not be this time that I am still the governor of Benue.”
The governor’s position follows the Federal Government’s proposed ranching policy aimed at addressing the persistent farmer-herder crisis, which has resulted in deaths and displacement of communities in Benue and other parts of the country.
The Federal Government had announced that the ranching programme would commence with a pilot project in Plateau State before being extended to Benue, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Adamawa and the Federal Capital Territory.
Alia announces security measures
Alia also announced measures to strengthen security in Katsina-Ala, Ukum and Logo local government areas.
He said three military operational units would be established in the area under the newly created 5 Division of the Nigerian Army.
According to him, the units would be located in Agu, Katsina-Ala; Anyiin, Logo; and Azendeshi, Ukum.
The governor also announced the donation of 30 motorcycles to security agencies to improve patrols and their response to distress calls.
On infrastructure, Alia said his administration planned to construct a dam with a projected power generation capacity of 460 megawatts.
“The project will provide water and support electricity generation in the state,” he said.
Alia is currently on a statewide thank-you tour following his emergence as the All Progressives Congress candidate for the 2027 governorship election.
The tour involves town hall meetings with stakeholders across the state’s 11 federal constituencies.
The governor said similar engagements would be held in the remaining constituencies in the coming days.