Hyacinth Alia, the governor of Benue, has rejected the federal government’s ranching policy, saying no one can set up a ranch in the state unless his administration and the people agree to it.
The governor, speaking Tuesday at a town hall meeting with stakeholders from Katsina-Ala, Ukum, and Logo federal constituency, said the people of Benue would stand against any outside effort to take their land for ranching.
“Nobody will force us to give up even an inch of our land to pastoralists for any reason,” he said.
“If that ever happens, I can assure you it will not be while I am still the governor of Benue.”
The governor made this statement after the federal government proposed a ranching policy to address the ongoing farmer-herder crisis, which has caused deaths and forced people to leave their communities in Benue and other regions.
The federal government said the ranching program would start with a pilot project in Plateau, and later expand to Benue, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Adamawa, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).