Herdsmen crises: Gov El Rufa’i says NGF is committed to ending farmers and herders conflict
Laraba Raphael
The Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has restated that the Northern Governors Forum(NGF) is committed to ending the incessant conflict between farmers and herders across the country.
The Governor stated that the NGF is working on how to resolve the normadic movement of cattle and people.
El-Rufai made the position of the NGF known while responding to fielded questions from journalist after a brisk visit to the Director Organisation, Prof Al-Mustapha Medaner in the All Progressive Congress, National Secretariat on Thursday in Abuja.
He said, “We are all committed to solving the problem of movement up and down by the herders because once we solve that problem the clashes between farmers and herders will reduce significantly.”
“I just left Kaduna, we had a meeting of the Northern State Governors, Bauchi state governor Benue Governor were there, it will be sorted out it could be differences in opinion. It is not fundamental.”
El, Rufa’i, weighin on the war of words over the herders crises by his colleagues governors Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State and Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State,
He said, “It will be sorted out, there will always be differences in opinion but not fundamental.The Northern State Governors Forum is committed ending the normadic movement of cattle and people in the shortest possible time and we are all working.”
Recall, recently the Bauchi State governor, Mr. Bala Mohammed, said that Fulani herdsmen from Chad, Niger and other neighbouring countries would benefit from the National Livestock Transformation Plan being championed by the Federal Government to put herdsmen and their livestock in designated colonies and give them the opportunity of exploiting the livestock value chain.
While the Governor Benue State, Samuel Ortom on accused Bala Mohammed, Bauchi State governor, of being a terrorist.
“I am beginning to think that my brother, the governor of Bauchi State is part of the terrorist Fulani organisation that is terrorising this country,” Ortom said while addressing journalists in Makurdi, Benue State capital.
“Why do I say this? This is the same governor who took the oath of office to protect the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This constitution does not leave room for allowing foreign herdsmen to come in without valid papers,” he added.
