Confusion has continued to trail Federal government plans to establish cattle colonies across the country as the policy appears unclear to major stakeholders.
This is just as the federal Executive Council approved a memo for the award of contract for the construction of the Gboko end of the Benue to Enugu road for N5.44B.
Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, while speaking on the issue said he is not an expert in agriculture and therefore has no idea on what colony is, but explained that ” it is a little bigger than a ranch”
“First of all what’s the difference between a colony and a cattle ranch. I’m not an agricultural experts but a colony is much bigger in nature than a ranche.”
He however added that “government is very much concern about the herdsmen and farmers clashes and it is receiving attend at the highest level”
The Minister while also speaking on the state of health of Yusuf Buhari, President Buhari’s son, declared that the issue is a ” private matter”
The Minister, who was asked to speak on reports that the federal government plans to fly Yusuf to a German hospital for treatment, declined comment.
Buhari’s son, it will be recalled got critically injured during a drag- racing with his motorbike in December and had been admitted at a private hospital in Abuja
Mohammed had led Ministers of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola and Minister of State Aviation, Hadi Sirika to brief State House Correspondents after the first weekly Federal Executive Council ( FEC) meeting in 2018.
The Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, while attempting to offer explanation of how the colonies will operate, said ” government cannot establish colonies without compensating the owners of the farm lands”
Recall that amidst these confusion, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State had sought for an explanation on what and how the policy is expected to operate.
Sirika, traced the problem of farmers and cattle grazers clashes in the country to the neglect of ” cattle grazing routes” saying that government had always ” paid” for such grazing routes.
“I’m not speaking as an agricultural expert but perhaps growing up in the hinterlands where I grew up, there use to be cattle routes, we call them “burtali” in local language, this was established by the federal government in 1914″
” it Is a designated routes where they follow, feed, graze, drink water. When that one was available, there was no farmer/herdsmen clash because the routes are specific, identified and map and are paid for over time. But I think due to development and increase in population these routes are either captured or converted to farms.
“The question of colony or grazing land or whatever name they are called is about the same thing really. I don’t think government will do anything without recourse to owners of farm lands and laws of the land”
The Minister while speaking on power supply at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Independent power supply to Nnamdi Azikiwe airport.
As you are aware we had challenges at our first day of work in 2018. The new terminal building at the Nnamdi Azikiwe airport which is called Chinese building has challenge of power, water, sewage, apron and other issues.
He explained that his Ministry was finding ways of dealing with those challenges.
“we are putting up an independent power system at the airport which has been approved by FEC. Subsequently we will also tend to the challenges of water, sewage, apron, connectivity between old and new airport and all the fire stations that is blocking the usage of the airport and perhaps also the control tower that is connecting the other side of the airport.
He disclosed that the challenges will be attended to in phases in preparation to the fully utilization of the airport.
Minister of Power Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola said his Ministry submitted and got approval for the award of contract for the Gboko section of the 9th Mile/Oturkpo road that links Enugu State to Benue State, for N5.44b
The Benue section is already under construction, so, what we have just done is to award the 36 kilometers that connects the Enugu section to the road.
The road is a major agrarian connectivity in support of our agricultural policies. The council approved that memorandum, the award was to the existing contractor who is already working on the Benue section so that we should have a seamless deployment of machines and materials to site.
Tony Ailemen, Abuja
