The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir David Lawal, on Thursday said the Federal Government would establish ranches and grazing reserves across the country to put an end to the incessant clashes between Fulani Cattle Rearers and Local Farmers.
Speaking in his office when he received in audience, a delegation of Tabital Pulako Njode Jam Foundation, led by the Chairman, Abdul Bali, the SGF exonerated the local herdsmen stating that the perpetrators of the crimes on the farmlands were mostly nomads from outside Nigeria .
According to a statement signed by the Director of Press in the office of the SGF, Bolaji Adebiyi, Lawal assured that government will enlighten Fulani Herdsmen on how to make cattle rearing more profitable by utilizing the ranches to reap other social and political benefits that such settlements will offer.
“The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir David Lawal, has reiterated the decision of the present administration to establish ranches and grazing reserves across the country as a solution to the incessant clashes between Fulani Cattle Rearers and Local Farmers.
“He also noted that nomads from outside Nigeria have migrated into the country and that they are the ones perpetuating most of the crimes on the farmlands. He assured that government will do the needful to enlighten Fulani Herdsmen on how to make cattle rearing more profitable by utilizing the ranches and reap other social and political benefits that such settlements will offer” the statement read in part.
It stated that the Tabital Pulako Njode Jam Foundation which was set up to look into the problem of clashes between Fulani Cattle Rearers and Farmers were ready to partner with government to bring the situation under control.
In another development, the SGF assured the people of North-Eastern Nigeria that government agencies, responsible for the rehabilitation of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the region, do not discriminate, in the provision of relief materials to the various states.
According to him, relief items were distributed with a deep sense of equity and fairness,and emphasized that the severity of the hardships of theIDPs in the affected communities and states was the major consideration in the distribution exercise.
He made this clarification in his office when he received a delegation from another group, the Lardin Gabas Elders Forum led by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Captain Paul Tahir.
” He explained that rehabilitation efforts in the North-East, apart from the provision of foods items, tents and building materials, included the reconstruction of schools, hospitals, police stations and barracks. He confirmed that to streamline rehabilitation activities in the region, and accelerate the return of normal life to the North-Eastern States, a Presidential Committee on North-East Initiative (PCNI) will soon be inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari.
“The Lardin Gabas Elders Forum was established as a reaction to the devastation that Boko Haram insurgency visited on the North-East Region. The Forum, according to the delegation, is ready to work with the federal government to ensure that succour is brought to victims of the insurgency.
