Farmers rally in support of anti-grazing bill in Taraba

Breeders allege poisoning of cows in Nasarawa
Farmers in Taraba State have pledged their support for the anti-grazing bill currently at the state House of Assembly.

The farmers yesterday embarked on a peaceful demonstration to the assembly complex, carrying various farm implements.

They urged the people to support the lawmakers to give the bill an accelerated passage.

Acting under the umbrella of Farmers Protection Association (FPA), they said “the bill would bring a sustainable solution to the protracted land dispute in the state.”

According to the association’s Chairman, Ibrahim Bitrus: “The bill is the long awaited panacea to a problem that has defiled solution. We are totally in support of the deliberations on the bill and the public hearing to receive inputs to make it acceptable to all.”

They urged Governor Darius Ishaku to continue to provide the necessary incentives to farmers to make the state to “take its rightful position as the number one food basket and nature’s gift to the nation.”

The Speaker of the assembly, Peter Abel Diah told the farmers that the lawmakers would perform their duty as enshrined in the constitution.

Diah appealed to the farmers to attend the public hearing to make their contributions to the bill’s passage.

Meanwhile, a group from Benue south, under the aegis of “Concerned Citizen from Benue South Senatorial District’”has condemned the statement by the Miyetti Allah Kautai Hore, claiming ownership of Benue valley.

The group’s Chairman, Abba Yaro, told journalists that the cattle breeders’ claim was not only provocative but also, offensive to the spirit of the Nigerian Constitution

Yaro urged Governor Samuel Ortom to use all necessary legal means to resist any security breach in the state.

But in Nasarawa, the Chairman, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association in Nasarawa State, Mohammed Hussaini has alleged that fishermen poisoned 155 cows belonging to its members in Akwanga Local Council Area.

He warned that the association would not tolerate the poisoning of cows’ source of water.

Hussaini cautioned against labeling all cattle breeders as Hausa or Fulani herdsmen, adding that all tribes, including the Yoruba, Nupe, Junkun or Beron all have their various cattle breeders associations.