The Benue Youth Forum, BYF has lauded Governor Samuel Ortom over his recent comments on amended Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, 2017.
DAILY POST reports that the governor, during an interview with Arise TV on Friday, said the law which was recently amended with stiffer penalties has recorded successes in the battle against insecurity in the state.
According to the new law, owners of animals impounded within the state will pay the fines of N50,000, N10,000, N5,000 and N1,000, respectively, per cow, sheep, goat and bird or poultry for violating the law as amended.
Reacting to Ortom’s interview, the Benue Youths, in a statement issued and made available to DAILY POST on Saturday by its president, Terrence Kuanum, said the governor was right in all his exposition during the interview.
The statement reads, “The Governor was right when he said the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law of Benue State has been successfully enforced with great achievements recorded. It is true as the Governor stated that the spate of armed Fulani herdsmen attacks has reduced with only a few cases of violations of the law still being witnessed in the border communities.
“It is absolutely correct that President Muhammadu Buhari is not ready to solve security issues in the country, otherwise why would he be insisting on reopening cattle routes when the three regions in the country have banned open grazing? It is a clandestine support from him to the altracious killings by the armed Fulani herdsmen”.
According to the group, Ortom spoke the minds of the majority of Nigerians particularly the Benue people when he said that the day President Buhari decides to end the attacks on innocent people by suspected herdsmen, the menace would become a thing of the past.
The group urged President Muhammadu Buhari “to come down from his high ego horse and listen to critical stakeholders like Governor Ortom who have been offering viable solutions for fixing security, economy and other critical issues to move the country forward.
“Lastly, we urge the Buhari administration and its agents to focus on their mandate of providing leadership to alleviate the suffering of the people and desist from vilifying and castigating true nationalists and patriots like Governor Samuel Ortom.
“The President’s poor handling of the economy has made Nigerians poor and hungry, with a high rate of unemployment and a staggering debt profile. Nothing is working and we citizens of this country cannot wait for the expiration of an insensitive administration of the Buhari led Federal Government before we raise our voices”.
No comments:
Post a Comment