Benue: ECRI rejects Pilot Ranching, demands return of IDPs to ancestral homes.
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By Peter Duru, Makurdi The Ebenezer Christian Relief Initiative (ECRI) has rejected the proposed pilot ranching programme in Benue State, insisting that the state has no land to accommodate the initiative and urging the Federal Government to prioritise the return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to their ancestral homes.
Dr Augustine Leva, stated this in Makurdi during a press briefing, where he maintained that the organisation would not support the implementation of pilot ranching in the state.
Leva, a former Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Benue State chapter, argued that Benue already had a legal framework prohibiting open grazing and regulating livestock management, stressing that any Federal Government initiative must respect existing state laws and the rights of landowners and farming communities. He said the Federal Government must not introduce policies capable of undermining the interests and security of the people without adequate consultation with relevant stakeholders. According to him, “We do not have land in Benue to give for ranching. Ranching and other livestock management policies should not be imposed on the people without adequate and genuine consultation with the State Government, traditional rulers, community leaders, farmers and other relevant stakeholders.” The ECRI chairman stressed that the organisation was not opposed to lawful livestock development but insisted that the protection of human lives, property, farmlands and community rights must remain paramount.
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