The All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker representing Delta Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, has advised the federal government to dump the evil proposition of establishing cattle colonies across the nation. The Senator emphatically stated that he and his constituency would not allowed such in his state.
In a statement he issued in Warri, Senator Omo-Agege, said majority of the Urhobo people that constitute Delta Central Senatorial District are strongly opposed to cattle colonies in their territory. The APC Senator further argued that the establishment of cattle colonies will not in any way curb the incessant herdsmen and farmers crises as claimed by the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, but would rather worsen the issue by further dividing Nigeria along ethnic and religious lines. He said his position is also the position of most states in the whole of South-south, Southeast, the Middle-belt amongst other zones, given the widespread opposition that have greeted the evil agenda across the country.
He said he arrived at the position after series of consultations with his constituents, following the announcement by the embattled Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, that cattle colonies will be established across the country for herdsmen to curb the increasing cases of clashes between farmers and herdsmen in the country.
Hear him, “No one wants it and no community is ready to give up its land to those who have killed their people and raped their wives under any circumstances. So count us out of any cattle colony arrangement.” He also blamed the increased violent herdsmen/farmers clashes on the decade long failure by security agencies to enforce the country’s laws, adding that only strict enforcement of the fire arms law that will ensure the safety of communities and peaceful co-existence of the herdsmen and farmers in any part of the country.
Earlier before the Senator’s statement, government of Delta State led by His Excellency, Mr. Ifeanyi Okowa had officially stated that it will not spare even a plot of land in the state for cattle breeding colony insisting that cattle breeding is a private business and so do not see any reason why the federal government would want to acquire lands in every state for some Fulanis that are doing their private business to occupy.
