By Tony Adibe
The menace of decades-old, controversial open grazing would become history in Enugu State upon completion of the 11,000-hectare ranch being constructed by the Governor Peter Mbah-led administration.
This disclosure was made by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, Enugu State, Engr. Anyaora Okereke, during a tour of key projects being executed by the state government under Governor Peter Mbah.
The government is currently building its flagship 15,000-capacity cattle ranch at the Integrated Livestock Development Centre in Ubahu/Amankanu within the Nkanu East Local Government Area of the state.
“This ranch is like a game-changer. When nobody is patronizing your business anymore, you will have no other option than to move into the ranch; either you join what we are doing, or you move (leave) because you won’t have market (patronage) if you are into open grazing,” said Engr. Okereke.
The expansive ranch, regarded as a very ambitious project, has the initial capacity of taking in 15,000 cattle, and the idea behind it is to create jobs for the teeming youths, ensure all cattle are kept in the ranch, thereby ending open grazing and its negative fallouts in Enugu State, according to Engr. Okereke, who represented the Commissioner for Works, Engr. Ben Osy Okoh during the project tour.
“There is already a law on open grazing in Enugu State. The law will be enforceable,” said Engr. Okereke, who was quick to add: “We are against grazing. But if you want to graze, let it be within a ranch.”
“Government is creating the enabling environment so that nobody will say that there is no alternative. The anti-open-grazing law is already there. So once this ranch is completed and government asks you to move in here, the enforcement is activated automatically, immediately. So, if you don’t want to move into this place, you leave Enugu State for us,” said further.
The two projects – a ranch that is 1,000 hectares less than the entire Enugu capital territory, and a dual carriage road linking Enugu East Senatorial Zone to Benue State and other Northern parts of Nigeria–are currently being executed by the state government.
The Anti-Grazing Law
NewsBits recalls that the anti-grazing law in Enugu State is formally known as the Prohibition of Open Grazing and Cattle Ranching Law. It was signed into law in September 2021 by the then Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, following agreement by the Southern Governors Forum to ban cattle grazing.
The Ban: The law completely prohibits the open rearing and grazing of livestock and cattle across public and private lands in Enugu State.
The Regulation: Instead of moving cattle freely from place to place, cattle owners must establish and operate enclosed ranches.
Purpose: The legislation aims to stop frequent violent clashes between crop farmers and nomadic herdsmen, protect local agricultural produce, and improve overall security and peace in the state.
Penalties: The law sets penalties for violators who lead livestock onto open fields or destroy community farmlands. But local farmers have often expressed worry over the frequency or consistency of its enforcement in practical terms; hence, cattle herders still move about grazing their cattle as if there is no law against such an act.
However, the massive 11,000-hectare ranch, which was officially inaugurated by the Hon. Minister of Livestock Development, Mr. Idi Mukhtar Maiha, in December 2025, and is being supported by the World Bank through the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES), it was learnt.
When completed, the ranch will have such facilities as feeding, deboning, chilling, freezing, and packaging sections. “They are going to set up dairy farm here. And we are going to produce fresh milk here for the production of yoghurt here. And the species of cattle they are going to bring in is such that, I think you would be able to have full mature beef, after three months,” Okereke said.
Throwing further light on the project, Engr. Okereke said: “They are going to have poultry, but now they are developing the place basically for cattle. They have cleared a lot of farms.
“We are against grazing. But if you want to graze, let it be within a ranch. So, they are developing a lot of farms. They have so many farm blocks there. Now they will move their cattle from one farm to another in seasons. I think it’s about three-month intervals. They also have feed blocks. You bring in the roughage and deposit, and the cattle will come there and eat. We are going to bring in cattle here. It’s going to end open grazing in Enugu.”
Size Of The Ranch:
The Permanent Secretary further gave a graphic description of the massive size of the ranch, insisting that there is no number of cattle you would bring that could occupy the whole space in the ranch.
“As I said before, the ranch is 11,000 hectares. That is to say, it is 1,000 hectares short of the total area of old Enugu, you know – Enugu, Abakpa, Trans-Ekulu, Emene, Achara Layout, Idaw River, Uwani, Coal Camp, Independence Layout, New Haven, GRA. All the places you know as Enugu is 12,000 hectares. The ranch here is 11,000 hectares. So, it’s for you to understand the size and magnitude of what is being done,” he said.
Although he said that the Enugu State government “will soon bring in the cattle here,” he could not specify exactly when the project would be completed. “Very soon, they (cattle) will be arriving, but you cannot bring them if you are not well prepared.”
He explained that individuals could also have their “space here” if they want to. They will allocate a space for you here.”
Okereke also took the journalists to inspect the virgin road – the 38-kilometre brand new dual-carriage road to link Enugu East Senatorial Zone faster to Benue State and other northern parts of Nigeria.
“This is Ama Nkanu, Umuolo-Ikem Road. It’s a 38-kilometre road; it’s a brand new dual-carriage road. It’s a virgin road. Let me put it that way. And it’s part of the reasons you are seeing some of these things such as the ranch.”
He further described the road as a “very major gateway” on the eastern belt of Enugu State connecting the northern part and the southern part. He explained that at Ikem, the road extends a few kilometers to Nkwo Ikem “before you get” into Benue. “So it’s a short access to northern Nigeria,” he remarked.
According to Okereke, the road would be beneficial to people from Cross River, Abakaliki in Ebonyi State, Amagunze, and other Nkanu areas who would like to travel to Benue State and other parts of the Northern region. “It’s shorter than passing through Nsukka Road,” said Okereke, who added that the work is being handled by the China Construction Company Nigeria Limited.
