Ebonyi State Government on Thursday said the claim by the federal government that it had agreed to provide land for cattle ranching was false.

Federal government had on Tuesday listed Ebonyi among the ten states that had agreed to provide land for ranching.

It said the aim of the ranching plan is to reduce farmers/herders clashes which have claimed thousands of lives in the country over the years.

Aside the loss of lives, the federal government also said that Nigeria loses about $14 billion (₦5.04 trillion) annually to the conflicts.

The ten states listed by the federal for the ranching, for which it plans to spend N179 billion over the next 10 years include: Adamawa, Benue, Ebonyi, Edo, Kaduna, Nassarawa, Oyo, Plateau, Taraba and Zamfara.

Tagged ‘The National Livestock Transformation Plan, the new plan is built on six key pillars: economic investment, conflict resolution, law and order, humanitarian relief, information education and strategic communication; and cross-cutting issues.

The presentation of the plan was made by technical adviser to National Economic Council (NEC), Mr Andrew Kwasari, on Tuesday in Abuja. The event had in attendance several public officials including Minister of Agriculture, Mr Audu Ogbeh; and Governor of Benue State, Mr Samuel Ortom.

The officials present said the plan was already adopted by all state governors, who are members of NEC.

But addressing journalists after the state executive council meeting on Thursday, the state commissioner for agriculture, Mr Ikechukwu Nwobo, told the federal government that there was no vacant land for cattle ranching in the state.

Nwobo said the state executive council frowned at the news “that the state has directed or provided for a cattle ranch in Ebonyi State.”

“The highest organ of Ebonyi State is the state executive council and the state security council and any decision taken by this council is the last bus stop for the people and government of Ebonyi State. Whether federal government consulted us, we are not aware of that. The state executive council has decided and made sure that there is no land for ranching in Ebonyi State.

“We never provided land for ranching in Ebonyi State and it is still our position and that those land they said is for ranching is for those Northern state that have always been doing ranching which have been gazzeted before now.”

Nwobo said the state had no idea that it was included in the ranching.

“We were not gazzeted. There is no land for any ranching in Ebonyi State and we are not aware that we are among those mentioned as ranching states.

“The ranching programme being done by the federal government does not include Ebonyi State and it has been redirected to those states in the North where the farmlands have been gazetted and have ranching ground which they will now revitalized”.

PT