Headline

Open Grazing: Obaseki’s Demand For Fund Betrayal Of Edo People, Southern Govs’ Resolution – CSO

Published

4 years ago

October 21, 2021

Editor

… Declares No Ceding Of Land To FG

… Demands Law Prohibiting Open Grazing

… Recommends Six Months Jail Term For Violators

The Edo Civil Society Organisations, EDOCSO, says governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki’s recent demand for fund from the Federal Government for a National Livestock Transformation Programme was a betrayal of Edo people and resolution reached at a town hall meeting by the Southern Forum Governors’ Forum on open grazing.

Obaseki had, after attending the town hall meeting on Tuesday, flew to Abuja on Wednesday to demand from the Federal Government fund for Livestock Transformation Programme in the state.

Obaseki said in the meeting with Buhari: “It should also be able to help Edo people benefit from the funding that is now being made available for people who want to go into the livestock business and have made investments in ranches and other similar livestock programmes.”

But EDOCSO, in a press conference held in Benin on Thursday to make it stand and that of Edo people known, said if the agreement reached at the town hall meeting by the Southern Governors’ Forum was in variation with Obaseki’s demand from Buhari, then it is a betrayal of trust, adding that such would not be tolerated in the state.

Bishop Osadolor Ochei
Interim Chairman, The Extended Council, TEC, while addressing the press at the conference called on Obaseki to obey the decision and resolution he and other Southern governors reached at the town hall meeting.

While noting that traditional rulers and the church in the state have all made it clear to the Governor that the state has no land for open grazing, Osadolor called on the Governor to, as a matter of urgency, transmit a bill on anti-open-grazing to the state House of Assembly so as to pass it in to law so that “we all can have peace. ”

“Edo people will not be a party to ceding their lands to the Federal Government plan in whatever disguise. There is no going back on the ban on open grazing in Edo state which is the yearnings of Edo people. Owners of cattle should build their ranches to carry out their legitimate business.

“We are giving him till the second week of November to transmit the said bill to the Edo State House of Assembly so it can become law,” he demanded.

He posited that, “Cattle owner that allows his cattle to graze on a farmer’s land or destroy any property should be made to serve a jail term not less than six months and pay compensation to the farmer whose farm is destroyed. He should also stand the chance of forfeiting the cattle to the state government.”

Osadolor further posited: “The provision of colony to cattle owners should be discouraged. Every cattle owner should purchase/lease land for the purpose of ranching and/or any other farming operations.All cattle owners must ranch their cattle. It is not the business of government to provide lands for cattle owners.”

The civil society organistion therefore called on Obaseki to stop further discussion on the National Livestock Transformation Programme with the Federal Government irrespective of the monetary benefits.

While calling on the state government to invest on the agric sector, the civil society organistion stressed that this would address food scarcity and other issues in the state.

Related Topics:EDOCSO Obaseki Open Grazing

Up Next

Collaborations Between NSSEC, SSEB Will Improve Qualities Of secondary Schools- Executive Secretary

Don't Miss

Nnamdi Kanu’s Trial: Ezeife, British Envoy Arrives Abuja Court

Comments

Headline

12 Die, 30 Missing In Peru Landslide

Published

5 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

At least 12 people, including three children, died in a landslide at a river port in central Peru on Monday, and 30 were reported missing, officials said.

The landslide submerged a boat with about 50 passengers on board, and another with none, as they were docked at the port of Iparia in the Amazon jungle region of Ucayali, according to a police report cited by the Andina news agency.

Six people were injured, it added, and a search and rescue operation was underway at the start of the Peruvian rainy season.

Without giving a toll, Peru’s COEN national emergency operations centre said on X that tragedy struck at dawn due to “erosion” of the bank of the Ucayali river.

It said the navy has been called in to help.

AFP

Headline

Nigeria Grants Asylum To Guinea-Bissau Opposition Candidate

Published

5 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian embassy in Guinea-Bissau has granted asylum to Fernando Dias da Costa, the country’s opposition presidential candidate, following alleged threats to his life after last week’s military coup, The Cable Reports.

The coup was announced by military officers on Wednesday, just days after Guinea-Bissau’s presidential election in which both incumbent President Umaro Embaló and his main challenger, da Costa, claimed victory before official results were released.

Nigeria condemned the takeover and urged an immediate return to constitutional order.

In a letter to the President of the Economic Community of West African States Commission, Omar Touray, dated November 30, the Foreign Affairs Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, said President Bola Tinubu had approved asylum and protection for da Costa inside the Nigerian embassy in Bissau.

Tuggar wrote that the decision was made “in response to threats made against da Costa’s life.”

“In this regard, it would be appreciated if you would kindly mandate the ECOWAS Stabilisation Support Mission in Guinea-Bissau to provide him protection and security while in the premises of the Nigerian embassy,” the letter stated.

The foreign affairs minister’s Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy, Alkasim Abdulkadir, confirmed the letter’s authenticity to The Cable on Monday.

He said, “The decision of the Federal Government of Nigeria to grant asylum and provide protection to Fernando Dia Da Costa falls squarely within Nigeria’s sovereign responsibility and longstanding commitment to regional peace, stability, and democratic governance.”

He added that Nigeria acted “in the broader interest of de-escalation,” saying the government had exercised its discretion “to prevent further deterioration of tensions and to promote social cohesion in Guinea-Bissau and the wider West African sub-region.”

According to Abdulkadir, the intervention aligns with ECOWAS principles and reflects Nigeria’s role as a stabilising force in West Africa.

Following the coup, ECOWAS held an emergency virtual summit of heads of state and subsequently suspended Guinea-Bissau from the regional bloc until constitutional order is restored.

Headline

Trump To Attend FIFA World Cup Finals Draw On Friday

Published

6 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

The White House on Monday confirmed US President Donald Trump would attend the draw for the FIFA World Cup finals in Washington later this week.

The United States will co-host the 2026 tournament alongside Canada and Mexico.

“On Friday, President Trump will attend the FIFA World Cup final draw at the Kennedy Centre,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

Trump has made the World Cup a centrepiece event of both his second presidency and the 250th anniversary of US independence next year.

But the giant sporting extravaganza has not escaped the political turmoil caused by Trump’s hardline stance on a host of issues.

Trump, a Republican, has raised the possibility of moving games from some US host cities amid a crackdown on what he says is crime and illegal migration in some Democratic-run areas.

AFP