BENUE, Nigeria — Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has implored members of the National Assembly to stand firm against the re-emergence of a controversial bill that aims to allocate land to pastoralists nationwide, arguing it serves to undermine Nigerians’ rights to their ancestral properties.
According to a statement released on Monday, May 1, 2023, by his special adviser on media, Terver Akase, Governor Ortom drew attention to the persistent efforts by the Presidency since 2016 to pass the grazing reserves bill, despite significant public opposition.
“The government has continuously sent this bill to the National Assembly under different names, showing an unsettling determination to push it through,” Ortom stated. “If this same resolve was applied to tackling our national security issues, our country would be a much safer place for all Nigerians.”
The proposed National Grazing Reserves Council Bill, as it is now known, has been a contentious issue in Nigeria for years.
It has surfaced multiple times under various guises, such as the Grazing Management Agency bill in 2016, the National Grazing Routes and Reserves Bill in 2017, and the National Water Resources Bill, which also aimed to centralize control of water sources.
Most recently, in August 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari approved recommendations to review 368 grazing sites across 25 states. This move was also met with widespread resistance and ultimately abandoned.
Governor Ortom warned that if passed, this law would create a Council with the power to seize land anywhere in the country for grazing reserves, offering ‘compensation’ to the land owner(s).
He noted that the primary beneficiaries would be pastoralists, whose livestock would have unrestricted access to the land.
“The National Grazing Reserves Council Bill not only violates the Constitution and the Land Use Act, but it is also a blatant display of impunity and subjugation, pushing a deeply rooted conquest agenda against Nigerians,” Ortom said.
The governor stressed the importance of the National Assembly members acting as true representatives of the people, maintaining vigilance against any covert attempt to pass the bill.
“The unity and future of our nation lie in the hands of our federal lawmakers. I encourage them to remain steadfast in their rejection of this bill and any other underhanded attempts to undermine the rights of Nigerians,” the governor concluded.
Ortom reiterated his commitment to standing against the bill, emphasizing that his position was based on patriotism, fairness, justice, and equity, rather than personal gain.
