Nyesom Wike, the Rivers State Governor, has revealed plans to send an anti-open grazing bill to the Rivers State House of Assembly.
This is part of moves to ban open grazing of cattle across the state.
The Governor made the announcement in Port Harcourt.
He said the decision to send the bill is in compliance with the resolution reached during the meeting of Southern Governors in Asaba, the Delta State capital last month.
Governor Wike’s pronouncement is, however, in variance with the pronouncement of President Muhammadu Buhari that he has directed the recovery of cattle routes to enable the country go back to the practice which was obtainable in the first republic.
But Governor Wike said the anti-grazing law must be enacted in the state to protect Rivers people. He said, “Let me say clearly, now that the Assembly has come back we have to submit a bill; an anti-grazing bill as we agreed at the southern Governors forum”.
“So everybody must understand it, it is clear and without hesitation, we must do it to protect our farms, to protect our women, to protect our youths so that nobody will go and kill them.”
