Dave Umahi, the governor of Ebonyi State, has been named the chairman of the sub-committee of the National Economic Council, NEC, to seek dialogue and interface with cattle herders under the aegis of ‘Miyetti Allah’ and other stakeholders as part of efforts to end the persistent bloody clashes in various parts of the country.
This was announced on Thursday, February 1, 2018 after Yemi Osinbajo, vice president of Nigeria, chaired a meeting with Abdurahman Dambazzau, minister of the interior, and governors of some states on the killings perpetrated by terrorist Fulani herdsmen as well as government’s proposal to establish cattle colonies in states willing to embrace the programme.
The meeting, held at the vice president’s office for about three hours, was attended by Governors Simon Lalong of Plateau State; Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna); Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara); Dave Umahi (Ebonyi); Jibrilla Bindow (Adamawa); the deputy governor of Benue State, Benson Abonu, as well as Audu Ogbeh, minister of Agriculture.
Emerging from the closed-door parley, none of the participants was willing to speak to the press, except Yari, who reluctantly explained that the Umahi committee would engage relevant technocrats and experts while seeking resolution to the challenge that is snowballing into a national security emergency.
According to the Zamfara State governor: “There is progress; this committee is a NEC committee established by the Vice President so that this issue of herdsmen/farmers’ clashes will be put to rest; although it is a long standing problem since 2007 in some states, particularly in my own state, we have been battling with it.
“Now, the states and Federal Government under the leadership of the Vice President, we agreed to have a small committee at NEC so that the situation will not get out of hand, so that it won’t be looked at as an ethnic or religious crisis.
“So, in our discussion today, we have set up a committee headed by governor of Ebonyi State, while Plateau and Adamawa governors are members; and we are bringing some other technocrats that will visit the hotspots.
“People will be brought to join the committee from hotspot states – Benue, Taraba, Adamawa and Zamfara, where there is crisis so that they can interface with the Miyetti Allah and other groups to see how we can reduce this to the barest minimum.
“Why we cannot say we can put this matter to rest is because some of them have taken this as a money-making venture, some are criminals who hide under this to perpetrate this act.
“As government, we have to take all the measures despite the fact that the Army, Police, all the security agents are on the field at the respective places, still we have to form this committee to interface with those actors so that this matter can be reduced to the barest minimum and possibly wipe it off.”
