At least six states have rejected the newly introduced federal government National Livestock Transformation Programme.
The states are Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Cross River, Delta, Edo, and Oyo States.
According to them, they will not donate any land to be used as grazing reserves for herdsmen under the National Livestock Transformation Programme.
The programme is an initiative of the federal government designed to run from 2019-2028 as part of its initiative in collaboration with state governments under the auspices of the National Economic Council.
Despite the rejection of the programme, 17 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory, as well as three southern states, namely Ekiti, Ondo, and Ebonyi, have signed up for the programme.
The six states stressed that any individual who wanted to go into ranching should rather look for land to buy.
The Delta state government said that the state had moved past talks on grazing reserves for herdsmen, saying it would never be part of such a plan.
Also, the Anambra State government said it had no plans to create grazing reserves for herdsmen. On its part, the Akwa Ibom state government said it was not creating grazing reserves for herders in the state.
The Cross River state government also said it did not have any immediate plans to create grazing reserves for herders in the state.
In Oyo State, the government also rejected the federal government’s NLTP programme. In Edo, an official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the state viewed herding as any other animal husbandry business, and as such would not give any preferential treatment to herders.
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