The Youth Leader, Ekiti State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Rotimi Adekola, has condemned the threat issued by Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) against Governor Ayodele Fayose over the seizure of five cows belonging to its members for contravening the state anti-grazing law.
The PDP Youth leader said the threat was a flagrant debasement of the country’s federal system of government, which conferred legitimacy on the 36 federating states to enact laws for peaceful co-existence among its citizens.
Adekola was reacting to the statement issued by the national leader of the group on Saturday, calling for immediate reversal of the state Anti-Grazing Law 2016, banning open and free range grazing of cattle in Ekiti.
The group also accused the governor of killing the cattle of members indiscriminately, threatening to take decisive actions against the state government if the trend was not halted.
However, in a statement issued in Ado Ekiti on Thursday, Adekola urged Ekiti youths not to treat the threat with levity but be on red alert to be able to curtail any untoward actions taken by the group.
Adekola, who condemned the group for taking Ekiti for granted, called on the federal government to call the group to order to prevent resurgence of ethnic feud in the country.
The youth leader said: “The MACBAN threat is not only unconstitutional but morally reprehensible. It sounds so unfathomable that a group could go all hog to threaten a whole state governor, who had acted within the purview of the law to protect his people from wanton killing and destruction.
“The Governor didn’t act illegally. Sequel to the attack on Oke Ako Ekiti leading to the demise of two innocent farmers and acting on litany of complaints emanating from farmers on how their farmlands were being destroyed, he sent a bill to the House of Assembly and was passed into law after thorough debates to the effect that there should be controlled and regulated grazing in Ekiti.
“The questions to ask now are: Were the affected Miyetti Allah Cattle breeders operating in Ekiti not aware of the law? Were they not carried along at every stage of the procedures leading to the passage of the law? It was evidently clear that every critical stakeholder participated in the public hearing at the floor of the Assembly. Even the group was represented by Alhaji Mohammed Zaiyyanu during the hearing and he made his own contributions.”
“We want to warn the group to stop launching unwarranted attacks on Governor Fayose for defending the corporate interest of his people. We are also demanding unreserved apologies from this group for putting Ekiti people under unnecessary stress and for challenging the authority vested in a validly elected governor for doing what was right and just for good governance”, Adekola concluded.
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