Kogi State governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, has vowed not to introduce any anti-grazing law to curtail the activities of Fulani herdsmen in the state.
Instead, the governor threw the gate of the state opened to Fulani herdsmen, who have been finding it difficult to stay in states like Benue, Ekiti and Nassarawa states to see Kogi as their next destination.
Bello said the state was ready not only to accommodate them but also provide security for their lives and property.
The governor, who spoke at a tripartite stakeholders meeting between the state government and the Miyyeti Allah Cattle Rearers Association, and the Farmers Association, said the people of the state must go and learn how to coexist peacefully with the herdsmen.
He also vowed to adopt all available means to punish any traditional ruler who failed to instill discipline and prevent further breakdown of law and order in their domain.
The Governor in his reaction to incidents of killing and cattle rustling between the herdsmen and farmers, said that the state government in collaboration with security agents will ensure it mobilise all available resources to checkmate criminality so that the Fulani and the farmers live harmoniously together.
“The Fulani must realize that farming the major occupation of our people and and if you destroy their crops through grassing, how do you want them to feel? he quipped.”
The governor also drew the attention of the farmers to the constitutional guarantees of freedom of movement and settlement in 1999 constitution as amended saying “I will not deviate from that constitutional provision.”
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