No open grazing in Benue State ―Ortom’s CPS

Following the enactment of anti-open grazing law in Benue state, the state government has said that the law has phased out grazing of livestock across the state.

The Chief Press Secretary to the state Governor, Mr Terver Akase, disclosed this while speaking with newsmen on the law.

Akase said that both farmers and pastoralists have embraced the law.

He said that those who violated the law were arrested and had their livestock impounded.

Speaking on the continuous stay of the displaced persons in camps, Akase described the situation as a sad story, saying that state government had done everything within its limit to sustain the IDPs and to cater for them.

He said, “We appreciate some development partners, civil society organizations who came in to lend a helping hand.

“But you know that the resources of the Benue State government has been overstretched and that’s why we are hoping that with the presence of Operation Whirl Stroke, these people will be relocated to their ancestral homes.

“But is going to be gradual because you can’t just do that now and ask all of them to vacate the camp”

“Because if you move them into their homes without the presence of security, you will endanger them. So, it is better to allow the security presence to be there.

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” Some have left the camps to go back to their homes to see how they can put up their destroyed homes and then do one or two farming activities so that when they go back, they will have something to sustain themselves with.

” It’s not something you just do by moving people into an empty space. It will be worse than keeping them in the camps if you do that. So, that is why we are hoping that the federal government will extend the life span of Operation Whirl Stroke here so that we continue to push the relocation process of these people to their homes.

Akase commended the federal government for listening to the yearnings of Benue people by with the deployment of Operation Whirl Stroke.

The operation, he added had done a very good job in the past one year restoring relative peace in troubled parts of the state.