Reps to probe N100bn released for construction of mini ranches

There was a mild drama on Thursday when the House of Representatives resolved to set up an ad-hoc committee to investigate the disbursement and utilisation of the N100 billion released for the construction of mini ranches across the country.

The ad-hoc committee when set up is expected to report back to the House within four weeks for further legislative action.

The House resolution followed a motion moved by Hon. Karimi Sunday entitled, “urgent need to investigate the N100 Billion released by the Central Bank of Nigeria for the Construction of modern mini Ranches across the nation”

Hardly had the sponsor of the motion, Honourable Sunday moved his motion when the Minority Leader, Honourable Leo Ogor raised a point of order, relying on Order 9 of the rules of the House.

But the Deputy Speaker, Hon Yusuf Lasun who presided over the session overruled him, saying that since the motion is an investigative one members should be allow to decide.

While moving the motion, the lawmaker said that, “a committee set up by the Federal Government in 2014 on Grazing Reserves under the Chairmanship of the former Governor of Benue State, Mr. Gabriel Suswan which identified issues causing the conflicts between herdsmen and farmers to include struggle for land and water and uncontrolled influx of nomadic herdsmen, and thus noted that grazing reserves and cattle routes already gazetted had been encroached upon and such routes should be recovered and improved upon, taking into consideration present day realities.

The lawmaker also noted that, the recurring conflicts, attacks and counter attacks and killings between herdsmen and local farmers all over the country in the last five years over the grazing of cattle and other ruminants on farmlands.

According to him, “as a result of the above findings, the Committee recommended the release of N100 billion through the Central Bank of Nigeria as seed funding to all the States for the construction of ranches.

The N100 billion he said was approved by the National Economic Council to various States of the Federation for the construction of modern mini ranches in a bid to boost agricultural yields and put an end to the conflicts arising from the traditional method of grazing.

He however, submitted that, the approval for the release of the money is a contravention of section 80 (4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 which provides that no moneys shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Revenue Fund or any other Public Fund of the Federation except  in the manner prescribed by the National Assembly.

To this end, he said, despite the release of the money without parliamentary approval, there has not been any ranch constructed anywhere in the country to account for the expenditure of the money, and as a result, the conflicts they were intended to cure have exacerbated, leading to more killings which are scaring farmers in most parts of the country from going to the farms for fear of their lives.

He then maintained that sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution empowers the National Assembly to investigate the utilization of public funds in order to curb waste.

Also, another attempt by Hon Samson Okwu to stop the motion was overruled by the presiding officer.

When the motion was put to vote by the Deputy Speaker, Hon Lasun it was supported by majority of the lawmaker.