Kogi: Tension mounts as govt tried to revive cattle grazing reserves

Attempt by the Kogi state government to resuscititate the long abandoned cattle grazing reserves that were created 52 years ago, was greeted with spontaneous protests by people from the affected local government areas.

Kogi state, which was created in 1991, inherited two cattle grazing reserves from both Kwara and Benue states one at Abejikolo in Omala local government area while the other is at Ayangan in Oke-Ibukun community of Kabba/Bunu LGA.

Last week the Commissioner for Agriculture, Hon Oloruntoba Kehinde, had directed, via a memo, the reconstitution of the grazing reserves management committee but reversed the decision yesterday due to what he termed “erroneous interpretation” of the intention of the government.

According to the commissioner in a statement he signed, the committee was set up to look into the workability of reconstituting the grazing reserve committee of the two gazetted grazing reserves and other possible suitable locations in the state to deal with the menace of herdsmen and their clashes with farmers.

He equally stated that the inauguration of the committee scheduled for today has been suspended indefinitely in view of the need to review the gazette to suite the present realities by the state house of assembly.

Hon Kehinde explained that the exercise was not targeted at any particular section of the state as was erroneously conceived by mischief makers, but to also identify other locations within the state.

He said that in view of the mounting concern of the people, the committee has been dissolved while the exercise has been suspended. Earlier, the people had bombarded top government officials with complains laddened with threats to organise protests against the grazing reserves arrangement.