Osun legislator commends FG for suspending Ruga policy

The Chief Whip of Osun state House of Assembly, Tunde Olatunji, has commended the federal government for suspending the Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) policy.

Olatunji of the All Progressives Congress (APC), representing Ife-North, who made the commendation while speaking with newsmen in Osogbo, said the suspension was a confirmation that the APC-led government was responsive, responsible and accountable to Nigerians.

The lawmaker also said that the suspension would enable the government to throw the policy into the public space for more engaging discussion with Nigerians.

According to him, a large number of Nigerians have expressed their displeasure with the purported introduction of the policy due to their little knowledge and information about it and the volatile nature of ethnic suspicion in Nigeria.

Olatunji noted that after developing an acceptable modern cattle rearing/grazing solution, it was also extremely important to complement with effective measures to address environmental factors.

He said environmental factor like the drying up of Lake Chad, growing desertification and other human activities that had over the years become enablers of the serious crises should be considered.

“We cannot move forward as a nation if we continue to hold ourselves back with primordial sentiments of politics, religion and ethnicity. It is very important for us to take conscious and bold steps to evolve policies that would bring sustainable development without compromising the peaceful coexistence of the country,” Olatunji said.