Taraba Assembly commences Public Hearing on Anti Open Grazing Bill

The 7-man ad-hoc Committee constituted by the leadership of the Taraba State House of Assembly on Anti Open Grazing Bill across the state hascommenced Public hearing on the Executive Bill, “Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Bill, 2017,” forwarded to the lawmakers by Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku.

While declaring the ceremony open at the hallowed chambers of the State Assembly, Jalingo, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Abel Peter Diah, said the lawmakers, having critically observed the tenets of the Bill, saw the need to delve into it in a way the entire state will benefit, hence the composition of an ad-hoc committee who further propose for a public hearing.

He reiterated that the public hearing on the Bill was further conceived by the lawmakers towards bringing to an end, incessant bloody clashes between herdsmen and farmers in some parts of the state as well as the outbreak of animal diseases by migrant cattle coming into the state.

Rt. Hon. Diah explained that it was in view of the impact of the Bill on the lives of the people of the state that Governor Ishaku forwarded the Bill to the legislators with a view to addressing the problems.

According to him, the public hearing offers the general public the opportunity to either reject the Bill or make veritable contributions to enrich the law to be passed.

“This indeed, is a deliberate attempt by the House of Assembly to democratically give room to the public to contribute to the laws that are formulated for the good governance of the state”, he said.

He pointed out that the Bill, if passed into law, will focus on some objectives which will be beneficial to the citizenry.

Some of the objectives, he noted, are to prevent clashes between herders and farmers; regulation and support to the growth of livestock farming and management of the environmental impact of open livestock grazing; prevention, control and managing the spread of diseases as well as ease the implementation of policies that enhance the production of a high quality and healthy breed of livestock both for the local and export markets.

Earlier, in his address of welcome, the Chairman, House of Assembly ad-hoc Committee on Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranchers Establishment Bill, 2017, Rt. Hon. Mark Useni Bako, appreciated the leadership of the State Assembly for availing the committee the opportunity to serve in that capacity.

Mr. Chairman, who called on the cooperation of the invited guests, especially the stakeholders from different quarters, added that fair contributions, suggestions and observations will be noted with a promise from the Committee that justice will be done on the bill.

Daily Times gathered that public hearing on the bill, scheduled to hold in the three senatorial districts of the state, commenced with the Northern zone, in Jalingo where a number of stakeholders presented both written and oral memoranda on the bill.