Ebonyi State Government on Thursday denied receiving N6 billion from the Federal Government as grant for ranching.
The Special Assistant to the President, Mr. Garba Shehu, on Wednesday night, alleged that Ebonyi was among the four states that had received N6bn each from the Federal Government for ranching.
According to the President’s aide, Ebonyi, Yobe, Katsina and the Federal Capital Territory got N6bn each, totaling N24bn from the Federal Government, for ranching and associated purposes.
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Shehu had stated this in an interview on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television, on Wednesday night.
According to Shehu, “Yes, Katsina has been given; but Katsina is not the only state that has been given.
“So far, about N24bn has been disbursed to about four states for ranching and associated activities.
“Yobe has been given, Ebonyi has been given and FCT has been given. More than eight other states are now being processed for this payment.”
But the Ebonyi State Government has rejected the statement credited to the presidential aide, describing it as untrue.
It said it neither received any money nor had any land for ranching in the state.
A statement titled, “‘Ebonyi State maintains its stance that there is no land for ranching in the state,’ signed by Governor David Umahi’s Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Francis Nwaze, on Thursday, the state government noted that anybody who embarked on ranching in the state does so at his personal cost.
The statement reads, “We have received the news making the rounds that Ebonyi State is among the states in the federation that had received the sum of N6bn each for ranching, as attributed to the Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Garba Shehu, while responding to questions on Channels Television on Wednesday night and we wish to clarify as follows:
“That Ebonyi State Government never at any time received any money for ranching in the state and will not receive any money for the same purpose, as there is no available land for ranching in the state.
“That, should any Ebonyi man opt to engage in personal ranching, Ebonyians should see such venture as a personal decision of such person who must use his/her land for the purpose.
“This is because Ebonyi State Government has continued to maintain that there is no land for ranching in the state and it is not about reneging from the decision.”