Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose has berated the President Muhammadu Buhari administration for comments made by Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali.
Dan-Ali had called on states to relax the implementation of their Anti-Open Grazing Laws to reduce clashes between farmers and herdsmen leading to loss of lives.
In a series of tweets, Fayose described the minister’s statement as an affront on federalism and democracy in the country.
He said, “Call by the FG through the Minister of Defense, Dan-Ali that States should suspend implementation of the anti-grazing law is an affront on Federalism that is practiced in Nigeria. It is amazing that at the level of the presidency, they still see states as appendages of the FG.
“January this year, the Minister of Defense blamed passage of anti-grazing law in some states as the cause of killings by herdsmen. Today, he is still singing the same song. Is there something to this old system of nomadic cattle rearing that they are not telling Nigerians?
“Why is @MBuhari not rearing his cows through open grazing? Why is it so difficult for the FG to support cattle ranching?
Here in Ekiti, the Anti Open Grazing law stays. It is the Presidency that should stop looking the other way while herdsmen go about killing Nigerians.
“Methinks the Presidency should be concerned about how to take the herdsmen out of the bush and give them decent life by embracing cattle ranching. How can anyone be pleased subjecting his own people to a life of following cows through the bush from Yobe to Lagos?
“And our President will open his mouth today and say that Nigeria is safe and secure?
I doubt if the President reads newspapers.”