Governor Rotimi Akeredulu has accused Nasir El-Rufai of allegedly trying to export banditry to Southern Nigeria.
Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu has berated his counterpart in Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai for saying the anti-open grazing law passed by some southern governors is not implementable.
KanyiDaily recalls that Governor El-Rufai had recently described the anti-open grazing laws being signed by some of the southern governors as unrealistic.
El-Rufai cautioned southern governors that it is unhelpful politicizing grazing rights and passing legislation that they know cannot be implemented.
“Anti-Open Grazing Law Has Come To Stay In South”
Akeredolu in a statement signed by his Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Donald Ojogo, faulted El-Rufai’s comment, insisting that the anti-open grazing law has come to stay in Southern Nigerian.
“From all indications, Governor Nasir El-Rufai, if he was properly quoted and his views not misrepresented, is struggling hard to export banditry to the South under an expressed opinion that is laced with mischief.
“In these days and times, anyone who makes statements such as that allegedly made by the Governor belongs to a class of an unenviable ilk masquerading as leaders.
“There is no wisdom in condemning/banning open grazing, prohibiting inter border movement of cattle in the North, including Kaduna, with an accompanying disapproval of a Law that gives bite to same, in another part of the country.
“Perhaps, it is apt to state clearly that the likes of Governor El-Rufai are already in a hysteric ‘mode’ of escalating and indeed, externalising banditry, especially as the military onslaught against criminal elements and other terror variants suffices in the North.
“For emphasis, any such comment like that of the Kaduna Governor, if indeed he made that statement, merely seeks to encourage anarchy under the guise ‘of resentment of a Law by affected stakeholders’.
“In order words, it is a cleverly crafted path towards replicating in the South, the most despicable situation in the North that Nigerians of goodwill daily pray to overcome. It’s a ploy beyond the ordinary.
“It must, however, be noted that the Anti-Grazing Law, especially in Ondo State, has come to stay. It shall be zealously guarded and conscionably deployed to protect all residents of Ondo State, notwithstanding their ethnic and religious biases. Those who have nothing evil to perpetrate have nothing to fear as regards the Law.”
KanyiDaily recalls that several southern governors had signed the anti-open grazing law they agreed to put in place before the September deadline.