By Babs Oyetoro
The Federal Government may again run into a head-on-collision with some governors on the controversial grazing routes policy in the country.

While the Presidency insists that grazing routes still remained in force, some governors, especially southern governors, consider the move to revert to the policy as archaic.

The president, Muhammadu Buhari, had on Arise Television interview, penultimate week, stated that his administration would resuscitate the grazing routes and areas as provided for in a gazette.
He noted that those who had encroached on such lands would be evicted.

It would be recalled that the president’s position on the grazing routes came two weeks after the 17 southern governors banned open grazing in the region, opting instead for ranching.

To this end, the President said he had asked the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, to begin the process of recovering land from persons who had converted cattle grazing routes for their personal use.
However, this pronouncement from the presidency has elicited spontaneous reactions from prominent Nigerians and southern governors who had never hidden their position on the vexed issue.

The southern governors faulted the President Buhari over the existence of a gazette, which marked out grazing routes for cattle across the country, as they all insisted on the ban on open grazing, despite the president’s opposition to it
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In his reaction, the Chairman, South-South Governors’ Forum and Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, said that, as of 1963, the state had not been created.

The governor, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Olise Ifeajika, stated, “Yes, Mr President directed the AGF to dig out a gazette of 1963 which marked out cattle routes across the country.

“Delta State has no such law because the 1963 gazette he talked about does not in exist in the state.”
Okowa maintained that whether the president backed it or not, the governors in the south had made their position on the ban on open grazing known and nothing would change it.

Reopening grazing routes unacceptable, Afenifere tells Buhari

“We stand by our resolutions” the governor added.
Also, the Ondo State Government said it was oblivious of the existence of any grazing route in the state, adding that it stood by the southern governors’ ban on open grazing, despite Buhari’s support for it.

The state government said, “We don’t know about any grazing routes in this state, and if they have them in their records, let them show us. I think events have taken over such things now.”

In the same vein, Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, said there was no part of the state designated as a grazing route.

The Nigerian Bar Association added its voice to raging issue. Its Publicity Secretary, Rapulu Nduka, doubted the existence of any gazette on grazing routes recently referred to by the President.
He said, the Land Use Act overrides it, even if it exists.

Nduka said land matters was within the purview of state governments and that the Federal Government lacked the power to dabble into it.

“Every lawyer knows that with the Land Use Act, every land belongs to the governor of a state. The governors of the states hold it in trust for their people. It is held in trust for the people by the governor of the state. So, why will the Federal Government take it upon itself to be talking about this issue?