RUGA: Governors Reveal Only Way Herdsmen Can Enter South-East

The South-East Governors Forum have banned Fulani herdsmen from bringing cattle into the geopolitical zone through bush paths and on foot.

This was made known in a statement by the Director General, South-East Governors Forum, Prof. Simon Ortuanya.

The stated that the movement of cows into the zone should be strictly by road, using trucks to their specific cow markets and not through the bush.

“We will no longer allow foreign herdsmen to bring their cattle into our geopolitical zone through the bush paths by foot because this is what always cause conflict between our people and the herders,” the governors stated.

No Land For RUGA

The southeast governors also dismissed reports that they have agreed to donate lands in the region for RUGA settlements for herdsmen

“The fact remains that no South-East governor has donated any land or intends to donate any land for any of the two programmes for lack of enough land in the entire South-East,” the statement reads.

“Governors of South-East appreciate the fact that we have good and law-abiding herdsmen who have been living with us; some of them were even born here. We have been living in peace with them until recently when we started witnessing the invasion of our land, the kidnapping of our people, killing of defenceless natives and the destruction of their farmlands.

“These herdsmen that have been living peacefully with us together with the natives have insisted that this evil as now experienced in our land are the handiwork of herdsmen moving from other states into South-East and most of the time, these herdsmen are not even Nigerians.

“We will not chase away herdsmen who are peaceful and have been living peacefully with us in the South-East.”