The first joint
parliamentary session of South-East and South-south State Houses of Assembly ended
in Owerri, Imo State, Friday with a declaration to prohibit grazing of cattle
in the geo-zones in all ramifications, report NaijaAgroNet.
The session hosted
by Imo State House of Assembly, with the Theme: "Alternatives to Militancy
and the harmonisation of South-East/South-South Grazing Reserve Proposals"
condemned the proposed National Grazing bill currently being sponsored on the
floor of the National Assembly.
Also the
session urge the various Houses of Assembly in the South-East and South-south
zones to pass bills restricting cattle rearing, prohibit grazing of cattle from
one location to another through farmlands which has the tendency for causing
damages to farm farmlands, health hazards, and obstruction of vehicular and
human traffic.
“And to
reject the proposed Bill to Establish and Control Grazing Routes and Reserves
before the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly,” the
parliamentarians said in a public statement made available to NaijaAgroNet.
According to
the Deputy Speaker of Imo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Ugonna Ozurigbo,
the session equally urged the Governors of the South-East and South-South to
establish special task forces drawn from various security agencies and
neighbourhood watch in each Local Government to checkmate the excesses of
herdsmen and prosecute them.
They argued that the proposed bill tend to
authorize the National Grazing Commission to take over any piece of land they
so please, and pay a token as compensation for such, completely negates the
spirit of capitalist economy which Nigeria runs.
Pix: South-South+South East Speakers of House of Assembly with Gov. Okorocha,