South East governors to FG: No land for Ruga settlement in Igbo land, we can only exchange grass for cow meat

The South East Governors Forum has insisted that the zone has no land for the Federal Government’s proposed Ruga settlements for Fulani herdsmen across the country, proposing instead to sell grasses from the zone to ranches in the North.

The governor’s reaction comes amid the growing outrage over Ruga settlements for the herdsmen.

Senior special adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on media, Garba Shehu, had in a statement on Sunday, said the government had gazetted lands in all 36 states are the country for the settlements, but would only proceed for the moment, with states that have indicated interest.

The South East governors have, however said there was no land in any part of the South-East region for the establishment of Ruga.

Chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi stated this through his Chief Press Secretary, Emmanuel Uzor.

He said: “The way it works is that the herdsmen will bring down their cows to the South-East and sell us as meat while they will load the grass which are grown here in the same trailer with which they transported their cows to feed their cattle in those grazing reserve which should be made comfortable for them.

“With this proposed deal, herdsmen are expected to embrace anti-open grazing by returning to the ranches in the north and do their business on the trade-by-barter basis of selling cows to the south and buying grass to feed their cows in the north.”

The announcement by the federal government last week, that it plans to set Ruga settlements for Fulani herdsmen across the country has continued to generate outrage. Various leaders of the South have told Business Hallmark that the move is an attempt at ethnic domination.