Senator says Buhari can't grant grazing power

dimeji akinloye

February 1, 2018 11:40 PM

Enang said because of the Land Use Act, it is impossible for the Federal Government to legitimately interfere in the grazing question.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Sen.

Enang, who spoke extensively on the security situation in Benue, Nasarawa, Taraba, Plateau and Zamfara states, maintained that the Federal Government could not go beyond its constitutional boundaries.

He stated this in Abuja on Thursday, February 2, 2018, at a one day interaction session organised by the Buhari Media Support Group in coalition with other Buhari and Osinbajo support groups from across the country.

Enang explained that in the herdsmen-farmers clashes in Benue, which is the most topical, the best the government could do, was to talk less while it thought of ways of addressing the situation on ground.

This, the Senator said, was because the government would not be credited for what it said but what it did and the action it took

He added that because of the Land Use Act, it is impossible for the Federal Government to grant grazing power as being canvassed in some quarters.

Enang said, "the Federal Government cannot legitimately interfere in the grazing question, except in the security angle because of the constitution and the law.

"There have been several bills before the National Assembly, but none has become law authorising the President to grant land for grazing purposes or authorise or prevent movement of cattle or animals.

"This power is vested in the states, and for grazing purpose it is specifically vested in the Local Government by the Land Use Act".

He explained that the Act states that all land in urban areas shall be under the control and management of each state.

ALSO READ: Gunmen kill 73 cows belonging to Fulani herdsmen

The senator said the Act further stated that all other land shall be under the control and management of the Local Government within the area of jurisdiction of which the land is situated.

Enang, therefore, charged members of the Buhari Support Groups to sensitise the public on the constitutional limitations of the president.

This, he said, was critical to let the public know that the president could not go beyond his constitutional boundaries.

The President has been criticised for not doing enough to stop the herdsmen crisis in Benue and other parts of the country.

Former president Olusegun Obasanjo, in his explosive open letter to Buhari, also berated the handling of the crisis by the Federal Government, saying that is how insurgency in the north east became a full blown war.

dimeji akinloye