Senator Ndume faults Southern Governors Forum for demanding an end to open grazing

CHAIRMAN of the senate committee on the army Senator Ali Ndume has faulted the Southern Governors Forum for banning open grazing across Nigeria's southern states calling it a blanket statement.

Earlier this week, the governors of the 17 states that make up southern Nigeria met in the Delta State capital Asaba, where they agreed among other things to ban open grazing within their states. They also called for the restructuring of the country and asked the federal government to do more to address the ongoing insecurity ravaging the nation.

However, Senator Ndume, the lawmaker representing the Borno South Senatorial District, said he expected the governors to come out with an immediate solution instead of issuing a blanket statement. He noted that their action would not be as effective as if they held a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari to address the issues of concern.

Senator Ndume said: “I’m not concerned about what they said. I was thinking that they would come out with an immediate solution, mid-term solution and long-term to open grazing.

“We’ve serious security challenges in this country that are different in all the geo-political zones  and I was expecting that the governors will come together and address these issues. Come up with the solutions that they have mentioned and discuss with the president in a closed-session as we call it in the senate, not to come out to the media and issue a blanket statement."

At their Asaba meeting, the Southern Governors Forum also urged the federal government to urgently convoke a national dialogue to address the widespread agitations across the nation. Among other things, they also called for restructuring of the country and the creation of state police forces.