ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, YENAGOA
Bayelsa State Livestock Management Committee has issued two weeks ultimatum to the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria and other operators to move their livestock out of Yenagoa, the state capital.
Chairman of the 23-member committee, Mr David Alagoa, made this known in an interview with journalists after a meeting between the committee and some South-South chapters of the MACBAN at the ministry on Monday.Alagoa, who is also the Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources in the state, warned that at the expiration of the notice, the committee would impound their cows as movement by foot either at night or in the day would not be tolerated in the state.
He advised the residents to be patient as talks were ongoing with the MACBAN, stressing that one of such processes to take cows out of Bayelsa had just begun. According to the commissiiner, the state government had created opportunities in the meat business for people to take advantage of and establish ranches or grow grass to sell to cattle breeders.
Alagoa stated, “So, we have agreed that we give them a moratorium period of 10 days and by the 14th day, which falls on the 10th of April, we will start impounding (cows).”If you are interested in cattle business in Bayelsa, the governor has opened up business opportunities of huge value chain in the meat business. It is time now.
If you have land and you want to ranch, you can ranch, since we are going purely for ranching. If you want to plant grass and sell for cattle, you can sell.” Also speaking, a member of the committee and retired Commissioner of Police, Mr Agberebi Akpoebi, said the committee was poised to implement the law banning open grazing of cows in the state in a manner that would not affect anybody adversely.
Akpoebi noted that the state’s ‘Livestock Breeding, Rearing and Marketing Regulation Law, 2021’, which Governor Douye Diri assented to on March 10, 2021 was to prevent clashes between herders and farmers.”The government is concerned that this whole idea of farmers-herders conflict does not occur in Bayelsa.
When it comes to the issue of cattle, there is no ethnic and religious colourations. All of us patronise the meat market,” Akpoebi stated.
Chairman, MACBAN, Rivers chapter, Alhaji Mohammed Tukur, who spoke on behalf his counterparts, expressed appreciation to the Bayelsa State Government for allowing herdsmen to operate in the state.
He promised that they would mobilise their members to move their cows out of the state before the ultimatum expires.