A herder watches his cows graze outside of the village of Koboga, Nigeria, Sept. 4, 2018. Conflicts between farmers and herdsmen vying for land, which mirror the 20th Century range wars in the American West, are turning more violent. (Adriane Ohanesian/The New York Times)

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FG disburses N24bn to Katsina, Yobe, Ebonyi, FCT for ranching

Per Second NewsAugust 26, 2021361

By Ajuma Edwina Ameh

To facilitate cattle ranching in some states, the Federal Government says it has given three states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) N24 billion.

The states are Katsina, Yobe, Ebonyi and the FCT.

This was disclosed by the Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in an interview on Channels Television, monitored by Persecondnews.

According to him, the FCT and the states have all received funds from the federal government for ranching while more than 12 states’ funds for ranching are being processed.

Garba said: “So far, about 24 billion has been issued to four states on ranching and associated activities.

“Yobe has been given, Ebonyi, and FCT has been given. More than 12 states are now being processed for these payments.

“It’s a process and the state governors are lining up. You present criteria, you get funded. If you want justice for yourself, do justice to other people as well.”

However, the Governor of Ebonyi David Umahi, has denied collecting any money from President Muhammadu Buhari to implement the ranching policy of the federal government.

The governor, who disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday by his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Francis Nwaze, cautioned Shehu for including Ebonyi as one of the states that collected money for ranching, adding that the state has no land for ranching.

“We have received the news making the rounds that Ebonyi State is among the States in the Federation that has received the sum of N6 billion each for ranching, as attributed to the Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Garba Shehu.

“Ebonyi State Government never at any time received any money for ranching in the State, and will not receive any money for the same purpose as there is no available land for ranching in the state.”