Benue Assembly to pass anti-open grazing bill soon

Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly, Terkimbi Ikyange, has vowed that the Open Grazing Prohibition Bill before the Assembly would be passed before the end of the year.

The executive bill has passed through second reading and is awaiting public hearing.

Ikyange, who disclosed this while addressing his colleagues to mark the commencement of the second sitting of the second legislative session, explained that the little delay in passing the bill was to allow for public hearing which will afford critical stakeholders the opportunity of making inputs due to its sensitivity.

He called for more commitment, dedication and timely sittings by the lawmakers if the Assembly was to clear the backlog of pending matters before it.

Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker James Okefe has formally renounced his membership of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

In a letter addressed to the speaker and read on the floor of the Assembly, Okefe cited division and crisis in the party as the reason for his defection. He noted that the division has led to two people claiming the national chairmanship position of the party and two executive committee members at the state.