Obaseki, lawmakers tasked on anti-open grazing law

A Group, the New Nigeria Initiative (NNI) has charged Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki and the House of Assembly to urgently enact a law on anti-open grazing in the state.

Its chairman, Uwadiae Odigie and Secretary, Igbotako Nowinta, made the call, yesterday, during a peaceful protest to the Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Benin City.

Odigie said the protest became necessary following failure of Edo State Government to respond to the Fulani herdsmen who have turned the state into a sanctuary of barbarism.

“It has been established that the Fulani herdsmen are the ones unleashing terror on Edo State through the killing of the late Jide Sowore and many others, as well as the recent kidnapping of elder statesman, Dickson Imasuagbon among several others.

“We have been mounting pressure on the Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Marcus Onobun, on the urgent need to pass the bill on open grazing ban in Edo State, but all efforts have proved abortive,” he said.

Odigie said the group was excited when the Southern Governors Forum (SGF) fixed September 1, 2021 to finalise legislation on open grazing ban in their states, but wondered why the Edo State Government was yet to do the needful.

“Our hopes are becoming dashed in the face of the menace, even as we are convinced that the Edo State House of Assembly and Governor Obaseki will soon do the needful to make the law banning open grazing in Edo State an urgent reality,” he said.
MEANWHILE, ACTUATE stakeholders have urge farmers in Edo State to make use of organic fertilizers to increase their agricultural yields.

Team Lead of ACTUATE, Prof. Lawrence Ezemonye, gave the charge during the ACTUATE Stakeholders Workshop on Resource Recovery from Waste the Centre for Global Eco-Innovation, University of Benin (UNIBEN) in collaboration with the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) and Lancaster University, United Kingdom (UK) organised for small-holder farmers in the state.

The workshop with the theme: Knowledge Sharing On Issues And Solutions In Anaerobic Digestate As Alternative To Inorganic Fertilizers, followed a similar one organised for small-holder farmers and students from the Faculty of Agriculture of UNIBEN.

Ezemonye, who was represented by Prof. Christopher Emokaro, lamented that African farmers were lagging behind in training, capacity building and resources, adding that this had constrained them to restrict farming to the subsistence level contrary to what obtains in other parts of the world.

He said a recent study conducted in Edo State showed that 85 per cent of farmers do not use fertilizers, adding that although the state was blessed with fertile soil, farmers must use some fertilizers to achieve optimum yields of their crops.

He, therefore, canvassed the use of organic fertilizers, as it was cheaper, safer and better than inorganic fertilizers, as well as recommended the use of digestates.