The 36 state governors have reached a consensus on the need for Nigeria to transition into modern systems of animal husbandry that would replace open, night and underage grazing.
The governors disclosed this in a communique issued at the end of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), the 25th teleconference meeting held on Wednesday in Abuja.
The communique of the second virtual meeting in the year issued by NGF Chairman and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, was made available to newsmen on Thursday.
The consensus, according to the communique, was reached following an update from governors on the various initiatives taken by state governments to address the rising insecurity in the country due to the activities of herdsmen.
It stated that state governments were encouraged to put in place systems to accelerate the grazing initiative of the National Livestock Transformation Plan and ranching in the country.
“The Forum respects the right of abode of all Nigerians and strongly condemns criminality and the ethnic profiling of crime in the country in an effort to frame the widespread banditry and the herders-farmers crisis.
“In the light of the economic and security risks that have arisen from these circumstances, the Forum resolved to urgently convene an emergency meeting of all governors.”
It quoted the Chairman, Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) and Governor of Plateau State, Mr Simon Lalong, as cautioning against the tagging of ethnic groups based on the misbehavior of a few criminally-minded individuals.
Lalong called on State governors to address the matter head-on in their various States.