Senate asks Dan- Ali to withdraw comment on anti-grazing law

The Senate yesterday passed a resolution, urging the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali to withdraw his statement on anti-grazing law in Benue and Taraba states.

The minister was quoted as calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to stop implementation of the law in the two states, after a meeting with the president and security chiefs at the State House on Tuesday.

The Senate passed the resolution following a point of order by Senator Barnabas Gemade (APC, Benue). Gemade told the Senate the minister’s statement was an invitation to anarchy.

“It was very strange to me that in the mind of the minister of defence, the only way he can solve the problem of hundreds and thousands of people being killed in the states of Benue and Taraba is that the law they made against open grazing of cattle, where you cannot control the conflict between herdsmen and farmers should be removed so that anarchy can go on as it was the case before,” he said.

“He (Dan-Ali) is from Zamfara State and I wonder if all the killings in the state are also as a result of the anti-grazing law. And if the killings in Zamfara have nothing to do with the antigrazing law, why does he think that killings in other states are because they enacted the law?” He said.

States have right to enact anti-grazing laws Reps

On its part, the House of Representatives yesterday urged the National Security Council to rescind its decision calling on states to suspend anti-open grazing law.

The House equally called on the Federal Government to submit a supplementary budget to the National Assembly to develop colonies immediately in “those states that have agreed to donate land.”

The resolutions followed a motion of urgent public importance to that effect by John Dyegh (APC, Benue), seconded by Nkeiruka Onyejeocha (PDP, Abia).

Dyegh said Section 4(7) of the 1999 Constitution as amended empowers the State Assemblies to make laws for the good governance of their states.

“For instance, we have seen states making laws against alcohol and prostitution that are obeyed by both natives and settlers without Federal Government interference,” he said.

The House adopted the motion but stopped short of inviting the Minister of Defence as earlier requested by the sponsor of the motion.