The Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, says private investors who wish to rear cattle in the state would have to acquire land for ranching.

Makinde was referring to the reactions to his comment on the state’s implementation of the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP).

To resolve the country’s farmer-herder crisis, states created the NLTP programme, which was then adopted by the NEC.

In a statement on Tuesday when he met with Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, his Kwara State counterpart, Makinde said the NLTP “which is already being implemented in Kwara state would be implemented in Oyo state leading to further collaborations between both states on economy and security”.

Some people, however, mistook his comment for RUGA, a federal government initiative that was suspended after a public outcry.

Makinde explained his argument by saying that the NLTP would not be enforced in its entirety.

Only the parts of the proposal that favor the state, he says, will be enforced.

“My attention has been drawn to this tweet regarding the implementation of the National Livestock Transformation Plan during the joint security meeting, yesterday. For the avoidance of doubt, when I said we would implement the plan, I didn’t mean a wholesale implementation,” Makinde wrote.

“We will be taking aspects which are beneficial for our state. As I have stated on several occasions, our position in Oyo State is that ranching is a private business and should be carried out as such.

“Our admin won’t be providing land for free to private investors for ranching.”

Daily Times