Governors reach agreement on Fulani herdsmen and open grazing in Nigeria

The Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) has reached a consensus on the “need for the country to transition into modern systems of animal husbandry that will replace open, night, and underage grazing in the country.”

This was contained in a communique on Thursday, issued at the end of NGF’s 25th virtual meeting and signed by the group’s chairman, Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti state.

The Governors were encouraged “to put in place systems to accelerate the grazing initiative of the National Livestock Transformation Plan and ranching in the country.”

The consensus was reached to address the rising insecurity in the country which has been linked to armed Fulani herdsmen operating as bandits.

Meanwhile, NGF also condemned the ethnic profiling of crime in the country and resolved to “convene an emergency meeting of all Governors” on the matter.

“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,” the communique said.