Aniefiok Christopher
Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia has kicked against the establishment of ranches without the agreement of his administration and the people.
This follows federal government’s plans to rehabilitate grazing reserves and establish modern ranching settlements in six areas identified as major conflict flashpoints nationwide.
After the meeting with President Bola Tinubu, Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha while addressing journalists, had on August 11, identified Adamawa, Kaduna, Benue, Plateau, and Nasarawa states, as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as priority areas for the intervention because of their history of farmers-herders conflicts.
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But, speaking during a town hall meeting with stakeholders from the Sankera bloc, comprising Katsina-Ala, Ukum and Logo local government areas, Governor Alia said his administration would not allow any part of Benue land to be ceded to pastoralists for ranching or any other purpose without the consent of the people.
“Nobody will force us to cede even an inch of our land to the pastoralist for any purpose. If that must happen, I can assure you, it will not be this time that I am still the Governor of Benue State,” he said.
The governor position also comes against the backdrop of the state’s open-grazing ban and continuing debate over ranching as a possible solution to farmer-herder conflicts and livestock management in Benue.
Alia, however, said his administration was taking steps to strengthen security across Sankera as he announced the deployment of three military operational units to strategic locations in the area.
He said that the units would be stationed at Agu in Katsina-Ala, Anyiin in Logo and Azendeshi in Ukum, while 30 motorcycles would be donated to security agencies to improve patrols and rapid response.
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The governor also announced plans for a new dam with a projected capacity of 460 megawatts, saying the project would provide water and support electricity generation in the state.
Alia is currently on a statewide thank-you tour of APC stakeholders following his emergence as the party’s candidate for the 2027 governorship election, with the town hall meetings organised around the state’s 11 federal constituencies.
Meanwhile, Mzough U Tiv, Ochetoha K’Idoma and Omi Ny’Igede, representing the Tiv, Idoma and Igede peoples respectively on 14 August, 2026, rejected the inclusion of Benue in the pilot National Ranching Programme.
The groups said the Federal Government rejected establishment of pastoral settlements on Benue land without the consent of the state and affected communities.
According to them, the state was still grappling with insecurity and the displacement of farming communities and that priority should be given to securing affected areas and returning displaced residents to their ancestral homes.
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The organisations also said any livestock development programme in Benue should align with the state’s Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, 2017.
The organisations said they supported commercially viable ranching but rejected what they described as the imposition of permanent pastoral settlements through the Federal Government’s programme.
