Ex-Reps member warns South-East governors against allowing Ruga Settlement in zone

A former House of Representatives member, Chief Linus Abaa Okorie, who represented Ohaozara/Ivo/ Onicha federal constituency, has urged the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to rescind its decision to establish Ruga Settlements in parts of the country.

Recall that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture recently announced the Federal Government’s decision to establish Ruga settlements. It said the scheme would help to end herders and farmers clashes across the country.

Chief Okorie, who is the immediate past Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Agricultural Colleges And Institutions, said the scheme if implemented would escalate rather than address the security challenges across the states.

Okorie, who represented Ohaozara/Onicha/Ivo Federal Constituency of Ebonyi State from 2011 to 2019, opined that what the Federal Government should have done was to effect a comprehensive reform of the nomadic culture and its economics.

He specifically recommended the repackaging of the ranching model as against Ruga Settlements.

The ex-lawmaker, in a statement signed and forwarded to DAILY POST in Abakaliki on Monday by his media aide, Agwu Chijoke, stated that ranching was the best solution to the herders and farmers clashes across the country.

He said that there were many successful ranching models to copy from and called on the government to package an appropriate ranching stimulus and economics to drive the goldmine.

Okorie further advised the South-East Governors not to allow the implementation of the scheme in the zone if the FG fails to drop a better scheme.

He said opposition to the scheme was not about politics nor criticism of President Muhammadu Buhari but about nationality stability and security.

“I support the comprehensive reform of the nomadic culture and economics, including any stimulus to accelerate their trade. But RUGA is no way an acceptable option. It’s crisis waiting to explode.

“Cattle ranching remains the solution and there are many successful models to ape from. The FG should package an appropriate ranching stimulus and economics to drive that dormant goldmine. But it’s a NO NO to RUGA. And this has nothing to do with politics and PMB. It’s about economics, it’s about national stability and security. Its about not creating more problems trying to solve one.

“Any State governor, especially in the South that yields land for RUGA may never recover from its negative effects even after office and this is no rocket science.

“Above all, a forceful implementation of the RUGA policy would certainly propel a spiral to national crisis and instability.

“Political, natural, religious and opinion leaders owe the nation the urgent duty to speak up on this matter and to offer ameliorative advise to Mr President at this time and help him find reason to abandon the policy in the national interest.

“Let’s please rethink it, no one would lose any face. Let’s implement ranching instead with appropriate incentives to address inherent fears and capacity gaps of the herders and would-be investors,” he stated.