The Rivers’ State Executive Council has approved a bill proposing the ban on open grazing in the South-South state.
The bill is in line with the Southern Governors agreement that open grazing should be banned in the region by September. The approval of the bill was acknowledged by the state executive council meeting presided over by Governor Nyesom Wike, in Port Harcourt, on Wednesday, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
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What the Rivers State Government said about the bill
The state’s Attorney General, Zaccheus Adangor said: “We realised that we don’t have any extant law criminalising or prohibiting open grazing, so it has become necessary for the office of the Attorney General in the state to propose a bill for consideration by the state executive council”
He added that the bill came up before the council for deliberation and after exhaustive deliberation and discussion of the highlights of the bill, it was approved by the council for onward transmission to the Rivers State House of Assembly for necessary legislative action.
“Once that bill is passed, no person will be allowed to openly graze livestock in Rivers State, except within the confines of a ranch and to establish a ranch you must apply to the state committee for approval,” he added.
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He stated that a committee, having regards to the guidelines it is going to issue, may or may not issue any approval to establish a ranch. He said that the council had also approved the proposed Rivers’ State Residence Registration Agency Bill that will make it mandatory for residents of the state to be registered, including any visitor staying in the state beyond two weeks.
“That bill is going to establish an agency that will superintend the implementation of that bill. So, if you come to Rivers State and you are going to stay in the state for a period of more than two weeks, you will be bound to register.
“You can register in person or register electronically, but if you fail to register, that will constitute an offence under the bill when passed into law,” he added.
READ: Insecurity: Open grazing ban of questionable legality – Presidency
What you should know
Recall Nairametrics reported earlier this month that the Southern Governors Forum announced the deadline set for the Open Grazing Ban as Wednesday, 1st September 2021, adding that Funds deducted from the Federation Account for the Nigeria Police Security Trust Fund should be distributed to states to fight insecurity.
