Gov. Umaru Bago of Niger has inaugurated a 10-member committee to recover all the existing grazing reserves for agricultural purposes in the state.
Bago, while inaugurating the committee in Minna on Thursday, said the state government had identified 23 grazing reserves across the 25 local government areas to be recovered.
The governor said that the state government would take control of the reserves, prepare them, and cultivate them in accordance with land use acts.
“In our agriculture revolution, we have interacted with residents, traditional institutions, and locals with a view to preparing lands for cultivation and animal husbandry,” the governor said.
He said that the reserves would help the government actualize the Federal Government’s Pulaku initiative, adding that most of the reserves have become hideouts for hoodlums.
According to him, the terms and references of the committee include identifying all the state and federal government grazing reserves in the state.
He added that the committee would also trace relevant history associated with each grazing reserve, establishment, records of acquisition, and payment of compensation, if any.
He said the committee was mandated to determine the size of each grazing reserve and provide relevant information that would assist the government in the new drive to improve ranching and pastoralism in the state.
The governor said the committee has three weeks to submit its reports.
Responding, Alhaji Ahmed Guna, Chairman of the Committee, assured the governor of its readiness to discharge their work diligently and ensure prompt submission of reports before the deadline.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the committee is made up of Commissioners for Lands, Agriculture, Nomadic Affairs, and Environment, as well as Permanent Secretaries of Basic Secondary Education and Lands, amongst others. (NAN)
