We Are Fishermen, We Have No Grazing Routes In Bayelsa – Diri

GOVERNOR Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has again reiterated the ban on open grazing in the state saying his government could not afford to expose its citizenry to the looming danger by opening up grazing routes in the state.

Diri who spoke on Saturday in Yenagoa, during his maiden media chat to commemorate democracy day, insisted that Bayelsans are predominantly fishermen and that there were no grazing routes in the state.

The governor explained that though he was not countering the Federal Government’s decision to resuscitate grazing routes, his administration had put in place a legal framework to ban open grazing and movement of cattle on foot.

His words: “For us, there are no cattle grazing routes in Bayelsa State. Our people are traditionally and occupationally fishermen. We also have some hunters who will hunt to complement the fishing.

“The idea of cattle grazing routes in Bayelsa is very strange to us in this part of the country.”

Diri, who pointed out that in a federal system of government, states have rights to enact laws to regulate the activities of its people, declared that the prohibition on open grazing of cattle would be fully implemented in the state.

“There may be cattle grazing routes in the north but what is applicable in the north may not be applicable to us in the south. I don’t want to believe we are running a unitary system of government,” Diri said.

He added: “because of what we heard about farmers/herders conflicts and killings in our sister states, we decided to bring that executive bill which banned open grazing in Bayelsa. Already, we have started having reports of what was happening in our land. The latest we heard was in Ogbia where a youth was almost killed and as a government we cannot close our eyes to see a potential danger and so we couched that bill, sent it to the state house of assembly. The house of assembly did justice to it by going through all the process of law making and that again is the beauty of democracy and the federal system of government.

“Except, somebody is telling me that the state house of assembly has no power to make laws again. Every stakeholder was invited to the public hearing of that bill. Finally the house passed it, brought it to my office for assent and I wasted no time assenting to that bill and making it a law and also set up an implementation committee headed by the commissioner for agriculture. It is all provided for in the law.

“So, for us in Bayelsa there is a legal framework, a law that prohibits and inhibits movement of cattle by foot. If you want to go and slaughter your cattle, get a vehicle, don’t move it by foot. If they see you, you will certainly be arrested according to the laws of Bayelsa State.”

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