Buhari suspends Ruga settlement

• It’s inconsistent with Nat’l Livestock Transformation Programme -NEC

By Lawrence Olaoye

The National Economic Council (NEC) has described the controversial Ruga resettlement program as inconsistent with its National Livestock Transformation Program (NLTP).
This disclosure was made yesterday by the governor of Ebonyi state, Dave Umahi, who read a statement to newsmen after a meeting of the NEC committee on farmers/herders crisis chaired by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo.
There have been uproars against a certain Ruga program interpreted to mean the settlement of the Fulani pastoralists in locations across the country.
But the government has been consistent in maintaining that Ruga and NLTP means the same thing even when the Vice President said he knew nothing about the former.
Following the controversy that trailed the announcement of the commencement of the Ruga program, the President suspended its implementation yesterday.
Umahi said “We the NEC committee on farmers/ herders crisis under the chairmanship of HE Mr. Vice President met today to deliberate on the approved programme of National Economic Council (NEC) and Federal Government, tagged, “ the National Livestock Transformation Programme”
“We are aware that today that Mr. President has suspended the implementation of Ruga programme, initiated and being implemented by the Federal ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, because it is not consistent with the NEC and Federal Government approved National Livestock Transformation plan which has programmes of rehabilitation of displaced IDPs, resulting from the crisis and also development of ranches in any willing state of the Federation. The word is willing state of the federation.
“The National Livestock Transformation plan, its beauty is that what NEC and FG approved is a voluntary programme to all the 36 states who may like to participate. So, it is not compulsory, it is for any state that is willing, will key into the programme.
Any state that is interested in this programme is required to bring up a development plan that is keyed towards the implementation in line with our own programme here that is unique to his state based on the challenges that he has in respect of the crisis. That’s the decision of this committee.”