Herdsmen: Akeredolu Blasts Bauchi Gov over fresh Remark
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo state has blasted his Bauchi State counterpart, Bala Mohammed, over his latest remark on the movement of herders in the Ondo state Forest reserves.
Bala Mohammed had argued in an interview with journalists on Friday that Nigerians who choose to reside in forests need no permission from either governors or the Federal government to so do.
Akeredolu however described the comment as “provoking and insensitive”, while warning Mohammed not to set the country on fire with his rhetorics.
Akeredolu had earlier ordered all herdsmen to vacate the state forest reserves or register their presence with the state government, in a bid to sanitise forests of killer herdsmen accused of sundry crimes such as kidnappings, killings, rape, amongst others.
The development generated outrage with the Presidency and some governors including Mohammed saying Akeredolu lacked the right to issue a vacation notice to herders in the state.
“Land is in the hands of the state and federal governments in trust but Nigerians don’t need the permission of governors or the federal government to settle everywhere. You don’t need the permission of the governor of Bauchi or the governor of Ondo to be in the forests of Ondo if you choose to live in the forests because under Section 41 of the constitution, you are free to settle anywhere,” the Bauchi State governor had said.
Reacting in a statement through his Special Assistant on New Media, Olabode Olatunde, Akeredolu urged Nigerians to disregard Mohammed’s comments.
He said:
“The position of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, is not to engage or confront anyone who has the mindset of a crisis entrepreneur or war monger. Very provoking and insensitive as the statement appears, we can only err on the side of caution by advising Governor Bala Mohammed not set Nigeria on fire by his thoughts that are highly destructive and undermining national cohesion.
“Nigerians should ignore him and rather focus on those issues that can bring about peace and engender unity.”
Akeredolu had also slammed Mohammed for saying herders have the right to bear AK-47 rifle for self-protection.
