The Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on National Assembly matters( senate),Senator Ita Solomon Enang, while speaking on Community View, a radio programme on Planet 101.1 FM in Uyo, Saturday 10th August, 2019, said that 95% of the cows manage by Fulani herdsmen in Akwa Ibom state are owned by big men in the state.
Enang stated that he was on the programme to clear the air on issues surrounding the suspended rural grazing area policy of the federal government ( RUGA), which has generated a lot of controversies in the past few months within and outside the state, with people questioning its real intentions.
According to him, the rural grazing settlement policy of the federal government as was proposed, was in line with measures put in place by the Buhari administration to find a lasting solution to the farmers and herders clashes, which in many cases results to lost of lives and properties and has nothing to do with fulanization, as is being speculated by some politicians in some quarters to deceived the people.
He further stated that the federal government before suspending the RUGA policy, did not force it on any state to adopt it, as some states, mostly in the South South and South East were not even considered for the programme.
"Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Abia, Imo and other states in the South South and South East are not considered for RUGA. There are pilot states, mostly in the north that were considered for RUGA", he said.
He called on the people of Akwa Ibom State to support the cattle ranch programme of the state government, under the leadership of Governor Udom Emmanuel, who he said had brought in cows from Brazil to give a settlement, saying that keeping cows in settlement is not a bad idea or a new development, as it were in the olden days were, to avoid unnecessary clashes between famers and herders.
Reacting to the reported killing of one Friday Etor, while Nsikak Udo was injured by suspected Fulani herdsmen on Thursday 8th, August, 2019, in Ikot Obio Nso community in Mkpat Enin local government area of the state, Enang sympathised with the families of those affected and called on the leaders in the State who owns the cows to open up to their people that the cows are owned by them, to avoid unnecessary demoralization of the Fulanis herdsmen by villagers in the communities these cows are managed by them for the big men, who employs them.
”Akwa Ibom State is not one of the states considered for RUGA. Cows we see in Akwa Ibom state are owned by big men in the State, they should stop deceiving the people. They are serving and former senators, National and state house of Assembly members, chairmen of councils, retired and serving soldiers, party chairmen, elders, leaders of PDP and APC in the state. They employ the Fulanis to manage the cows for them", Enang noted.
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