Delta State Governor Signs Anti-Open Grazing Bill
Delta Governor, Sen. (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa, on Thursday, signed the Delta State Livestock, Breeding, Rearing and Marketing Regulation Bill, 2021, otherwise known as Anti-Open Grazing Bill, with a call on the Federal Government to assist interested farmers to establish ranches across the country.
Okowa made this known after assenting to two Bills passed by Delta State House of Assembly, at Government House, Asaba.
The Bills, including Delta State Urban and Regional Planning Bill 2020, were presented to Okowa by the Speaker of the Assembly, Chief Sheriff Oborevwori, in company with principal officers of the Assembly.
The governor said that the two laws were very important to the state, adding that the Delta State Livestock Breeding, Rearing and Marketing Regulations law had taken a new life of its own in the country.
He recalled that the Southern Governors met and took certain decisions which they believed was in the best interest of the nation.
“Today is quite a remarkable day in the history of this state because we signed two important bills into law this morning.
“We believe that it is in the best interest of security; we also believe that it is in the best interest of ensuring food security and that it will help us to ensure that we are able to cause people from across this nation who will find themselves outside their own states inhabiting in Delta State to live with Deltans in a peaceful and respectable manner with each other.
Delta State Governor Signs Anti-Open Grazing Bill
“We believe as the Southern Governors had stated that we must start to look into other ways of ensuring that we are able to breed and that we are able to rear our cattle and other livestock in such a manner that is acceptable in modern times,” he said.
Okowa said that the law was not enacted to witch-hunt anybody, but to encourage people to live with each other, respecting each other’s view, noting that the Delta State House of Assembly had done the state proud.
He called on Federal Government to put processes in place to assist in various ways to enable people to establish ranches, saying “this is very important because if we do not do something now, in the nearest future we will find that we will definitely be having food scarcity and the insecurity that we find in our country we may not be able to address them”.
On the Urban and Regional Planning law, Okowa said that it will enable the state to have a planned development with proper regulations and a formal establishment of the Ministry of Urban Planning backed by law.
Earlier, Oborevwori had said that Delta State Urban and Regional Planning Bill, 2020 was aimed at development of the State through a proper mechanism for urban and regional planning to ensure compliance with laid down laws.
He added that the passing of the Delta State Livestock Breeding, Rearing and Marketing Regulation Bill, 2021 was in fulfillment of one of the agreements reached at the Southern Governors’ meeting held here in Asaba the State Capital.
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