Ranching Reserves: Iortyom Warns Alia Against “RUGA” Repeat

From Dooshima Terkura, Makurdi

A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) House of Assembly candidate in Benue State, Chief Bemgba Iortyom, has called on Governor Hyacinth Alia to publicly reject the Federal Government’s proposed National Ranching Policy, describing it as a possible attempt to revive the controversial RUGA settlement policy.

Iortyom, the PDP candidate for Mata State Constituency in the 2027 election, made the call in a statement issued on Saturday in Makurdi, following the disclosure by the Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, that Benue was among the states selected for the pilot implementation of the ranching programme.
The minister said the initiative would involve establishing grazing reserves equipped with facilities such as housing, veterinary clinics, schools, primary healthcare centres, solar lighting and water infrastructure for herders and their livestock.
The proposed settlements would also include milk-processing facilities, modular abattoirs, bio-digesters and other livestock-related businesses aimed at promoting the development of livestock value chains.
However, Iortyom questioned the difference between the proposed policy and the RUGA settlements rejected by Benue and other states during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
He argued that changing the name of a policy does not necessarily change its substance, noting that the people of Benue had previously rejected cattle colonies, grazing routes, RUGA settlements, the National Livestock Transformation Plan and other related proposals.
According to him, the opposition to such policies was based on concerns that communities affected by attacks, killings and displacement should not be compelled to surrender ancestral land for government-established settlements for livestock producers.
Iortyom maintained that livestock production is a legitimate private business and that livestock owners should lawfully acquire land and establish ranches, just as farmers and other entrepreneurs obtain land for their businesses.
He also questioned the proposed use of public funds to provide housing, schools, healthcare facilities, water and electricity for herders when several host communities in Benue still lack basic amenities.
The PDP candidate called on the Federal Government to disclose the locations of the proposed ranches in Benue, the ownership of the land, the size of the areas involved and whether affected communities had been consulted.
He further faulted the description of the crisis as a farmer-herder conflict, arguing that the proposed policy appeared to focus largely on the welfare and economic interests of livestock producers without adequately addressing the losses suffered by farmers.
“Where at the negotiating table are the representatives of farmers’ communities that have suffered attacks, destruction and displacement?” he asked.
Iortyom also reminded the Federal Government that Benue already has the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, enacted in 2017 and operational since 2018. The law provides a legal framework for ranching while prohibiting open grazing.
He accused the Alia administration of failing to adequately enforce the law, stressing that stronger implementation was necessary to address insecurity associated with open grazing.
The PDP candidate said Governor Alia’s silence on the proposed Federal Government ranching programme could be interpreted as consent and urged him to clarify the state’s position.
He asked the governor to disclose whether his administration had offered any land for the proposed programme and whether affected communities and the Benue State House of Assembly had been consulted.
Iortyom also challenged the government to explain how the proposed Federal Government grazing-reserve model would operate alongside Benue’s existing anti-open-grazing law.
He said the sensitive nature of the issue required the governor to make his position known promptly, arguing that clarity would help prevent further anxiety among Benue residents already affected by years of farmer-herder violence and displacement.