Ekiti Govt, PDP Clash over Move to Register Herders in Ekiti

Ekiti Govt, PDP Clash over Move to Register Herders in Ekiti

Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti

The Ekiti State Government and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are currently embroiled in crisis over alleged move to register cattle rearers domiciled in the state.

Firing the salvo, the PDP described the decision of the state government to allegedly register Fulani herdsmen in the state as part of the campaign promises of Governor Kayode Fayemi to the presidency which made him to become the governor of the state.

But reacting to the allegation, the government through the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Muyiwa Olumilua, said the government had no intention to register the organisation.

The sacked Coordinator of the Anti-Grazing Marshall, Mr. Sola Durodola, had, while granting an interview, said the government was planning to register herders.

Sequel to this, Fayemi sacked Durodola and appointed Major Tajudeen Awe as replacement.

The PDP stated that the move has confirmed its statement before the election that Fayemi did promise Miyetti Allah, an umbrella body of the Fulani herdsmen, that he would create cattle colonies for the association if they could support him to hijack the state government.

In a statement by the State Publicity Secretary of the party, Jackson Adebayo, PDP maintained that the current move to register Fulani herdsmen by the state government was just a tip of the iceberg, adding that the issue of creation of the cattle colonies was still in the pipeline.

The party further said that the Fulani herdsmen had been on the neck of the state government since the inauguration of Fayemi last year October.

Adebayo said the party was not unawared that the attack on the people of Iyemero in Ikole Local Government Area some months ago was actually a warning from the herdsmen to the governor as consequences of failing to fulfill his promises before supporting him to become the governor.

PDP noted that base on this premises, it took governor Fayemi many weeks before taking any step to address the dastardly act with a confused and conflicting reports on the attack.

“We are calling on all well-meaning Ekiti sons and daughters to urgently wave in to prevent the state government from ceding Ekiti land to this killer herdsmen before it is too late, while calling on the federal government to call Governor Kayode Fayemi to order to avoid calamitous crisis in the state,” PDP said.

Meanwhile, the government in its adverts on the state radio and television, insisted that no such plan was in the offing.

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