Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State has ruled out the establishment of ranches without the consent of his administration and the people
Alia’s reaction was sequel to renewed concerns over land use and pastoralism proposed by the Federal Government’s pilot ranching policy which included Benue in the first phase
But speaking during a town hall meeting with stakeholders from the Sankera bloc, comprising Katsina-Ala, Ukum and Logo local government areas, the governor said his administration would not allow any part of Benue land to be ceded to pastoralists for ranching or any other purpose without the consent of the people
“Nobody will force us to cede even an inch of our land to the pastoralist for any purpose If that must happen, I can assure you, it will not be this time that I am still the Governor of Benue State,” he said.
The governor position also comes against the backdrop of the state’s open-grazing ban and continuing debate over ranching as a possible solution to farmer-herder conflicts and livestock management in Benue
Alia, however, said his administration was taking steps to strengthen security across Sankera as he announced the deployment of three military operational units to strategic locations in the area
He said that the units would be stationed at Agu in Katsina-Ala, Anyiin in Logo and Azendeshi in Ukum, while 30 motorcycles would be donated to security agencies to improve patrols and rapid response
The governor also announced plans for a new dam with a projected capacity of 460 megawatts, saying the project would provide water and support electricity generation in the state
Alia is currently on a statewide thank-you tour of APC stakeholders following his emergence as the party’s candidate for the 2027 governorship election, with the town hall meetings organised around the state’s 11 federal constituencies