Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State has on Tuesday warned Local Government Chairmen and traditional rulers in the state to resist the temptation of selling land in their domains to strangers coming into the state.
Governor Bala stated this when flagging off the Kaura Empowerment Initiative in the two local government areas of Shira and Giade, stating that the situation is responsible for the clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the state.
” We should resist the temptation of selling our land to strangers to make money, we should resist the temptation of taking the land from the people who own them, especially the cattle routes and the rest. This is why we are having those conflicts”
“I am calling on the authorities in the state to the local government and to the traditional institutions to know that we have a covenant with our people. We must fear God that we are serving people.
He added that “We must make it possible for the herders to move around and we must tell our herders not to trespass into our lands”.
He explained that his government has so far given over 50,000 hectares of land to investors and is ready to give more to genuine investors, noting that the state government is coming up with a law to provide the right of way for the herders without encroaching on other people’s land.
A sum of N150 million was distributed to 1,000 youths and women in the two local governments where the beneficiaries in each local government got vehicles, motorcycles, sewing and grinding machines, while others were empowered with cash.
