Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde says the state will not provide land for ranching stating that private investors who wish to rear cattle in the state will procure land for ranching.
Makinde was clarifying a tweet that had raised reactions where he said the state will be implementing the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP).
Mr Makinde had on Tuesday after a meeting with Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq took to Twitter and said: “We also agreed that the National Livestock Transformation Plan which is already being implemented in Kwara State would be implemented in Oyo State leading to further collaborations between both states on economy and security.”
Reactions had trailed Governor Makinde’s tweet on the social media application with many mistaking the tweet to mean an implementation of Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) settlements, a plan that was suspended by the Nigerian government following a public outcry.
“My attention has been drawn to this tweet regarding the implementation of the National Livestock Transformation Plan during the joint security meeting, yesterday. For the avoidance of doubt, when I said we would implement the plan, I didn’t mean a wholesale implementation,” Makinde said on Twitter.
“We will be taking aspects which are beneficial for our state. As I have stated on several occasions, our position in Oyo State is that ranching is a private business and should be carried out as such.
“Our admin won’t be providing land for free to private investors for ranching.”