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The Idoma National Congress (INC) has rejected the proposed establishment of a cattle ranch in Benue State under the Federal Government’s pilot ranching programme, declaring that the state’s ancestral lands must not be used for a project imposed without consultation with its people.
The organisation, in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary on behalf of the people of Benue State, described the proposed ranch as unacceptable and urged the Federal Government to immediately exclude the state from the pilot programme.
According to the INC, the proposed project raises fundamental questions about land ownership, community consent and the protection of Benue’s agrarian economy.
The group argued that any acquisition or change of land use for a federal project must comply with relevant constitutional and legal provisions, including the Land Use Act, while also taking into consideration the interests and consent of host communities.
It alleged that the Benue State Government, State House of Assembly, traditional rulers and affected communities had not been adequately consulted on the proposed ranch.
The organisation also cited the Benue State Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law 2017, insisting that any ranching initiative in the state must operate within the framework of existing state legislation.
The INC further questioned the decision to consider Benue for the pilot programme when several existing ranching and livestock facilities across the country could, in its view, be upgraded and modernised.
It listed facilities including the Obudu Ranch, established in 1951, the Mokwa ranch established in 1973, Sebore Farms in Adamawa, Maizube Farms in Niger, Ota Farms in Ogun and Phinomar in Enugu.
The group argued that investment in existing facilities, particularly in states with significant pastoral populations, would provide an alternative to establishing new ranches in areas where communities are already grappling with security challenges.
“Benue is an agrarian state and the food basket of the nation. Our farmlands are not vacant,” the organisation said.
The INC also expressed concern over what it described as the potential for ranching projects to result in land dispossession and displacement of indigenous communities.
It referenced reported attacks and occupation of forest areas in parts of the state, including Amla Forest in Ohimini, Agatu, Edumoga, Utonkon, Otobi, Ugboju and Naka, as part of the concerns informing its opposition to the proposal.
The organisation warned that ranching must not become a mechanism for legitimising the occupation of ancestral lands or creating structures that could undermine the traditional and political identity of indigenous communities.
It cited a position attributed to the NCDPA Makurdi Diocese, which warned that “ranching must never become a disguised instrument for land grabbing, forced displacement, or enslavement of our people.”
The INC consequently called on the Federal Government to exclude Benue State from the pilot ranching programme and respect the Constitution, the Land Use Act and the Benue State Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law.
It also urged the government to prioritise the safe return and resettlement of internally displaced persons in Benue before embarking on any new land-use initiative.
The group called on Benue stakeholders, including federal and state lawmakers, traditional rulers, civil society organisations, religious bodies and youths, to unite in opposing the proposed project.
“OUR LAND IS NOT FOR SALE,” the organisation declared, insisting that Benue’s ancestral heritage should not be treated as a bargaining instrument.
The statement maintained that Benue’s role as a major food-producing state made the protection of its agricultural land a matter of wider national importance.
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