Edwin Clark, an Ijaw leader, has condemned the statement by
the presidency which criticised southern governors’ proposed banning of open
grazing in their respective states.
Earlier this month, 17 governors from the southern part of
the country resolved to ban open grazing within their states.
According to the governors, the decision was taken as a part
of efforts to improve security in the region.
Mixed reactions followed the resolution — with politicians
going back and forth on the issue.
The presidency, in a statement released on Monday, weighed
in on the issue and questioned the legality of the resolution reached by the
governors.
The statement said the proposed ban will not solve the
farmer-herder clashes that have been a challenge to the nation.
“It is very clear that there was no solution offered from
their resolutions to the herder-farmer clashes that have been continuing in our
country for generations,” the statement said.
“But the citizens of the southern states – indeed citizens
of all states of Nigeria – have a right to expect their elected leaders and
representatives to find answers to challenges of governance and rights, and not
to wash their hands off hard choices by, instead, issuing bans that say: ‘not
in my state’.
“It is equally true that their announcement is of
questionable legality, given the Constitutional right of all Nigerians to enjoy
the same rights and freedoms within every one of our 36 states (and FCT) -regardless
of the state of their birth or residence.”
Reacting to the development, Clark described the statement
as “unfortunate,” and asked the presidency to recant.
He said the president should desist from infringing on the
rights of governors to lead their states as provided in the constitution.
“That statement is
very unfortunate and I’ll advise him to retract it. Because the constitution is
very clear. The president is in charge of the entire country we call Nigeria
today. But the state governors, 36 of them, were voted in their respective
states as he was voted in the whole country. So they have their states under
them; they control their states. They are the chief security officers of their
states,” he said.
“Mr President cannot go to states and go and dictate to
them. We are not in a military government. The president has enormous powers
but there are areas where it must stop.”
The 94-year-old then proposed legal redress to those who
believe the governors’ resolution was flawed.
“What I would advise in order not to cause confusion or
crisis is that all those who doubt and have no belief in the governors’
statement go to court to challenge it. And I think the governors are ready to
go to any length [to prove their case],” he said.
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