In response to the recent directive from President Bola Tinubu to state governors to provide land for ranching purposes, The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has opposed any attempt to introduce ranching in the South-East region of Nigeria.
In a press statement released by IPOB’s spokesperson, Emma Powerful, the group expressed adamant refusal to allow any governor in the South-East to cede land for ranching or agricultural ventures to external entities. They said that the South-East lacks sufficient land for such endeavors and allocating land for ranching would exacerbate food scarcity and insecurity in the region.
President Tinubu’s call for ranching, made during an agricultural program inauguration in Niger State, has been met with criticism from IPOB, labeling it as a “great disservice” to the people who have suffered attacks from what they term “foreign marauding terrorists” commonly known as herdsmen.
IPOB declared their determination to protect their ancestral land from being sold or ceded to what they perceive as “dangerous terrorists and bandits.” They called upon South-East governors to disregard the directive and vowed to resist any attempt by governors to sell or allocate land for ranching.
IPOB extended their call to the people of the South-West and Middle Belt regions to reject the RUGA or ranching agenda, stating that any region that embraces such initiatives is doomed.
