…says Ondo will not accept funding for tracing grazing routes
Akure—The Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, has stated that southerners will not support any political party that fields a northern presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election.
Akeredolu, who made this known on Friday during an interview with Channels Television, maintained that once the second tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari expires in 2023, the next president should come from the south.
He said the argument that competence should be used as a criterion for electing the 2023 president cannot override zoning, stressing that competent people are both in the northern and southern regions of the country.
“There are about three political parties that are in the Southern Governors’ Forum, we have APGA, PDP and APC.
“All of us are unanimous in our position that the next president of this country must come from the south,”
“For us, we are unanimous. It is not a political platform. I believe that any party that picks somebody from the north would have to face the whole southern region because they would not support it.
“But it has to come from the south. We are saying that there must be, what I will call rotational.
“The justice of it, the fairness in it, that is what we are preaching.
“If my president–President Buhari—has been in office for eight years, so it can’t be from the north, the next president must come from the south.
“There are many people that are competent. We have competent people in the north as we have competent people in the south, so the president can come from any part of the country,” he said
Responding to reports that the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) is banking on the federal government to stop states from enacting the anti-open grazing law, the governor said the association can challenge the states in court.
His words, “Let me be very clear, the position of the southern governors on this is that we have resolved not to respond to MACBAN or whatever name they call themselves,” he said.
“We don’t want to dignify them with a response. We are a government over a people. We are a government over our respective states.
“The only thing that matters to us is that, if anybody wants to challenge our law, let them go to court, we will meet them.”
Similarly, Akeredolu noted that his state would not accept funding to trace grazing routes.
He explained that the resolution is in line with the position of the Southern Governors’ Forum, making September 1st the deadline for member-states to enact the anti-open grazing law.
According to him, there is no going back on the law, adding that his government is encouraging ranching against Open grazing.
“Ondo State has not received any money. But if money is being given out to trace grazing routes, you can be sure that Ondo State will not receive that,” he said.
“There is no grazing route anywhere; we are not going to allow that to happen. We have seen modern animal husbandry. That is what should be our concern now. We are not to allow routes; routes to where?”
“We are saying you will not graze in the open. We have passed the law. So, there is no route we are going to allow anybody to trace in Ondo State.
“What we have said is very clear. But if there is money for us to have ranches, we are encouraging ranching. There is nothing wrong with it. I have always argued this point,” he stressed.
