PDP Challenges Ranch Land Claim, Demands Evidence

From Dooshima Terkura, Makurdi

The Benue State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected claims by the state Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Chief Solomon Iorpev, that former Governor Samuel Ortom granted the Federal Government land in the state to establish ranches in 2017.

The PDP described the claim as false, misleading and an attempt to rewrite the history of the state for political reasons.
Iorpev, shortly after his swearing-in and maiden State Executive Council meeting on Friday, told journalists that on October 16, 2017, the previous administration had given the Federal Government the liberty to create ranches within the state. He added that the state government was still consulting with the people on the policy, stressing that government was a continuum and that the present administration had inherited the matter.
However, in a statement issued on Sunday and signed by its State Secretary, Comrade Dan Nyikwagh, the PDP described the claim as “blatantly false, mischievous and completely unfounded.”
The party said former Governor Ortom signed the Benue State Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law on May 22, 2017, following consultations with relevant stakeholders.
According to the PDP, the law provided a six-month transition period and was expected to take effect in November 2017.
The party argued that there was no provision in the law granting the Federal Government any portion of Benue land for ranching.
The statement read: “For the avoidance of doubt, the Benue State Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, 2017 was signed into law by Governor Samuel Ortom on May 22, 2017, following extensive consultations with stakeholders. The law provided a six-month transition period and was to take effect in November 2017.
“Therefore, as at October 2017, the law was already in existence. There was no provision in that law granting the Federal Government any portion of Benue land for the establishment of ranches.
“Indeed, the idea that Governor Ortom would, on October 16, 2017, secretly grant land to the Federal Government for ranching while the state was implementing legislation specifically designed to prohibit open grazing and regulate ranch establishment is so fundamentally contradictory that it requires more than a press briefing to make it believable.”
The PDP challenged Commissioner Iorpev to produce the document supporting his claim that land was granted to the Federal Government on October 16, 2017.
It said such a land grant could only be established through an official document, such as an Executive Council resolution, government correspondence, gazette or land allocation instrument, maintaining that no such document existed.
The party also described the claim as contradictory, noting that the Ortom administration was already implementing legislation aimed at prohibiting open grazing and regulating ranching in the state.
It said Benue residents clearly remembered the debates and struggles surrounding the law.
The PDP urged the commissioner to either produce evidence of the alleged land grant or withdraw the claim, warning against distorting the history of the state.
The party insisted that the people of Benue would not accept attempts to rewrite the state’s history for political convenience, maintaining that former Governor Samuel Ortom did not hand over Benue land to the Federal Government for ranches.