Bauchi ready for RUGA settlement – Gov

Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi state said Monday that the state was ready for federal government’s Ruga Settlement in order to find lasting solution to the incessant crises between farmers and herdsmen in the country.

Fielding questions from State House correspondents after a close-door meeting with President Muhammmadu Buhari, the governor said the state government would key into the programme because about 70 percent of the residents of the state are Fulani.

“About 60 to 70 percent of the population in Bauchi is Fulani and therefore we must leverage on all these. We have illiteracy, insurgency and so many things that are bombarding us in terms of social challenges and security challenges. Definitely we will do that,” he said.

Bauchi is now one of the few states that embraced federal government’s Ruga Settlement programme.

Other states are Sokoto, Adamawa, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Kogi, Taraba, Katsina, Plateau, Kebbi, Zamfara and Niger.

Some governors in North-Central, South-East and South-South region have rejected the programme, saying it was designed to promote one ethnic group.

The Presidency on Sunday dismissed the allegation, saying the Ruga Settlement is aimed at addressing the perennial conflicts between herdsmen and farmers.

In a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity Mr Garba Shehu, the Presidency said it was an organised intervention with provision of necessary and adequate basic amenities such as schools, hospitals, road networks, vet clinics, markets and manufacturing entities that will process and add value to meats and animal products.

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