Benue State governorship aspirant on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) Emmanuel Jime has promised not to repeal the Anti-Open Grazing Law, if elected.
Jime, who is the managing director of Nigerian Export Processing Zone Authority (NEPZA), said: “There are rumours that I plan to repeal the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, if given the mandate to rule Benue. This is not true.”
The aspirant recalled that he was the first lawmaker to move a motion on the floor of the House of Representatives, in 2011, seeking the adoption of ranching as a modern way of breeding cattle.
“I will not tamper with the law; I will rather show more sincerity in its implementation. I won’t politicise it,” he added.
Jime said his community was directly affected by herdsmen/farmers clashes, hence the need for him to be concerned about implementing the law.
He dismissed rumours tracing his lineage to Fulani, saying he was from Makurdi, while his late mother came from Guma Local Government Area.
The governorship hopeful urged party officials to support his ambition, saying the decision to bring a Free Trade Zone to Benue was part of his commitment to transform the state to explore raw materials and create jobs.
The aspirant regretted the poor state of Benue decades after it was created, and promised to make it better, if he became governor.
APC Chairman Abba Yaro said the party was still strong despite the massive defections from its fold.
He was satisfied with the quality of members seeking the party’s tickets to contest in 2019, saying Governor Samuel Ortom was elected without any particular blueprint on how to make Benue better.
Jime won the APC ticket in 2014, but was persuaded to give Ortom, who lost the PDP ticket some hours earlier.