Apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, on Wednesday, hailed Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State for signing into law the State’s anti-open grazing bill.
Daily Post had reported that Governor Ugwuanyi signed the bill into law on Tuesday at the Government House, Enugu.
The bill, which is for a law to prohibit open grazing, regulate cattle ranching, and for connected purposes, was recently passed by the Enugu State House of Assembly.
In a statement made available to journalists, the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide, OYC, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike, the youth group described Gov. Ugwuanyi as a shining example.
Okwu said, “we have always said that governance is not about making noise but has a lot to do with action. Governor Ugwuanyi is a man that talks less in the media but does so much for the people.
“While governors are playing politics with the issue of open grazing, he has again demonstrated that he is a man of the people. He has written his name in gold and posterity will reward him for this.
“When it mattered most, he shoved politics aside and rose in defense of the lives and properties of Enugu people. He is now a mirror, a shining light in Igboland.
“We the millions of Igbo youths salute his rare courage and we assure him of our continuous support. He should remain unshakeable in his move towards the protection of our people. He has shown himself to be a man we can trust with power at any level.”
The OYC was, however, not pleased with other states in the zone which it accused of paying lip service to the open-grazing ban.
Apart from Enugu, no other state in the South-East has passed into law the anti-open grazing bill since the Southern Governors held a meeting where they announced a total ban on open rearing of cattle.
“This is unacceptable, and we have said before that should anything happen to any Igbo community, those governors would be held accountable. They cannot sacrifice the lives of our people on the altar of politics,” Okwu warned.
He called on the Southern Governors who are meeting in Enugu on Thursday to prevail on all their members to key into the ban.
“We heartily welcome them to Enugu, a very peaceful State and urge them to ensure that resolutions they make during these meetings are implemented by all the member-states,” he added.
