By Nanmwa Golok

Following the clarification made by the office of the governor of Plateau State to the effect that Governor Simon Bako Lalong has no plans whatsoever to cede any part of the State for cattle colony as planned by the federal government, the people of the State in a town hall meeting held on Saturday in Jos, have commended the governor for coming out quickly enough to douse the growing apprehension among the people who had earlier sworn to resist such moves.

Those who spoke at the town hall meeting said cattle colonies are a strange concept to the people of the state and that rather than reduce the incessant attacks on farmers and destruction of their farm produce by herdsmen, it has the unmitigated tendency of escalating tension in the state.

In a statement released to newsmen at the end of the meeting, and signed by two of the conveners of the town hall meeting, Mr. Fidelis Shainaan and Mrs. Esther Domshak, they said the relative peace currently being enjoyed in Plateau State as a result of the many initiatives of the Lalong-led administration would be ruptured with the proposed cattle colonies.

“We are already living in peace with one another, the herdsmen and the farmers, the different ethnic groups, Christians and Muslims etc. This is as a result of Governor Lalong’s deliberate and well thought out policies which have been tailored to suit the unique nature and environment of our great State, and those policies are working.

“There are mechanisms for the early detection of potential crisis anywhere already put in place in the state; there is also the Peace Building and Conflict Resolution Bureau created by this government, first of its kind in any state in Nigeria, and this bureau helps to implement the robust agenda of the Plateau State government in the areas of peace and conflict resolution.

“So we became worried and apprehensive when rumours started filtering in that our state governor has agreed to cede some parts of our state for the cattle colonies as proposed by the federal government. But with the recent clarification, it is clear that governor Lalong is one man who considers the interest of Plateau people above every other interest that is in unhelpful for our already existing peaceful coexistence.

“Our meeting today is to assure him of our continued support. He has proved to be the right man for the job, and he will continue to enjoy our blessings even beyond 2019”, the statement concluded.

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Plateau stakeholders express pleasure at Gov. Lalong’s rejection of cattle colonies