Oyo assembly passes anti-open grazing bill to address farmer/herder clashes

The Oyo state house of assembly has passed the anti-open grazing bill.

The ‘Open Rearing and Grazing Regulation Bill 2019’, jointly sponsored by Adebo Ogundoyin, speaker of the house; Abiodun Fadeyi, his deputy, and other principal officers was passed on the floor of the house on Thursday.

On Wednesday, herdsmen in the state held a meeting in which they resolved to take the state lawmakers to court over the proposed law.

The lawmakers said the bill will bring peace and promote agriculture business in the state when it becomes law.

The state assembly said the anti-open grazing bill will put an end to loss of lives and frequent clashes between herders and farmers.

Ogundoyin asked residents of the state to discard falsehoods and misconceptions about the bill.

The speaker said the state assembly was only seeking a legal framework to solve the challenges that have festered with the open rearing and grazing of cattle in the state.

He added that the bill will also encourage and protect the economic activities of entrepreneurs who engage in agriculture.

“We assured the people that all suggestions and memoranda of understanding submitted by various groups, agencies and representatives of different communities and tribes on the bill were looked into before it was passed,” he said.