Respected lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has said under the Land Use Act, the Federal Government only has control over land within the Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria.
He said this on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme monitored by iBrandTV.
Falana was reacting to the committee approved by the President Muhammadu Buhari to review 368 grazing routes across 25 states in Nigeria.
According to Falana, “As far as the law is concerned, the President cannot, with profound respect, be looking for grazing routes in 2021 Nigeria. The Northern Governors’ Forum, Southern Governors’ Forum, Miyetti Allah and other stakeholders have come to the conclusion that open grazing is obsolete and no longer relevant.”
He said the President cannot impose any land policy on states, adding that “the land in every state in Nigeria is vested in the governor on behalf of the people.”
“Under the Land Use Act, the Federal Government has no control over land in Nigeria outside the Federal Capital Territory, and I think that has to be made very clear.”
He recalled that in 2018, the Federal Government came up with a policy called the National Livestock Transformation Plan, including ranching which he said has been adopted by the 36 state governments.
He added that fund has also been allocated to states who have started the implementation of the policy.
