Commissioner for Information and Strategy in Lagos State, Gbenga Omotoso, has said that nothing will obstruct the implementation of the anti-open grazing law that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has just signed into law.
This is coming at a time Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, said the law, as signed by Lagos and several other states, was implementable.
Speaking on ‘TVC’ on Tuesday, as monitored by Phenomenal.com.ng, Omotoso said nothing would delay the implementation as the process to get this done was already on.
Among such, he said, was the establishment of the task force that will be in charge.
Omotoso said, “Once a law is signed, it is meant to come into effect. What we are also doing is to have a task force in place. Once we have this is in place, the law becomes effective. And that will be in a matter of days.”
ALSO READ: Contract of defaulting contractors ends in 7 days – Sanwo-Olu
On the aspect of the law that asks whoever wants to an establish enclosed an grazing site to get permission from government, the commissioner said this was important to ensure order and sanity.
He added, “There should be no indiscriminate establishment of grazing facilities in Lagos State. You won’t say because the law that stops cattle from roaming about gives room for fenced grazing places, then you establish such in residential areas. No, that is not possible. That is why we say that before you can build such, you must take permission from the Ministry of Agriculture, which will be able to carry out necessary inspection. Again, this is not to inconvenience anybody, but to check indiscriminate establishment of the facilities. It doesn’t have to be a residential area; your site should not be where it will disturb other facilities like those of health.”
Omotoso also refuted a claim that the cattle owners association, Miyetti Allah, was not consulted before the law was enacted. According to him, the state House of Assembly help public hearing, where all stakeholders, including groups, were present.
“The lawmakers considered their positions because the law was not made for people to suffer. Lagos’ is a 21st century economy, so things have to be appropriately done. The law is in the interest of all Lagosians. It is not to fight any section of society. Fifty per cent of the cattle from other places are consumed in Lagos. So, all we also want to achieve is to make the beef we eat in Lagos better. We want meat from cattle that are healthy and we want to improve on the productivity of the animals too,” Omotoso said.
