The leaders below the Confederation of Pastoralist NGOs, CONPA, and Kautal Pulaku Fulbe Association of Nigeria made the demands throughout a global press convention in Abuja on Sunday.
The General Secretary of the affiliation, Abdullahi Ardo, listed their three demands as:
“30% of agric budget should go to Ministry of Livestock Development.
“Gazette and defend 417 grazing reserves throughout Nigeria.
“Pilot ranches and fodder production in all 6 geopolitical zones.”
Ardo applauded Tinubu for creating the Livestock Ministry in 2024 after 60 years of agitation but said the ministry remains largely unfunded and without a clear operational framework.
“Livestock is a N30 trillion financial system. It can’t be handled with levity,” he said.
The Fulani leaders also demanded investigation into killings of pastoralists in Plateau, Niger, Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara, where they claimed hundreds including women and children were killed, cattle rustled and Rugas burnt.
“We are Nigerians. We are pastoralists. We are not bandits. We love this nation. Our cattle feed this nation. Criminals are criminals and don’t have any tribe,” Ardo stated.
They referred to as for a National Dialogue with Miyetti Allah, Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Jama’atu Nasril Islam, JNI, and safety companies to finish the farmer-herder disaster that has killed over 20,000 folks in a decade.
