Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello says the state is ready to give out land and be the pioneer testing ground for the establishment of cattle colonies currently being proposed by the Federal Government across the country.

In a statement released in Lokoja on Wednesday by his Chief Press Secretary, Mrs. Petra Onyegbule, Governor Bello said the implementation of the proposal would be of immense benefit to farmers, citizens and residents of the state as it would curb the incessant bloody clashes between farmers and herdsmen.

The statement read: “The governor wishes to allay the fears of the citizens of Kogi State, especially on ownership of communal land, that the policy is never an indirect attempt by the Federal Government to take and handover ancestral land to the herdsmen.

“To ensure that everyone is carried along in this process, Kogi State, through the Ministry of Agriculture, will soon be embarking on a series of stakeholders’ engagements to sensitize the people, farmers, cattle breeders and other stakeholders on the implementation of the new policy.

“The traditional rulers, leaders of various communities, opinion leaders and the entire citizens will be carried along in the course of the stakeholders’ engagement, so that we can collectively study the merits and demerits of the policy.

“This will enable us to jointly find solutions to the demerits and at same time improve on the merits to make it work for our state and for our people without any form of grievance.”

He debunked insinuations that the Federal Government was conspiring to take over communal land and give it to herdsmen, assuring the people of the state that the planned colonies were aimed at ensuring their safety and boosting agricultural production. He further urged them to contribute their quota towards the implementation of the initiative.