STATE Governors of the South East region has stated why they won’t donate lands in their domain for cattle ranching.

The federal government in a bid to curb herdsmen and farmers clashes proposed the establishment of cattle ranching nationwide. This move has been rejected by some states.

The eastern governors while noting that their do not have enough land for themselves to use also reiterated their calls for restructuring saying it remained the only way forward for the country.

The governors also called for an emergency meeting in the zone with heads of the federal security agencies, farmers and herdsmen in order to stop the movement and prevent the clashes.

Rising from a four-hour closed door meeting at the weekend held at Government House in Enugu, the Enugu State capital, the governors stated that they had noted the increased challenges in the movement of herdsmen from one state and region to another with the attendant clashes with farmers.

“Let’s make it clear that no land in the South-east has been donated for ranching and the federal government has not asked us to do so either. We have not approved any land for ranching and we will never do so because we don’t even have enough land in our zone for our use, let alone for ranching,” the chairman of the forum and governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, said.

The governors also expressed dismay over the huge sums of money they spend in paying farmers whose crops are destroyed by herdsmen.

In a nine-point communique read to journalists at the end of the meeting, the governors who condemned the recent gruesome murder of innocent citizens in Plateau State, joined other zones in demanding justice for Plateau people and also commiserated with the governor of the state over the unfortunate development.

Apart of Governor Umahi and Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Deputy Governors of Abia, Ude Oko-Chukwu and Anambra, Nkem Okeke, stood in for their states. Governor Rochas Okorocha was absent.

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Mr Umahi said the meeting which also had in attendance some other major stakeholders, including the President General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Chief Nnia Nwodo; chairmen of traditional rulers from the five states of the zone as well as former Minister of Power, Prof. Bart Nnaji, among others, received presentations from the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation on the vexed issue of restructuring.

While reiterating its earlier stand that restructuring remains the only way forward for Nigeria, the governors resolved to take a studied look at the template of restructuring and will make its final stand clear by its next meeting.