Fulani Leaders Seek 30% Agric Budget, Protection Of 417 Grazing Reserves

Fulani leaders have called on President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to allocate at least 30 per cent of the agricultural budget to the Ministry of Livestock Development and establish pilot ranches across the six geopolitical zones.

The leaders, under the Confederation of Pastoralists, also demanded the protection of 417 grazing reserves nationwide as part of efforts to address challenges facing pastoralists and resolve persistent farmer-herder conflicts.

The General Secretary of the Kautal Pulaku Fulbe Association of Nigeria, Abdullahi Ardo, made the demands on behalf of the coalition during an international press conference in Abuja on Sunday.

They urged the federal government to investigate alleged killings of pastoralists in Plateau, Niger, Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara and other states, provide relief materials to displaced victims and protect them against attacks and ethnic profiling.

President Tinubu established the Ministry of Livestock Development in 2024 to address farmer-herder conflicts through ranching, pasture development and improved infrastructure, while transforming the livestock sector into a modern, commercially viable industry.

Ardo, however, said the ministry remained largely unfunded and lacked a clear operational framework, despite the expectations generated by its creation.

“We commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for creating the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development , a historic decision that gave us hope after 60 years of agitation. However, years later, the ministry remains largely unfunded and without a clear operational framework,” he said.

He called for the ministry’s presence at the community level to ensure it achieved its objectives.

“We call on the President and the National Assembly to allocate at least 30 per cent of the agricultural budget to the ministry, immediately gazette and protect the 417 grazing reserves, start pilot ranches and fodder production in the six geopolitical zones,” Ardo added.

The leaders described livestock as a ₦30 trillion economy that deserved greater government attention.

They also called on Tinubu to convene a national dialogue involving Miyetti Allah groups, religious leaders, traditional rulers, security agencies and state governments to address farmer-herder conflicts.

According to them, the conflicts have claimed more than 20,000 lives in 10 years, making dialogue, justice, compensation and peaceful coexistence necessary.

Ardo alleged that hundreds of pastoralists had been killed in coordinated attacks in several states in recent months, while thousands of cattle had been rustled or killed and settlements destroyed.

“With deep pain, we report that in the last few months, hundreds of innocent pastoralists have been killed in coordinated attacks in Plateau, Niger, Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara and other parts of the country,” he said.

He alleged that many of the attacks, including those in which women, children and elderly people were killed, had not received adequate public attention.

The leaders demanded independent investigations into the alleged killings and urged the National Emergency Management Agency and the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons to provide relief materials to displaced pastoralists.

They also called on security agencies to protect pastoralists, citing Sections 14 and 33 of the 1999 Constitution, which address governance principles and the right to life, respectively.

The coalition urged federal and state governments, traditional rulers, farmers’ groups, security agencies and development partners to work together towards lasting solutions to farmer-herder conflicts.

They called for equal access to justice, inclusive security and development, and greater cooperation among communities to promote peaceful coexistence and national development.