The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has said he is sending an anti-open grazing bill to the State Assembly to give legal backing to the ban on open grazing in the state and to protect farmers and other residents from marauding herdsmen.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Isaiah Odoli/Omerelu streets in New GRA Phase 1 in the Obio-Akpor Local Government Area on Wednesday, Wike, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Kekvin Ebiri, said in addition to protecting farmlands in Rivers State, as well as women and youths, the bill was part of the resolution made by the Southern Governors Forum.

“You can’t go to the farm anymore; those who rear cattle will not allow your crops to grow. Let me say clearly, now that the House of Assembly has come back, we have to submit the bill on anti-open grazing as we agreed in the Southern Governors Forum.

“We must do it to protect our farms, protect our women and protect our youths so that nobody will go and kill them,” the governor stated.

READ ALSO: NORTH LAW CRIMINALISES OPEN GRAZING, BANS ARMS BY HERDSMEN –SENATE SPOKESPERSON

Wike asserted that Nigerians, who had considered the All Progressives Congress as a better alternative to the Peoples Democratic Party in 2015, must be regretting the deplorable condition of the country under the APC.

“The exchange rate has now got to N510 to a dollar. When they took over, it was N150 to a dollar. They said they’ll give employment. Do we have employment today? Are your children employed?” he added.

According to Wike, the country is now on life support and requires prayers from well-meaning Nigerians.

“Since APC came into power, you can now see what Nigeria has turned to. Each day you wake up, you hear people are being killed. If you watch television and read the news in newspapers, you will hear so and so numbers are killed or kidnapped in so and so state,” Wike added.

He also stated that the APC-led Federal Government had not done anything in Rivers State.

He described as untrue the claim by the Federal Government that it was jointly executing the Bonny-Bodo Road.

Wike said, “That road was supposed to be done by NLNG and the Federal Government. NLNG brought their N60bn, but the Federal Government did not bring any kobo.”