Governor Hyacinth Alia's office says he will decide on the FG's proposed ranching pilot based solely on Benue's interests, urging calm as clergy, lawmakers, and the PDP push back on the plan.
Makurdi — August 16, 2026
Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has assured residents that any decision on the Federal Government's proposed pilot ranching programme for the state will be guided strictly by the interests of Benue's people, as pressure mounts on him to take a firm public stance.
In a statement issued Saturday, the governor's Chief Press Secretary, Tersoo Kula, said Alia had never supported any position that would undermine Benue's welfare, and that the governor remains in active consultation with stakeholders and relevant authorities as he weighs the proposal.
Kula urged calm and cautioned against rushing to politicise the matter through street protests, churches, the media, or marketplaces, describing Alia as a democrat conscious that his mandate flows from the will of the people.
He said the governor would, as he has done before, approach the issue with careful judgement, adding that not every issue requires an immediate public pronouncement and that measured deliberation often produces better outcomes.
Alia's call for restraint comes amid a rapidly building wave of opposition to Benue's inclusion in the ranching pilot from clergy, lawmakers, and political parties alike.
The Nigeria Catholic Diocesan Priests Association, Makurdi Diocese, has rejected the plan outright, insisting any ranching programme must involve genuine consultation, consent, and compensation for host communities, and cannot be allowed to displace the state's food production.
The Benue PDP has separately accused the Federal Government of attempting to reintroduce the previously rejected RUGA and cattle colony policies under the softer language of "modern ranching," while a state lawmaker, Hon. Achado, has cited Benue's constitutional authority over land use to argue that the state's 2017 Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law should take precedence over any federal directive.
Adding a further layer of criticism, one prominent Tiv community voice, Iortyom, has accused the Alia administration itself of allowing the 2017 anti-open-grazing law to go weakly enforced, arguing that this failure, not the absence of ranching, has fuelled the escalation of farmland attacks in recent years.
The developments leave Alia navigating a delicate balancing act: caught between a Federal Government pushing a signature livestock policy and a home state where religious leaders, opposition politicians, and even allies within his own political base are demanding he reject or heavily condition Benue's participation.
With the PDP explicitly having called on him to "speak now," Alia's decision to hold off on a firm public position is likely to face continued scrutiny in the days ahead, particularly as neighbouring Plateau and Nasarawa states begin their own public deliberations on the same federal pilot.
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