The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum has rejected the Federal Government’s proposed pilot livestock scheme, saying it fears the policy could threaten ancestral land rights in parts of the Middle Belt.
The forum said the proposed pilot locations included Nasarawa, Plateau, Benue, Southern Kaduna, Taraba and the Federal Capital Territory.
It questioned why implementation appeared heavily concentrated in the Middle Belt.
The organization said it was not opposed to ranching, modern livestock production or development of the livestock value chain.
Its objection centered on what it described as inadequate consultation, unclear land safeguards and the risk of compulsory acquisition.
The group argued that ranching was fundamentally an economic activity that could be undertaken through private investment.
It said government should not use public interest provisions to transfer community land for the benefit of particular private or ethnic interests.
The forum also disputed any interpretation of the Land Use Act that it believed would permit arbitrary acquisition.
It said customary rights of occupancy remained legally relevant and that revocation had to follow due process.
The group warned that the pilot could eventually be expanded to southern states without sufficient local consent.
It also alleged that the policy could create permanent settlement zones for nomadic herders in areas affected by previous farmer herder conflicts.
That interpretation represents the forum’s concern and was not established as the stated objective of the Federal Government in the source material.
The leaders called for transparent consultation with affected communities and stronger protection of land rights before implementation.
The dispute reflects the long standing sensitivity of livestock policy in Nigeria, where agricultural modernization, land ownership, security and ethnic relations frequently intersect.
