Members of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Gboko on Sunday staged a prayer walk in opposition to the Federal Government’s proposed Pilot Ranching project in Benue State.
The procession started from Bristow Roundabout and continued along Orchivirigh Makir Dzakpe Road as participants moved through the town in a show of collective concern. The church members later gathered outside JS Tarka Stadium in Gboko, where they held prayers and publicly voiced their rejection of the initiative.
Carrying placards and banners, the participants displayed messages such as “Take Ranching to Sambisa Forest,” “No to Open Grazing,” “No to Building of Ranches in Benue State,” and “Benue State is the Food Basket of the Nation, No Land for Ranching.” The visual display underscored their firm stance against any form of ranching or open grazing within the state.
In their position, the church argued that establishing ranches in Benue for those who have been responsible for deaths, displacements and the destruction of the state’s local economy would amount to adding salt to the injuries already suffered by the people. They maintained that the land of Benue should remain dedicated to its traditional role as the food basket of the nation rather than being converted for ranching purposes.
The participants therefore called on the Federal Government to relocate the proposed pilot ranching project to Sambisa Forest, insisting that Benue should not be made to bear the burden of a scheme they believe would further compound the challenges facing the state.
