Nigeria, Aug. 25 -- The Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has rejected any plan to cede land in the state to pastoralists for ranching without the consent of his administration and the people.

Mr Alia stated this on Tuesday during a town hall meeting with stakeholders from the Sankera bloc, comprising Katsina-Ala, Ukum and Logo local government areas.

The governor's position comes amid renewed debate over the federal government's National Ranching Policy, under which Benue was selected as one of the pilot states for the establishment of livestock facilities.

"Nobody will force us to cede even an inch of our land to the pastoralist for any purpose. If that must happen, I can assure you, it will not be this time that I am still the go...