The Bill prohibiting the open grazing of cattle in Lagos State has been signed into law by the Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Governor Sanwo-Olu’s assent to the bill comes after some governors in southern Nigeria, including Ogun, Ondo, Akwa Ibom, and Rivers states, signed the same law prohibiting open grazing.
Members of the Lagos State House of Assembly passed the anti-open grazing and the VAT bills on September 9, following unanimous votes by the lawmakers and after each bill was separately read for the third time.
While open grazing has been prohibited in some states in the South, other states in the region are making effort to ensure the bill becomes a law, according to a report on Channels TV.
This is in line with the resolution of the Nigerian Southern Governors Forum that member-states should enact or amend the anti-open grazing laws to align with the uniform template and aspiration of the governors.
In their latest meeting held on Thursday last week in Enugu, the governors reviewed the state of the nation and the progress of implementation of the decisions reached in previous sittings, and commended the compliance rates amongst the southern states.
But the position of the governors has been criticized by the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, who said it was unconstitutional.
“It is about constitutionality within the context of the freedoms expressed in our Constitution; can you deny the rights of a Nigerian?” Malami queried during an interview on Channels Television‘s Politics Today in May.
“For example, it is as good as saying, perhaps, maybe, the northern governors coming together to say they prohibit spare parts trading in the North.
“Does it hold water? Does it hold water for a northern governor to come and state expressly that he now prohibits spare parts trading in the North?”
