4th September, 2021
The Anti-Grazing Bill has just scaled the first reading at the Lagos State House of Assembly.
This happened before the September 1, 2021 deadline set by the Southern governors for member states to pass a bill banning open grazing in their domains.
At their last meeting in Lagos, the governors gave themselves September 1 deadline for all member states to pass the bill on open grazing.
Rampaging herdsmen have been maiming, raping and killing innocent people in their farms, as well as destroy their crops in the name of grazing.
As at September 1, nothing is heard of the bill in Lagos until it was learnt that the Assembly met late August for the bill to scale the first reading.
The Lagos State Government claimed it had presented the bill before the House of Assembly and that the delay is not its fault.
But the Assembly claimed it had been on recess and could not touch the bill.
However, the Assembly held an emergency sitting to deliberate on urgent state matters and used the opportunity to deliberate on the bill.
Clark of the House, Olalekan Onafeko presented the bill before the house before it was giving accelerated hearing to scale the first hurdle.
The Assembly has gone back on recess and will resume on Monday to give the bill the needed attention.