Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has said that the state would not participate in the Ruga settlement project for herdsmen.
Mr Wike made the statement on Friday on receiving the President of Throne-Room Trust Ministries, Nuhu Kure, at the Government House in Port Harcourt.
Wike said this despite the Federal Government suspending the proposed project amid criticism from Southern governors and stakeholders.
“Like I said, Rivers State will not participate in any settlement programme for herdsmen by whatever name it is called. I speak as the governor of Rivers State.
“If they want water for the cattle, they can lay pipes from the Bonny ocean to the far north. That is what we can contribute. We don’t have lands for any settlement scheme. Our land is for commercial agriculture,” Wike said.
The governor implored preachers to pray for the country, saying Nigeria needed God’s intervention.
Kure called on the Federal Government to arrest northern youths who gave other Nigerians ultimatum over the suspension of the Ruga settlement programme.
“I want to take advantage of my visit to appeal to the Federal Government through you that people who are going to this extreme should be arrested. If government cannot call these people to order, it means we have a lawless society. It means we don’t have a government,” he said.
