Alaigbo Development Foundation (ADF) has sent a letter of congratulation to the Coordinator of ADF Legal Bureau-Barr Maxwell Ozoaka on the passage of the Anti-Open Grazing Bill by the Abia State House of Assembly.The letter was signed by the ADF President -Prof Uzodinma Nwala and The Secretary- PROF NATH ANIEKWU.The Letter reads ‘On behalf of the ADF Working Committee, we write to congratulate you, the entire members of the ADF Legal Bureau, the ADF Secretariat and all those who have helped to motivate the formulation and transmission of the ADF Draft of the Anti-Open Grazing Bill which has just been passed by the Abia State House of Assembly.We have no doubt that the Governor of Abia State, His Excellency Chief Okezie Ikpeazu, shall sooner than later give his assent to the Bill and thereby making it a subsisting law of Abia State.Only a strategic and patriotic mind can appreciate the magnitude of the implications of the Law on Anti-Open Grazing on the protection of the lives and property of our people in Abia State, their ancestral homes, the honour and sanctity of their wives and daughters as well as their fundamental rights of freedom of movement and pursuit of their daily bread.We also hereby register our ‘big thank you’ to the leadership and members of the Abia State House of Assembly. By this singular act they have registered their names in the history of not only Abia State but also of the entire Igbo race as leaders with enough courage and patriotic spirit to rise in defense of their people at a most critical period in their history.It is important, however to note, that the passage of the Bill is one thing, the implementation of the Anti-Open Grazing Law is another. With the passage of the Law, we expect the State Government shall provide the citizens the legal modalities to enable them work with other statutory institutions that may be required for the implementation the Law to defend both the law, on the one hand, and the lives, property, ancestral homes, agricultural and other economic resources of the people, as well as the lives and sanctity of their wives and daughters.It is at this point that ADF appeals to the Churches, the traditional institutions, the Town Unions, Youth, student and women organizations to rise and help to ensure the full implementation of the Law.
ADF calls on the remaining States in the Igbo-Speaking areas of Nigeria to follow suit and pass the Bill whose Draft was sent to them by ADF since February 2018.We appeal to all the Governments in Alaigbo, all socio-cultural organizations in Alaigbo, especially Ohanaeze Ndigbo and other pan-Igbo organizations to rise as one united people to defend this Law and thereby protect our people and their property and ancestral homes as well as the sanctity of their wives and daughters. We appeal especially to the youth organizations including the pro-Biafra and other patriotic self-determination organizations in Alaigbo to commit themselves to the defense of the law prohibiting Anti-Open Grazing in the Region’ The letter concluded.
Source : ADF Mail Site
