GOVERNOR OKPEBHOLO INAUGURATES LIVESTOCK AND BOUNDARY COMMITTEES TO STEM HERDER-FARMER CLASHES

Determined to tackle one of the state’s most persistent security threats, Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State on Tuesday June 17th inaugurated two strategic committees: the Livestock Control Committee and the Boundary Dispute Resolution Committee. The initiative is designed to prevent future violent clashes between herders and farmers and to resolve communal land disputes that often trigger unrest.
Speaking during the ceremony at the Government House in Benin City, Governor Okpebholo charged the committee members to act with integrity and fear of God, noting that they had been chosen for their experience and moral standing. “You must confine herders to defined locations. That’s the only way we’ll avoid these deadly conflicts,” the governor said.
The 27-member Livestock Control Committee, chaired by retired Major General Cecil Esekhaigbe, includes traditional leaders, security experts, and agricultural technocrats. General Esekhaigbe acknowledged the scale of the task and assured the governor of their commitment to fulfilling the mandate, saying, “We will not fail you. Security is one of your five-point agenda, and we will make that a reality.”
The Boundary Committee, inaugurated on the same day, is tasked with identifying and resolving land-related disputes that often simmer into ethnic or communal violence. The governor emphasized that many of the conflicts plaguing rural communities have their roots in unresolved land boundaries, and promised that his administration will prioritize fair, transparent resolutions based on facts and community consultations.
These steps mark a new phase in the administration’s security agenda, which observers say is focused not just on policing, but on addressing the root causes of conflict, including land management, inter-communal relations, and livestock control.