By Ola Ajayi & Daud Olatunji

ABEOKUTA- GOVERNOR Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, yesterday, disclosed that his administration would soon have a world-class ranch in the state, to be created through a Public-Private Partnership.

This came as some prominent Yoruba leaders called on President Muhammadu Buhari to outrightly cancel the RUGA project as a way of restoring the confidence of the people.

The Governor, who disclosed this in his office while receiving a team from Irish Dairy Milk who were in the state to discuss how best they could set up their manufacturing plant in the state, said that his administration was glad about the opportunity the agricultural sector brings to the table.

He said: “We are very excited by the opportunity that the agricultural sector presents; the agricultural sector is one of our biggest pillars. Agriculture for us, we see it as one of our biggest pillars because not only do we believe that through agriculture we can employ our youths, we can guarantee food security, we can also generate revenue.

“At this point in time in this country, there is a lot of discussion on cattle rearing, cattle ranching, for us in Ogun State, besides the fact that we are looking at agric as a sector, we are looking at livestock as well.

We believe that our proximity to other states gives us the advantage of being able to feed them as well via poultry, so we are actually looking at how to set up our own ranches to be owned by the Public-Private Partnership, PPP.

In his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer, Irish Diary Milk, Global, Samir Boudjada noted that the company chose the state because of its proximity to Lagos state.

Yoruba elders ask Buhari to cancel Ruga

Meanwhile, speaking at different fora in Ibadan, Chief Taiye Ayorinde, Baale of Ekotedo and Dr Kunle Olajide, the embattled secretary-general of Yoruba Council of Elders, YCE, argued that it is only when the Federal Government does this that Nigerians would have assurance that the presidency is not trying to favour one ethnic group at the expense of others.

VANGUARD