The Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) has said the meeting of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) with Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) fell short of people’s expectations because the victims of herders’ criminal activities were not invited.

The elders, who criticised the meeting, said its resolution does not represent the general wishes of the Yoruba, who are being attacked by herdsmen.

The council in a statement by its Secretary General, Dr. Kunle Olajide, in Ado-Ekiti described the meeting as a “sham”, arguing that the representatives of Yoruba socio-cultural groups ought to have been invited and not only MACBAN.

It noted that the Southwest governors were not at the meeting to represent the region, as they were minority and were conveners representing the interest of the Nigeria Governor’s Forum, which is the arbitrator of the dispute.

The Yoruba Leaders’ Forum (YLF) has said it is miffed by the reaction of the Presidency to the ultimatum by Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu to herdsmen to vacate forests.

A       statement yesterday by the group’s Convener, Mr George Ogunjimi, said:

Security matters have reached a point in the Southwest that governors have to be proactive in tackling it, as the Federal Government looks helpless in combating crime.

“It is strange that the same government that is unable to face insecurity headlong is the one berating governors for fighting the war.

“The Federal Government should call for Sovereign National Conference to address the constant imbroglio between the herders and other ethnic nationalities bordering on the space of Nigeria in order to put an end to the senseless waste of precious lives and property.”