The founder of the House of Faith Christian Church Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State, Rev Tunde Afe has lamented the invasion and destruction of his cassava farm by suspected herdmen in Ekiti.
Afe spoke against the backdrop of an announcement by the Commissioner for Agriculture in Ekiti State, Olabode Olatoyi, that no farm was destroyed by herdsmen in the state last week.
The commissioner made the announcement following a report of an alleged destruction of a multi-million naira maize farm belonging to members of the Maize Grower Processing Marketer Association of Nigeria (MAGPAMAN) in Aduloju farmstead located along Ado-Ijan road in the state capital by herdsmen.
In a statement sent to newsmen on Thursday, Afe faulted the claims by the Commissioner, noting that his cassava farm in Itapaji, Ikole local government area of the state was destroyed by herders last week.
A one-time governorship aspirant in the state, Afe said political office holders should be cautious about playing politics with the precarious situation.
“It is wrong for some people to say ‘No single farm has been destroyed in Ekiti by Fulani herdsmen’ Please don’t play politics with this issue. These herdsmen destroy farms in Ekiti every day. For example, a section of my cassava farm at Itapaji Ekiti was eaten up by cows last week” he said.
According to him, farmers had stopped reporting to police because nothing came out of all the reports that had been made to them.
“These Fulani herdsmen are in Ekiti doing a lot of havoc. This is the third time they are destroying my farm”, he lamented.
When contacted, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Olatoyi said the government would make its position known to the public on the incident on Friday.
