Governors from the South West are mulling a joint security team to check the influx of the Islamic State of West African Province and Boko Haram from gaining access to the geopolitical zone of the country.
The governors, under the aegis of the South West Governors’ Forum, took the decision when they met in Lagos State on Thursday.
According to the communique of the meeting, the governors also did an appraisal of the reforms being undertaken by the Federal Government to reposition the country, which they said has earned President Bola Tinubu a vote of confidence.
They said the country had returned to the path of economic stability as a result of the outcome of the economic reforms.
The meeting, presided over by the Chairman of the Forum and Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, was held at the State House in Alausa, Ikeja and lasted for more than four hours.
In attendance were Governors Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Lucky Aiyedatiwa (Ondo), Biodun Oyebaniji (Ekiti), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun) and Ademola Adeleke (Osun).
Besides, the South West Governors resolved to establish a Joint Surveillance and Monitoring Team to coordinate security operations across the region.
The move, they said, was a direct response to the emerging threats of ISWAP, Boko Haram, and other criminal groups whose activities are inimical to the peace and stability of the South West.
Sanwo-Olu, while reading the communique, said the governors unanimously passed a confidence vote on President Tinubu for the economic stability and improvements recorded across the nation, particularly in the sustained supply and distribution of petroleum products and the stabilisation of the exchange rate.
The Forum applauded the Tinubu-led administration for the successful implementation of the student loan scheme through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, pointing out that the scheme had benefited students in tertiary institutions.
Sanwo-Olu said: “The Forum commends President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the economic stability and improvements recorded across the nation, particularly in the sustained supply and distribution of petroleum products and the stabilisation of the exchange rate. The Forum urges citizens to continue supporting the President’s efforts to strengthen the economy and improve the overall well-being of Nigerians.
“We also applaud the Federal Government for the successful implementation of the Student Loan Scheme under the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), which has benefited South West students in tertiary institutions. It encourages all eligible students in the region to take full advantage of this initiative to access higher education, vocational training, and skills acquisition programmes.”
The Forum commended the member States for regional efforts to foster peace and security, but called for more vigilance to proactively address the potential threat posed by subversive activities of criminal groups bent on causing instability in the region.
Sanwo-Olu said the Forum remained committed to taking necessary measures to counter any form of threats that could threaten peace in the region.
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The communique reads in part: “The Forum commends the South West Governors for maintaining relative peace and security in the region, particularly during the recent festive period. It calls on all States to continue fostering peaceful coexistence among member States. Acknowledging the threat posed by ISWAP activities in parts of the South West, the Forum strongly condemns any threat to the region’s security. It encourages enhanced collaboration between the Nigeria Police Force and local security outfits, urging them to remain vigilant. The Forum also commits to taking necessary actions to counter these threats.
“The Forum agreed to establish a Joint Surveillance and Monitoring Team, which will oversee and coordinate security across the region. As part of the resolution, the Forum has committed to deploy advanced technology, including area surveillance system that will enhance security operations. The Governors resolved that our Special Advisers on Security will collaborate on intelligence gathering and share valuable intelligence to State security agencies, local security networks, and federal law enforcement authorities operating within the South West.”
The South West Governors also discussed measures to enhance food adequacy and curbing activities disrupting the food supplies within the region.
The Forum frowned at unscrupulous practices of middlemen in the food supply chain, which, they said, were responsible for inflated food prices and artificial scarcity.
The Forum agreed to implement the State Food Inflation Joint Monitoring Team to collectively address sabotage and other related issues leading to arbitrary increase in food prices.
Sanwo-Olu said: “The Forum expresses concern over the activities of unscrupulous middlemen who deliberately inflate prices of goods and commodities in South West markets. It has, therefore, agreed to establish a State Food Inflation Joint Monitoring Team and also the establishment of Aggregation Centre and Food Hubs to foster inter-state collaboration and mitigate food inflation.”
The Governors hailed the Federal Government and the Senate for the creation of the South West Development Commission, with the Forum unanimously choosing Cocoa House in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, as the operational headquarters of the Commission.
They expressed their confidence in the efforts of Odu’a Investment Company Limited in efficiently managing joint assets of the South West region over the past five years.
While applauding the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria Commission for its improved performance over the past 12 months, the Forum urged it to strengthen its working relationship with the region’s Commissioners for Agriculture on industrialisation and infrastructural development across the region.
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