Delta State Governor and Chairman, South-South Governors Forum, Ifeanyi Okowa has explained why the zone is setting up a regional security outfit.
He made the disclosure while appearing on Channels TV recently.
Explaining some of the decisions taken at a recent meeting of the forum in Asaba, Okowa said the governors have mandated the zonal development commission -BRACED (Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Cross River, Edo, Delta) Commission to work out the details of the security outfit.
Recall that governors of the South-West zone launched a regional security outfit codenamed Amotekun on January 9.
Each state in the region has since enacted laws to legalise the operation of the security outfit.
Asked for the name of the outfit, the governor said, “We have not actually come out with a name but we took a long discussion on the issue of having a regional security and we have asked the BRACED Commission to work out the details and to brief us as quickly as possible.”
Explaining why the South-South security outfit was necessary, Okowa said, “Actually, most of the Governors in the South-South region have been working individually as states to curb the various security challenges that we have, but we thought that it would be best as a region if we came together to collaborate with ourselves, realising that we share boundaries, and a situation where, talking about the issue of herdsmen/farmers clashes, they come through similar routes – from one state they can progress to another, and even when you come to the issue of kidnapping which has been a very troubling challenge at the moment, you find people operate probably in Edo and before you know it they are in Delta and in the next couple of days they are operating in Rivers State and it goes that way.
“So, we thought that if we are able to start a regional security outfit, we will be able to co-monitor and co-share information, working along with the security agencies and put the initial processes that we have as individual states, to be managed as a regional outfit in such a manner that it will become more productive.”
He explained that no amount of criticism would deter the governors from going ahead with the plan.
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