By Tunde Olamilekan
Governor Ademola Adeleke, alongside other governors in the Southwest, have announced the creation of a South West Security Fund, a joint intelligence-sharing system, tighter border monitoring and renewed advocacy for state police.
They made the announcement during an emergency meeting in Ibadan, Oyo State, to take decisive actions on security challenges across the region.
Those are the meetings include Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa (Ondo), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), and Biodun Oyebanji (Ekiti)
Adeleke was represented by his deputy, Prince Kola Adewusi at the meeting held at the Oyo State Government Secretariat in Ibadan.
The emergency meeting was convened to address rising security concerns with a review of collaborative security initiatives, fast-track infrastructural development, and strengthen regional integration under the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria.
In a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, the governors commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for “the fight against insecurity, various economic reforms and other developmental agenda.”
The governors also expressed solidarity with the Federal Government over recent kidnappings in Kebbi, Kwara and Niger States, praising what they described as the “swift response” that led to the rescue of abducted Kwara worshippers and more than 51 students of St. Mary’s Catholic school in Niger State.
Reading the communiqué after the meeting, Lagos State Governor and Chairman of the South West Governors’ Forum, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said that after reviewing the security situation in the region, the governors unveiled 10 key resolutions.
He said the governors resolved to establish a South West Security Fund (SWSF), to be domiciled under the DAWN Commission. He said the fund will be administered by the Forum of Special Advisers on Security and will meet monthly to coordinate regional interventions.
According to the communiqué, the system will “exchange threat notifications, incident logs, traveller and cargo alerts, and coordinate state-to-state rapid response.”
Commending the NSCDC, hunters’ groups and Amotekun Corps, the governors called on the Federal Government to urgently improve security across the South West’s forest belts.
“The Federal Government should help deploy Forest Guards across the South West states,” they said, noting that states will provide the personnel. The governors also reaffirmed a “collective commitment to reclaiming the forests” from criminals.
The governors raised alarm over “unregulated interstate migration that continues to pose significant challenges,” calling for stricter border monitoring, biometric data collection and improved collaboration with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
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