Southern governors in Nigeria on Monday, resolved that security agencies must notify them as the chief security officer of their states before they carry out any operation within their domain.
This was contained in a communiqué issued today at the end of the governors’ meeting in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos State. It was signed by the Governor of Ondo State and Chairman, Southern Governors’ Forum, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN.
The communiqué didn’t explicitly mention the recent raid of the Department of State Services on the Ibadan residence of Yoruba activist, Sunday Adeyemo also known as Sunday Igboho, but the decision of the governors was a veiled reference to the incident.
The governors in the communiqué issued at the end of their meeting said, “The Forum reviewed the security situation in the country and commends security operatives for their relentless efforts in restoring security and safety and commiserates with families and loved ones of those who have fallen in the line of duty;
Today, at the meeting with Governors of Southern Nigeria, we reviewed the security situation in the country; the ongoing constitutional amendments; and the recent passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill by the 9th National Assembly.
On these issues, we reached the following resolutions:
1. That all arrests and prosecutions must be made within the ambit of the law and fundamental human rights;
2. That we must look into the establishment of state police structures to address issues of insecurity across the nation;
3. That Wednesday, 1st September 2021 shall be set aside for the promulgation of the anti-open grazing law in all Member States.
Additionally, we Rejected the proposed 3% allocation for host communities that was passed by the Senate, and recommend the adoption of the 5% allocation that was passed by the House of Representatives.
We also Reject the proposed removal of the electronic transmission of results clause from the ongoing amendment to the electoral act; and Resolved that the next President of Nigeria should come from the Southern part of the country in the interest of equity and fairness.As we work to consolidate our democracy, we will continue to remain united on these key issues that affect all our people.
