Governors in the South-West states and the traditional rulers met in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Saturday to appraise the security situation in the zone.
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, who doubles as the Chairman of the South-West Governors’ Forum, said that the governors in the zone and the traditional rulers met to appraise the security situation in the zone.
Akeredolu hinted at the end of the meeting that it was at the instance of the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari; the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu; and the Director-General of the Department of State Services, but he said the trio could not fly out of Abuja due to bad weather.
The Ondo State governor read a three point communique agreed to after the meeting, which started in part “That the meeting supported the decision of the National Economic Council on forest management; that the nation’s borders need to be fully secured and protected; that open grazing must be checked and looked at and that media practitioners must assist the country to end fake news.”
The meeting, held inside the Executive Council Chambers of the Governor’s office, Agodi, Ibadan, had in attendance five governors including the host, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State; his Ekiti State counterpart, Kayode Fayemi; Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun and Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State.
The meeting equally had in attendance the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of South-West, David Folawiyo, and security chiefs serving in Oyo State.
Others included the chairmen of Council of Traditional Rulers in each of the South-West states and some first class monarchs.
According to Akeredolu, the meeting was targeted at finding lasting solutions to the lingering security issues in the zone.
Some of the traditional rulers who took part in the meeting include Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi; the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III; Akarigbo of Remo, Oba Babatunde Ajayi; Olugbo of Ugbo kingdom, Oba Fredrick Akinruntan; Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Saliu Adetunji, Aje Ogungunnjso 1; and Olugbon of Orile Igbon, Oba Francis Olusola Alao.
Also in attendance was the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Ngozi Onadeko, and other heads of security agencies in Oyo State.
At the end of the meeting, Governor Akeredolu, who briefed journalists on the resolutions arrived at, said that the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari; Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu; and the Director General of the DSS, Yusuf Bichi, could not make the journey to Ibadan to attend the meeting due to bad weather.
