Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, on Tuesday, said his Ondo State counterpart, Rotimi Akeredolu, has been mandated to speak on security issues on behalf of other governors in the South-West region.
Fayemi also said other governors in the region including Dapo Abiodun (Ogun State), Seyi Makinde (Oyo State), Gboyega Oyetola (Osun State) and Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos State) are not cowards if they choose not to speak on national security because they have already chosen a speaker in Akeredolu, who is the Chairman of the South-West Governors’ Forum.
Fayemi also urged political leaders at state and national levels as well as leaders of socio-political groups to be measured in their discussion of national security matters.
He stated this when he received the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, in Ado-Ekiti on Tuesday.
At the meeting held behind closed doors at the Governor’s Office, Ado-Ekiti, issues affecting security and economic development of the Southwest and the country in general were discussed.
The governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Yinka Oyebode, in a statement titled, ‘Fayemi, Gani Adams Meet In Ekiti’, said Fayemi appreciated Adams for his concern for peace, security and stability of the country, and assured him that peace will reign in the region and Nigeria in general.
“So, Governor Akeredolu speaks on our behalf. This is the reason you may not see other governors from the Southwest speaking on current security issues. It is not out of cowardice or compromise, it is simply because we have chosen a chairman who speaks for us,” Oyebode quoted Fayemi as saying.
Of late, nomadic herders in parts of the country, especially in the South-West geopolitical zone, have been accused of trespassing on farmlands of host farmers with their cattle.
Farm produce worth millions of naira have been destroyed in the last few months. Some herders have also been accused of raping women in host communities, kidnapping the rich and in some cases, killing host residents, amongst other unprintable crimes.
State governors have also mulled ban on open grazing, amongst others as solution to the menace but there seems to be no end in sight to the problem.
