Insecurity: Southern governors, monarchs establish funds
Southern governors and monarchs yesterday met in Ogun State to deliberate on the rising insecurity challenges in the country and resolved to create a zonal security fund in each of the geopolitical zones to enhance security operations and capacity building. The meeting attracted members of the Southern Governors’ Forum, comprising the governors of the South-West, […]
Southern governors and monarchs yesterday met in Ogun State to deliberate on the rising insecurity challenges in the country and resolved to create a zonal security fund in each of the geopolitical zones to enhance security operations and capacity building.
The meeting attracted members of the Southern Governors’ Forum, comprising the governors of the South-West, South-East and South-South geopolitical zones and the Southern Nigeria Traditional Rulers Council.
Governors in attendance included Dapo Abiodun, host governor and Chairman of the Forum, Siminalayi Fubara (Rivers); Alex Otti (Abia); Biodun Oyebanji (Ekiti), Francis Nwifiru (Ebonyi); Peter Mbah (Enugu), Charles Soludo (Anambra); Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos); Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom) and Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State.
The deputy governors – Kola Adewusi of Osun State, Bayo Lawal of Oyo, Peter Odey of Cross River State and Dennis Idahosa of Edo State – represented their governors at the meeting.
A communiqué issued at the end of the meeting confirmed that key areas of discussion included security, governance, development cooperation and institutional partnerships.
The forum reinforced the strategic role of traditional institutions in governance, security and cultural integration, and encouraged all member states to formally incorporate traditional rulers into their state security councils, recognising that these institutions are closest to the grassroots and hold critical intelligence capacities.
The governors later resolved to create a zonal security fund by ensuring that member states of each geopolitical zone will contribute to a dedicated fund to support zonal security operations and capacity building.
The forum agreed that a monthly zonal security coordination meeting of security advisers would be institutionalised, while also adopting an intelligence-sharing framework supported by modern communication equipment and surveillance technologies, enabling real-time monitoring and coordinated responses across states.
On state police, the forum reiterated its “longstanding call for the establishment of State Police as a constitutional imperative”, emphasising that the success of community-based and regional security outfits underscores the urgent need for decentralised policing.