S/west govs to sign Amotekun bill Friday

Governors of the six states of the South West geo-political zone will sign bills on the operation of Amotekun on Friday, Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has disclosed. It could be recalled that at the end of a meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo last month at the Presidential Villa, it was agreed […]

Governors of the six states of the South West geo-political zone will sign bills on the operation of Amotekun on Friday, Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has disclosed.

It could be recalled that at the end of a meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo last month at the Presidential Villa, it was agreed that legal instrument be put in place through the state houses of assembly on the security outfit

The governors of the six South West states of Ekiti, Lagos, Ondo, Ogun, Osun and Oyo had launched the security outfit to check the rising insecurity in their geopolitical zone.

Fayemi, who disclosed this in Ado-Ekiti, yesterday while receiving the draft bill from the Ekiti State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Wale Fapohunda, and his team at the governor’s office, said he and his colleagues have agreed with speakers in the assemblies of the six states to expedite action on its passage.

“My colleagues and I were still in discussion about this yesterday (Sunday) and we have promised ourselves that this will be given accelerated discussion in our various state executive councils this week and we also sent it expeditiously to our various houses of assembly this week.

“Our discussions with our speakers who had been really waiting for this, some of them had been recalling other honourable members from recess in order to give this an accelerated passage in their various legislatures, so that by Friday the 14th of February, the bill that hopefully would have been passed into law would be assented to simultaneously in the six states of the Southwest,” he said.

He said Amotekun was conceived to protect all residents in the South West. “It is not an exclusive protection of Yoruba people living in the six states; it is going to talk about ensuring that our highways are free of banditry, armed robbery, kidnapping and  all forms of brigandage and criminality in our states,” he said.

In his speech at the presentation, Mr. Wale Fapohunda, said the proposed bill was for a law to establish Ekiti State Security Network on Amotekun force, to assist in maintaining law and order in the state.