Governors Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State today met with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, Abuja over spate of insecurity in the Oyo and Ondo States.
It would be recalled that Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State had earlier released guidelines for herdmen in Ondo while Oyo has been witnessing insecurity in Ibarapaland.
Oyo state governor, Engr Seyi Makinde used the occasion to demand for more police squadrons for the state.
Addressing State House correspondents after his meeting with the president, Makinde said he came to brief him to ensure that the president has accurate information on the security situation in Oyo State given the amount of fake reports flying about.
“There has been a lot of fake news all around and I wanted to be sure that the president clearly has first-hand information from me, which I did. We also exchanged ideas on what we need to do better, some of the programmes we have put in place to ensure that this security issue is tackled. So, that’s basically why I came here,” he said.
On the specific issues he discussed with the president, the governor said: “Well, one of the issues I discussed with him is that Oyo State landmass is quite big, Oyo State is close to 29,000 square kilometres. If you take all the states in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, they are still not as big as Oyo State. And the state right now only has two Mobile Police Squadrons.
“So, I requested for more Mobile Police Squadrons to be deployed to Oyo State and also ask for support for the joint security outfit because the underlying issue here also has to do with limited opportunities.
“The tension will definitely go down if a lot of our youths are gainfully employed. So, I briefed the president on what we are doing in that regard.”
When asked about his disagreement with the activist, Sunday Igboho, on the ultimatum for Fulanis to leave Oyo State, the governor said: “Well, we have a history of living together peacefully among all the ethnic groups that are present in Oyo State.
“For instance, what triggered all of this was that Dr Aborede was murdered, that is criminal, but on the other hand, Seriki, Alhaji Kabir has been staying in that same place for 40 years.
“So, quite frankly, the people we are after are criminals. They are the bandits, hoodlums, armed robbers, kidnappers. Those are the true enemy of the state and those are the people we will go after.
“The Constitution of Nigeria guarantees that you can live in any part of Nigeria, you just have to be law-abiding, obey the local laws in such areas. That is what we are pushing and will continue to push as a government.”
