From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja.
President Muhammadu Buhari met separating with the governors of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde and Ondo counterpart, Rotimi Akeredolu over insecurity besetting their region.
The two governors’ meeting on Wednesday followed that of the Ooni of Ife, Imperial Majesty, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi Ojaja II, who was hosted by the president in his official residence on Tuesday night.
Addressing State House Correspondents after his meeting with the president, Makinde said he came to brief him to be sure that the president has accurate information on the Oyo insecurity situation given the amount of fake news flying about.
He said he also used the occasion to ask for more Mobile Police Squadrons as again the only two operating in a state he said is bigger than the entire south east combine.
He said: “There has been a lot of fake news all around and I wanted to be sure that Mr. President clearly have 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 Mr. President is that Oyo State land mass is quite big, Oyo State is close to 29,000 square kilometers. If you take all the states in the south east geo-political 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 explained:
“Well, we have an history of living together peacefully amongst all the ethnic groups that are present in Oyo State.
“For instance, what triggered all of this was that Dr. Aborede was brutally 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.”
Governor Akeredolu, however, declined to speak to the media on his mission to the presidential villa when approached.
