Akeredolu, Makinde meet President Buhari, get nod to tackle criminals

• Ooni cautions against politicisation of insecurity, Aregbesola urges unity
Chairman of South-West Governors’ Forum and Ondo chief executive, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, and his Oyo counterpart, Seyi Makinde, yesterday, separately briefed President Muhammadu Buhari s on the security situation in their states at the State House, Abuja.

While Akeredolu declined comments at the end of the meeting, a statement by his Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Donald Ojogo, in Akure said he secured a presidential nod to evict elements in Ondo.

The statement read in part: “The governor met with the President and it centered on issue of security in the South West, especially Ondo State.

“It was a huge opportunity for the governor to put the records straight as regards the erroneous impression that Governor Akeredolu had asked all Fulani and herdsmen to vacate the state.

“The meeting afforded both leaders a great window to explore ingenious methods to tackle the issue of insecurity in the region.

“In particular, Governor Akeredolu sought, and indeed, obtained the President’s support and encouragement to flush out criminals in (from) the forests of Ondo State.”

Addressing reporters, Makinde said owing to the huge size of Oyo, measuring 29,000 square kilometers, the two existing mobile police squadrons were inadequate, hence he requested for more formations to better security in the state.

His words: “One of the issues I discussed with Mr. President is that Oyo State’s land mass is quite big. It 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. And the state right now only has two mobile police squadrons.

“So, I requested for more squadrons to be deployed to Oyo State and also ask for support for the joint security outfit, because the underlying issue here has to do with limited opportunities.”

ALSO, Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunwusi, who parleyed the Nigerian leader on Tuesday night, implored government not to allow the scary insecurity in South West to degenerate.

He advised that the issue should not be cashed on for political gains.

He said: “Political parties might probably want to hijack it (insecurity) and to the glory of God, as the co-chairman of National Council of Traditional Rulers, it is our duty to make sure that everything is right.”

The monarch added: The way out is to separate the bad eggs from the good ones and take politics out of it.”

Stating that Buhari promised prompt action, the revered traditional ruler noted that the Nigerian leader urged state governors and other stakeholders to collaborate with royal fathers to address the situation headlong.

BESIDES, the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, canvassed peace and unity.

In a statement by his media aide, Mohammed Manga, the two-term erstwhile Osun governor stressed constructive dialogue, neighbourliness and peace-building.