Ondo State governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, says governors in the South-West are collaborating to secure the region amid the rising spate of crime across the country.
The governor spoke after the High Court in Abuja convicted four persons over the 2022 attack on St Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State.
“What I am saying in essence is that we are talking to ourselves; we are working,” Aiyedatiwa said on Channels Television’s Politics Today when asked about the preparedness of governors in the region to address insecurity.
“The other day we had a meeting in Oyo State, in Ibadan, where we tried to map out what we need to do together to secure the South-West geopolitical zone, especially with our security network, Amotekun. Don’t forget we have it in Ondo State, Oyo State, Ekiti State, and Ogun State. It is only in Lagos State that they don’t have it, but they have their own security.”
The comment came following a spike in insecurity in some South-West states, especially with the abduction of students and teachers in Oyo and the kidnapping incident in the Ilejemeje Local Government Area of Ekiti State.
These developments have raised concerns over the safety of residents and properties in the region.
However, Aiyedatiwa said Ondo State, like other states in the South-West, is taking proactive measures to address the challenge.
“Now, for us in Ondo State and other South-West states, we stand as a gateway to the South-West because we border a lot of other states from other parts of the country—Kogi, North Central, Kwara (we are not bordered by Kwara directly, but Ekiti is close to us), and then Osun, Ogun and so on,” he said on the current affairs show.
“A lot of engagements are going on in our forest reserves that do not come to the public in the news.
“So much work is being done. Security is one responsibility that leaders carry that is not so visible to everybody. It is only when there is a lapse that it will look as if the government has not been doing enough. We have been doing so much,” the governor said.