The S’West Govs Forum elects Sanwo-Olu chair and demands state police.
In order to address the concerning level of insecurity in the nation, the South-West Governors’ Forum renewed its request for the creation of state police on Monday.
The statement was delivered at the Lagos House in Alausa, Ikeja, during a gathering of the six governors of the southwest states. The governors also unveiled a regional anthem during the meeting.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State was also chosen at the summit to take over as the Forum’s new chairman, replacing the late Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State.
Governors Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Ademola Adeleke (Osun), Lucky Aiyedatiwa (Ondo), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Biodun Oyebanji (Ekiti), and Sanwo-Olu were present at the meeting.
Regarding security, the Forum emphasized cooperation between various security agencies and the Amotekun Corps and praised “the relative peace in the South-West region.” “It reiterates its complete
backing for the State Police,” a statement released following the conference stated.
The Lagos State House of Assembly disagreed with Inspector General of Police Olukayode Egbetokun’s assessment that Nigeria was not ready for the creation of a state police force in May.
Mudashiru Obasa, the Speaker of the House, gave Clerk Olalekan Onafeko instructions to write the National Assembly and the Inspector General (IG) stating that state legislators rejected Egbetokun’s
viewpoint and reiterated their support for state police.
“The Forum unanimously nominated and adopted Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Governor of Lagos State, as its Chairman,” the press release continued.
“Ise wa fun ile wa” was chosen by the governors to be the South-West Anthem.
The governors expressed their gratitude to the South-West Caucus and the House of Representatives for their efforts in approving the
South-West Development Commission Bill and expressed anticipation for the Senate to pass it quickly.
“The meeting encourages the Federal Government to rehabilitate other Federal roads in the region and commends President Bola Tinubu on the groundbreaking of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road and the
proposed Lagos to Sokoto road,” the statement read.
Additionally, the Forum “strongly condemns the group of people agitating for Yoruba nation.”
that 29 Yoruba Nation agitators were charged by the Oyo State Police Command in April after they broke into the state government secretariat in Agodi, Ibadan.
Additionally, a facility believed to be the headquarters of Yoruba Nation agitators was destroyed by the state administration.
Regarding the minimum wage, the forum declared that it “supports the efforts of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, the Organized Private Sector, and the Federal Government on their ongoing conversations with
the Labour Union.” We think the result will accurately represent fiscal federalism.
A proposed N60,000 minimum wage for Nigerian workers was rejected by governors last week under the auspices of the Nigeria Governors Forum.
The NGF’s Director of Media and Public Affairs, Halimah Ahmed, released a statement on Friday on behalf of the governors, stating that the minimum wage proposal was unworkable and excessively exorbitant.
The NGF voiced concern that many states would use all of the monies from their Federal Account Allocation Committees for
wages in the event that the N60,000 minimum wage was adopted, leaving no money for development initiatives.
In the meantime, organized labor has promised to oppose any proposal from the Federal Government for a minimum salary of N62,000 or N100,000.
The Assistant General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Chris Onyeka, called such a proposal a “starvation wage” during a Monday appearance on Channels Television.
