Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has disclosed plans for joint patrol of Southwest states by security operatives under the aegis of Operation Rapid Response Squad to tame the insecurity in the region.
As the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Mr Fayemi also said that he had been midwifing series of meetings across the country and Southeast in particular on the need to have a joint security network that would stamp out criminals from the zone.
The governor, who spoke on Monday night during a statewide radio/television programme tagged ‘Meet your Governor’, said, “Very soon, our people in the Southwest will be seeing leopard branded patrol vehicles of the RRS.
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“This is a modern security outfit that will be operating in Ekiti and other Southwest states. They are to work hand-in-hand to ward off any form of security threat.
“The governors, traditional rulers and other stakeholders are meeting across the Southwest and we are taking steps to ensure that our people are safe to do their businesses without fear of being killed or kidnapped,” he said.
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, had on Sunday disclosed that Southwest governors would soon launch new security architecture to tackle kidnapping and other insecurity problems facing the region.
Mr Fayemi said, “This issue of security is more important to me than any other issue or policy of government, because if this place is safe, investors will surely come in and do businesses with us”.
He said that the state government had signed into law, the Ekiti State Security Trust Bill, which was billed to help in fortifying the security architecture of the state on commencement of operation.
The governor, who reiterated his position that the federal police structure in operation was grossly inadequate to secure the country, said such had underscored the need for the establishment of state police, clarifying that the personnel would understand the terrain as it would ensure better security cover for Nigerians.
“In Ekiti State, we are going to build a modern police station between Efon Alaaye and Iwaraja to patrol the section where we have had reported cases of kidnappings and other crimes to curtail the rising wave of trans-border crimes like kidnappings and killings being perpetrated along the axis,” Fayemi said.
The governor, who assured of continuous regular payment of salaries and pensions, said, “the era when payment of civil servants’ benefits was considered as a favour rather than a right is over.
“We are also assuring them that all the backlog of salaries and pension will be paid. They shouldn’t worry about how the state will do it, we shall fulfil our promises to pay all outstanding allowances because that was our bond with the workers,” Mr Fayemi stated.
