South-West Governors in closed-door meeting in Lagos

Governors from South West states are currently meeting at the Lagos House, Ikeja, Lagos State.

Lagos Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Monday, received the governors, who stormed Lagos for their zonal meeting.

Governor Sanwo-Olu, in company of his his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hazmat, received Governors Lucky Aiyedatiwa (Ondo), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Ademola Adeleke (Osun) and Biodun Oyebanji (Ekiti) at the Lagos House, Ikeja.

The meeting by the South-West Governors Forum is expected to address issues affecting the zone and Nigeria as a whole.

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The close-door meeting, which started around 12noon is going on currently at Governor Sanwo-Olu’s Office in Lagos House, Ikeja.

Daily Trust reports that the meeting is coming barely four months after the demise and burial of the last chairman of the forum and former Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu.

Daily Trust had reported that the leadership of the forum had been left void a few months after Akeredolu’s death.

Findings by Daily Trust revealed that Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State is being tipped as Akeredolu’s replacement. Other names being put are Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, and Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State.

Although all the six governors from the region have decided on the next chairman, Daily Trust reports that Abiodun has tacitly placed himself for the role of the chairman.

On December 29, after the death of Akeredolu, it was Abiodun who led the South West governors on a condolence visit to the Ibadan residence of the former Ondo Governor.

Daily Trust also recalls that on January 19 after the deadly explosion which claimed several lives in Ibadan, Abiodun spoke in a manner suggesting that he was speaking for the South West Governors’ Forum, declaring that the governments of South West states would not be deterred by the explosion.

Abiodun said Ibadan is strategic to every Yoruba person given its historic importance, adding that the governments of the South-West states would not be deterred by the tragic incident, but would “jointly intensify security across our states to ensure that our people are safe and secure.”

Issue of the new chairman may form part of the decisions to be reached at the ongoing meeting of the governors.