Governments of Oyo and Kwara states have agreed to set up a joint committee to address the challenges of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in 13 villages of Kwara State, following skirmishes in Ibarapa axis of Oyo State recently.
The joint team is to work out modalities on how the two states could mutually address the situation and surmount security challenges within their territories and to also seek alignments and collaboration on economic and security fronts.
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Makinde announced the position while briefing newsmen at the end of a closed-door security meeting held at the Executive Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Agodi, Ibadan.
The meeting had in attendance Governor Makinde and his Kwara State counterpart, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq, as well as service commanders from the two states, including the General Officer Commanding, 2 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major-General A.B. Omozoje, the Commissioners of Police of Oyo and Kwara states commands, among others.
Also in attendance at the meeting were major traditional rulers from Kwara as well as some members of the cabinet of both states.
Speaking shortly after the closed-door session, Makinde, who spoke on behalf of the two governors, appreciated the efforts of the security agencies in the two states, charging them to deepen their intelligence-gathering efforts with a view to dealing more decisively with the security challenges facing the country.
According to Governor Makinde, the meeting was necessitated by the urgent need to work together and to look at the security challenges in the states and come up with solutions, especially as it regarded movement of some residents of Oyo State into Kwara, following threats in parts of Ibarapa.
According to Makinde, the actions of non-state actors who tried to spread hatred, had led to a number of residents of the state moving into Kwara and constituting a challenge to the state, a situation which he said would be jointly addressed by the two states.
He explained that leaders in the country, most especially the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF, must speak with one voice and be firm in dealing with the security challenges that the country is facing currently.
Governor Makinde equally called on the traditional rulers in Oyo and Kwara states to come together and exchange information and ideas on how to surmount the security challenges.
The governor added that the meeting agreed that there was the need for a working relationship between the two states and that the states will announce the members of the joint team in a matter of days.
He also assured that Oyo State would take advantage of the National Livestock Transformation Plan, which, according to him, is already being implemented in Kwara State, with a view to further collaborating on the economic and security levels.
