LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT REFUNDS 145 FORMER SUBSCRIBERS OF EGAN HOUSING ESTATE
admin - Region to get food, inflation monitoring ream
The Southwest Governors’ Forum has agreed to establish a Joint Security Surveillance and Monitoring Team to enhance security across the region.
The move, they said, is a direct response to emerging threats of the Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) and other criminal groups whose activities are inimical to the region’s peace and stability.
The Governors – Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Lucky Aiyedatiwa (Ondo), Biodun Oyebanji (Ekiti), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun) and Ademola Adeleke (Osun)- met at the Lagos State House in Ikeja on Wednesday. Their meeting lasted well over four hours.
Chairman of the Forum, Governor Sanwo-Olu, said: “The Forum agreed to establish a Joint Surveillance and Monitoring Team, which will oversee and coordinate security across the region. As part of the resolution, the Forum has committed to deploy advanced technology, including aerial surveillance system that will enhance security operations. Our Special Advisers on Security will collaborate on intelligence gathering and share valuable intelligence with state security agencies, local security networks, and federal law enforcement authorities operating within the Southwest.”
The Forum also discussed measures to enhance food adequacy and curb activities disrupting food supply within the region.
It frowned at unscrupulous practices of middlemen in the food supply chain, which, according to them, is responsible for inflated food prices and artificial scarcity.
The Forum therefore agreed to implement the State Food Inflation Joint Monitoring Team to collectively address sabotages and other related issues leading to arbitrary increase in food prices.
Sanwo-Olu added: “The Forum is concerned about the activities of unscrupulous middlemen who deliberately inflate prices of goods and commodities in our markets. It has, therefore, agreed to establish a State Food Inflation Joint Monitoring Team, and as well as an Aggregation Centre and Food Hubs to foster inter-state collaboration and mitigate food inflation.”
The governors also hailed the Federal Government and the Senate for the creation of South West Development Commission (SWDC); and unanimously chose Cocoa House in Ibadan, Oyo State, as the Commission’s operational headquarters.
They expressed confidence in the efforts of Odu’a Investment Company Limited in efficiently managing the region’s joint assets in the last five years.
While applauding the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission for its improved performance over the past 12 months, the Forum urged the Commission to strengthen its working relationship with the region’s Commissioners for Agriculture to foster greater industrialisation and infrastructural development across the region.
It also praised President Bola Tinubu’s efforts at repositioning the country, and passed a vote of confidence in the president. According to the governors, the country has returned to the path of economic stability following outcomes of the economic reforms.
The 11-point communique reads: “The Forum commends the Southwest governors for maintaining relative peace and security in the region, particularly during the last Yuletide. It calls on all states to continue to foster peaceful co-existence among member-states. “Acknowledging the threat posed by ISWAP activities in parts of the Southwest, the Forum condemns any threat to the region’s security. It encourages enhanced collaboration between the Nigeria Police Force and local security outfits, urging them to remain vigilant. The Forum also commits to taking necessary actions to counter these threats.
“The Forum agreed to establish a Joint Surveillance and Monitoring Team, which will oversee and coordinate security across the region. As part of the resolution, the Forum has committed to deploy advanced technology, including area surveillance system that will enhance security operations. The governors resolved that our Special Advisers on Security will collaborate on intelligence gathering and share valuable intelligence to State security agencies, local security networks, and federal law enforcement authorities operating within the South West.
“The governors also discussed measures to enhance food adequacy and curbing activities disrupting food supplies within the region. The Forum frowned at unscrupulous practices of middlemen in the food supply chain which is responsible for inflated food prices and artificial scarcity.
“The Forum agreed to implement the State Food Inflation Joint Monitoring Team to collectively address sabotage and other related issues leading to arbitrary increase in food prices. It will also establish Aggregation Centre and Food Hubs to foster inter-state collaboration and mitigate food inflation.”
