Former governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, has lauded the resolutions of the Southern Governors’ Forum, at its meeting held on Tuesday, May 11, 2021, in Asaba, the capital of Delta State.
Mimiko, who was the senatorial candidate of the Zenith Labour Party for Ondo Central District in the 2019 elections, gave the commendation on Thursday in a message by his media aide, John Paul Akinduro.
The message reads below:
It is also salutary that members of the Southern Caucus of the National Assembly have weighed in. It’s all a reflection of the realisation of the fact that the nation may be perching at the precipice, and of the urgent need to pull her back.
The next step is for the Southern Governors to meet with their Northern counterparts to iron out what may just be minor areas of difference in substance and timelines.
There cannot be any reasonable arguments against decentralisation of policing to ensure emergence of compact and efficient sub-national forces under State (sub-national government control).
There surely cannot be any disagreement amongst the Governors on the issue of devolution of resources from the centre. As a matter of fact, the present Revenue Allocation formula has long been statutorily due for review. New sources of revenue will surely be needed for state policing, and to address ongoing security challenges in the states.
The Governors’ Forum also recently took a position on open grazing in its virtual meeting of February 2021. In a communiqué issued after the meeting, the Forum had noted: “The current system of herding mainly through open grazing is no longer sustainable, in view of growing urbanisation and population of the country.” (www.nggovernorsforum.org).
That position has now been reiterated at the Asaba meeting, underscoring the need for, and urgency of implementation of remedial measures. Timelines and details of these measures can be worked out amongst the governors. The truth is, we may actually be closer to a national consensus on short to medium term solutions to our present challenges than we imagine!
Let us act WHILE THERE IS STILL TIME.
