…call for national dialogue, review of appoitnments into FGAs amongst others
Following the incursion of armed herders, criminals and bandits into the southern part of the country, Governors of the 17 southern States have banned open grazing across the region.
The was contained in a comminique issued at the end of the meeting of the southern Governors on Tuesday, 11 May, in Asaba, the Delta State capital.
The governors, according to the comminique, noted that the influx of these armed herders had posed a severe security challenge to the extent that citizens are restricted from living thier normal lives and pursuing various productive activities which has led to a threat to food supply and general insecurity.
They advised the federal government to help willing states develop alternative and modern livestock management systems.
The governors further urged President Muhammadu Buhari to address Nigerians on the challenges of insecurity and restore the confidence of the people.
They also called on the federal government to, as a matter of urgency, convoke a national dialogue, as well as review appointments into Federal Government Agencies (including Security Agencies) to reflect federal character as Nigeria’s overall population is heterogenous.
Part of the comminique reads that they agreed that the ‘progress of the nation requires that urgent and bold steps be taken to restructure the Nigerian Federation leading to the evolution of state police, review of revenue allocation formula in favour of the sub-national governments and creation of other institutions which legitimately advance our commitment to and practice of true federalism’.
