Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has disclosed that five northern governors will hold a security meeting with him in Abeokuta today (Tuesday).
The governor said this on Monday while leading security chiefs and some members of the State Executive Council to some areas in the state that had witnessed killings by herdsmen.
Abiodun, who addressed some aggrieved villagers at Oja-Odan, had a hectic time calming them down over the development.
He later visited Igbooro, where three persons were killed and nine injured in a Sunday night attack.
Some of the areas attacked by the Fulani herdsmen are Eggua, Ketu, Igbooro, Iselu, Agbon-Ojodu, Asa, Ibeku, Imeko and Oja-Odan.
The governor, while speaking on the meeting with the five northern governors, did not mention the names of his colleagues he would be meeting with, but said they were of Fulani extraction.
Abiodun said all the concerned groups would be represented with a view to charting a way forward on the security situation in the state.
He said, “I have called a stakeholders’ meeting tomorrow (Tuesday) with my colleague governors, who are Fulani and have people here.
“Five governors are coming to Abeokuta from the northern states. We will call some of you to the meeting to discuss the matter.”
The government said the agenda for the meeting with the northern governors was to chart a way forward on the ethnic problems in the state.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Kunle Somorin, said this on Monday while speaking with our correspondent on the agenda of the meeting.
Somorin said, “The stakeholders’ meeting is a confidence building engagement and conflict management mechanism adopted by the state government to ensure that people of diverse ethnic backgrounds live together in peace and harmony.
“All stakeholders are expected to lay their grievances, if any, and for solutions to the orgy of bloodletting among people, who had a template for conflict management and peaceful coexistence for ages.”
On the security measures put in place, the governor said he would hand over some security vehicles and motorcycles to the special task force he set up for Yewaland on Tuesday.
He said, “The delegation I sent told me what they saw. They said a lot of things happened and as they were giving the report of what they saw, we heard that another attack happened.
“I called a security meeting this morning. And before yesterday, I had set up a task force and bought new vehicles and motorcycles for Yewaland security.
“The task force consists of the police, soldiers, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and hunters to help us in terms of security in your area.
“Tomorrow by God’s grace, all the new vehicles and motorcycles will be released. The task force will be stationed here; they will not only patrol your areas and go back to Abeokuta.”
He also promised to foot the hospital bills of those who were injured by the herdsmen.
He also pledged to help those who lost their property during the attacks to cushion the effects of their losses.
Meanwhile, villagers in some of the affected areas in Yewaland have deserted their homes.
Earlier, the Eselu of Iseluland, Oba Akintunde Akinyemi, said the people of Ketuland were demanding that the governor give an order for the eviction of Fulani herdsmen in the area.
The Olu of Ilaro and Paramount ruler of Yewaland, Oba Kehinde Olugbenle, said his subjects were no longer sleeping with their eye closed due to the herdsmen attacks.
Northern govs, NEF meet over herdsmen clashes in South-West
The Northern Governors Forum, led by Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, on Monday in Abuja, met with the Northern Elders Forum to discuss ways to resolve the frequent clashes between herdsmen and farmers/other ethnic groups, which have escalated tension across the country.
It was learnt that before meeting with the Ahmed Baba-led NEF in Abuja, the governors had met separately in Kaduna, where they expressed worry over the “dangerous” dimension that the clashes had taken, especially in the South-West region of the country
A source at the meeting informed The PUNCH in Jos that during the meeting, the northern governors resolved to send a delegation to meet with their counterparts in the South-West on Wednesday in Ibadan, Oyo State, on how best to address the issues
The source said it was in order to harmonise their position preparatory to the Ibadan meeting that the governors met with the NEF members to get their input on the matter before moving to the South-West
The source said, “The northern governors met in Kaduna today (Monday) before they moved to Abuja for another meeting with the Northern Elders’ Forum, which dragged till late in the night.
“The issue of herders clashes with other ethnic groups featured prominently in the two meetings. During the Kaduna meeting, the northern governors resolved to send a delegation to Ibadan tomorrow (Tuesday) to meet with their counterparts in the South-West on how best to handle the matter before it gets out of hand.
“It was in order for them to articulate a common position that they decided to meet the elders in Abuja before they could embark on the journey. I’m sure they will come out with an acceptable solution that will douse the tension among the people.”
