...form common front to up food production
Food scarcity will soon be forgotten in the Southwest subregion of Nigeria as its six governors have come together to change the narrative by charting a way out of the rattrap of food scarcity presently bedeviling the country.
To this end, the Forum of this governors has directed the Commissioners for Agriculture in their respective States to immediately come together and develop a comprehensive agricultural template that would leverage each State’s comparative advantage”.
The six governors have also resolved to conjoin to tackle all the challenges confronting the subregion head-on, itemising such challenges to be collectively addressed to include economy, food production, and regional security.
At a meeting in Alausa, Lagos, conducted in a closed-door setting, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the host Governor, was unanimously chosen to lead the Southwest Governors' Forum as its new Chairman.
Sanwo-Olu stepped into the position left vacant by the late Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, who chaired the regional caucus forum before his demise early this year.
Governors Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Lucky Aiyedatiwa (Ondo), Ademola Adeleke (Osun), Biodun Oyebanji (Ekiti) and Sanwo-Olu (Lagos) attended the meeting, which lasted for four hours.
Gboyega Akosile, a media aide to Lagos State Governor said the governors “paid their last respects to the memory of late Akeredolu, who passed away last December.
“The Forum reviewed security across the region, pointing out that the South-West had been relatively peaceful in the Southern part of the country. They, however, used the platform to renew their call for the creation of State Police to strengthen safety in the region further”.
The South West Governors agreed on the need for security cooperation to enhance economic development and free movement within the region. They also called for more collaboration between security agencies and the Western Nigeria Security Network, known as Amotekun Corps.
The Forum commended the House of Representatives and members of the Southwest caucus in the National Assembly for their efforts in passing the South-West Development Commission Bill and urged the upper chamber of the federal parliament to speed up its passage. “To expand food production and agricultural development.
Akosile stated that, following the meeting, the Forum, through its chairman, Governor Sanwo-Olu, read the 11-point resolution adopted in the communique signed by all six Governors.
Sanwo-Olu said: “The Southwest Governors’ Forum, at its meeting today, June 10, 2024, deliberated extensively on contemporary issues in the South-West States and resolved to commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR on the groundbreaking of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road, and the proposed Lagos to Sokoto road. We, however, encourage the Federal Government to rehabilitate other federal infrastructure in the region.
“On security, the Forum commends the relative peace in the South-West region and notes the collaboration between all security agencies and the Amotekun Corps. We reaffirm our full support for the State Police. We acknowledge the efforts of the Federal Government to strengthen food security. We decide that Commissioners for Agriculture of all the South-West states should begin to meet and set up a working template to ensure collaboration based on each State’s comparative advantage.” On protracted the dispute over minimum wage, the South-West Governor’s Forum supported the efforts of the Federal Government, Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and the Organised Private Sector to resolve the wage dispute, urging continued engagement with the Labour Union.
The Governors said they believed the outcome of the negotiations for better wages would reflect true fiscal federalism.
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