Southern Senators Laud Governors In The Zone For Measures To Tackle Insecurity |The Source

By Ayodele Oni

The Southern Senators Forum (SSF) has thrown its weight behind moves by Governors in the zone to end insecurity, especially kidnapping and open grazing.

The Forum, made up of National Assembly members in the red chamber, from the South, also, applauded the resolutions of the Southern Governors’ Forum on restructuring, and called for synergy between the Governors and the National Assembly members for optimal results.

Southern Governors Forum (SGF), had, on Tuesday in Asaba, Delta State capital,  at their meeting, unanimously prohibited open grazing in the region to checkmate herders-farmers clashes, kidnapping and killing of Southerners.

A statement jointly signed by the Chairman, Secretary and Publicity Secretary, Senators Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti), Mathew Uroghide (Edo) and Chukwuka Utazi (Enugu), on behalf of the SSF and made available to newsmen in Ado Ekiti, lauded the governors for the timely measures which members believe would tackle the wanton destruction of farmlands, kidnappings and carnages.

The Lawmakers flayed the loss of millions of Naira to encroachment on farmlands, which could lead to famine,  kidnappings and other crimes.

“At this critical point of our National life when the economy was being bedeviled by galloping inflation, youth unemployment and insecurity, food security is very crucial to mitigate the effects of these diverse evils on the citizens.

“Available records have shown that attaining food security status would remain a mirage in the south owing to ravaging effect of outdated livestock grazing policy being unleashed on farmlands by some unscrupulous herders.

“Most appalling were the seemingly unabated kidnappings, rapings and killing of our people by suspected herdsmen, who have become bandits heating up the system.

“With this uniform resolve by our Governors to initiate no-open grazing policy, the region will return to its peaceful and agriculturally self -sufficient status it had assumed even long before Nigeria’s amalgamation in 1914,” the forum said.

The Senators explained further that the call for restructuring by the Governors would “help to remove the venom that had permeated the land on account of alleged neglect of certain sections of the country.”

They called for equality, equity and justice, to wipe out ethnic tension and agitations for secession, adding that the governors must swiftly follow up by approaching the leadership of the National Assembly for speedy constitutional reviews on restructuring, state policing and abolishment of archaic traditional grazing methods.