Fayemi canvasses collaboration against insecurity

Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, said on Thursday he had been in constant touch with his counterparts in the neighbouring Ondo, Osun, Kogi and Kwara states to secure boundary towns and villages which might be used by criminal elements to gain access to the state.

The governor, who canvassed cooperation of all security agencies, traditional rulers, community and religious leaders and all citizens to overcome insecurity and all forms of criminality, said collaborative approach by all sectors of Nigerian was needed to successfully tackle security challenges in the country.

Fayemi, represented by his deputy, Chief Bisi Egbeyemi, spoke in Ado Ekiti during the opening session of a three-day federal and states’ Security Administrators’ Meeting.

He warned that the security challenges in the country should not be politicised but frontally tackled in synergy with all stakeholders.

The meeting is being attended by officers of the police, Department of State Services, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Nigerian Immigration Service, Nigerian Prisons Service, Federal Road Safety Corps, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, among others.

The governor, who lamented the unlawful possession of firearms, said, “With what we are seeing now, it has become imperative to seek the cooperation of all security agencies, community and traditional leaders and other stakeholders for a safe and secure business climate.

“We are quite aware that there might be incursion of criminals from outside the state. Therefore, I have started contacting my counterparts in the neighbouring states with a view to synergising for more protection of lives and property along the boundary towns and villages.”

FSSAM Chairman, Dr Amina Shamaki, praised the Ekiti State Government for hosting the meeting.

Shamaki, who is also the permanent secretary, Special Duties, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, said the Federal Government was concerned about the security challenges in some parts of the country and working hard to tackle them.