Members of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) have called for a special review of the nation’s security challenges for an in-depth understanding of the enormity of the situation.
They made the call on Wednesday at a meeting presided by the NGF Chairman and Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, at the State House in Abuja.
Briefing reporters after the meeting which lasted till about midnight, Governor Fayemi explained that a special review of the security crisis was necessary to further engage the federal authorities at the political and security levels and find a solution to insecurity in the land.
He noted the rising concerns by the forum, following incidents of attack on correctional and police facilities in Imo State, the killing of soldiers in Benue, and successive acts of violence across the country, among others.
Nigeria witnessed increased insecurity recently as a result of the alarming rate of attacks by bandits and insurgents in the North, and attacks on security facilities in the South.
At least three police facilities, including the State Command Headquarters, came under attack in Imo in April, while no fewer than 1,800 inmates were released by gunmen at the Owerri Custodial Centre in the state capital.
Pockets of violence were also recorded in other southern states, including Oyo, Ogun, and Rivers, while dozens of villages were attacked by bandits in Kaduna, Zamfara, and Benue among others.
Financial Autonomy
Apart from security, Governor Fayemi also briefed reporters on what his colleagues discussed about the nationwide strike by members of the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) demanding financial autonomy for state legislature and judiciary.
He stated that the NGF committee responsible for engaging with representatives of the legislative and judiciary would convey the position of the governors on the Executive Order 10.
The governor, however, declined to state specifically what positions have been adopted by the forum.
President Muhammadu Buhari had signed the Executive Order 10, which deals with the implementation of financial autonomy for state legislature and judiciary.
Although the governors said they were not against the implementation of the law on financial autonomy, they insisted that they would not be stampeded by the executive order.
Following the refusal to implement the executive order, members of JUSUN commenced an industrial action on April 6.
The decision of the judiciary workers has paralysed activities in courts across the country, with various individuals and groups such as the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) urging the union to end the strike.
