Southern governors to meet in Lagos July 5

The Southern Governors’ Forum would converge on Monday, July 5, 2021, to continue their discussion on the state of insecurity in the nation.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State will host the seventeen southern governors at the State House, Alausa, Ikeja.

On May 11, 2021, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State hosted the southern governors at their maiden meeting in Asaba.

Stakeholders have called on the governors to involve their representatives in the National Assembly, engage the State Houses of Assembly, and seek collaborations of socio-cultural and political organisations to achieve their aim and objectives.

Former Chief of Defence Staff, General Alani Akinrinade (rtd), praised the governors for having the courage to reconvene.

Akinrinade, however, called on the governors to be resolute in their demand for restructuring.

He urged the governors to mount pressure on elected representatives from their various states in National Assembly to support restructuring.

Spokesman for Middle Belt Forum, Dr Isuwa Dogo, challenged the governors to deploy tactical strategies to achieve their demands.

He called on the governors to ensure they deploy their numerical strength to persuade the National Assembly and their various state assemblies to implement and recognise the resolutions of the 2014 National Conference.

“If they are serious, they can also get support from states like Adamawa, Plateau, Taraba, Southern Kaduna, Sokoto, Kwara, and Kogi.

“They should mobilise all the socio-political and cultural bodies to support restructuring and how to implement the conference report. By the time they do this, President Buhari will have no choice but to adhere to their demands,” he said.

General Secretary, National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), Ayo Opadokun, said the governors must act their talk.

He explained that it was not enough for the 17 southern governors to make pronouncements but should make their state Houses of Assembly legislate the Asaba Resolutions into law to give it a force of law.