Details Of Makinde Meeting With Buhari Emerge

The issues around which Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo, meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari centered around have been made known to the public.

Makinde met with Buhari on Wednesday at the presidential villa in Aso rock.

The meeting is coming following days of tension and uncertainty in Oyo state.

Speaking with news after meeting on Wednesday, Makinde said his discussion with the president revolved around the security situation in Oyo.

He said he intimated the president on efforts and  the measures put in place by his administration to tackle the security challenges in the state.

There are reports of destruction and killings due to conflicts between farmers and herders, and Sunday Igboho, a youth leader in the state, gave a quit notice to herders.

The eviction notice was greeted with mixed reactions, with properties and vehicles razed by protesters in Ibarapa local government area (LGA) of the state.

Speaking on his visit to Buhari, the governor said one of the reasons for the pervasive insecurity and growing apprehension is the idleness of the youths, noting that tension and restiveness will reduce if the youths are employed.

He said he implored the president to provide more mobile police squadrons for Oyo, adding that the two squadrons in the state are not enough for its sheer size.

He added that his visit to the president to the became imperative in other to dispel the rumour and fake news making the rounds about Oyo.

“I came to brief the president on the security situation in Oyo state. There has been a lot of fake news all around and I wanted to be sure that the president clearly has first-hand information from me, which I did,” Makinde was quoted as saying in a statement by Taiwo Adisa, his chief press secretary.

“We also exchanged ideas about what we need to do better; some of the programmes we have put in place to ensure that this security issue is tackled. So, that’s basically why I came here.

“The issue that I discussed with Mr. President is the fact that Oyo State landmass is quite big. Oyo State is close to 29,000 square kilometres. And the state right now only has two mobile police squadrons.

“So, I requested for more mobile police squadrons to be deployed to Oyo State and also asked for support for the joint security outfit because the underlying issue here also has to do with limited opportunities.

“The tension will definitely go down if a lot of our youths are gainfully employed. So, I briefed the President on what we are doing in that regard.

“We have a history of living together peacefully among all the ethnic groups that are present in Oyo State. For instance, what triggered all of these was that Dr. Aborode was brutally murdered; that is criminal. But on the other hand, the Seriki, Alhaji Kabir, has been staying in that same place for 40 years. So, quite frankly, the people we are after are criminals — they are the bandits, hoodlums, armed robbers, kidnappers.

“Those are the true enemies of the states and those are the people we will go after.”

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