In his bid to find a lasting solution to security challenges in Ibarapa, Governor Seyi Makinde held an overnight meeting with selected stakeholders, local government chairmen and other political office holders from the zone.

At the meeting held in Igbo-Ora, Mr. Makinde informed the people that his government had approved the setting up of a “peace and security committee” at the local government level, adding other security measures to ensure peace in the area will also be in place.

“For me, the takeaway from the interaction is that it is a collective problem, and I can see the commitment from everybody to find a solution to this.

“At least, I am quite glad that some of the initiatives that the government is trying to put in place to stem insecurity are coming to fruition.

“We will ensure that our identity management programme takes off as quickly as possible. We will also ensure the setting up of peace and security committee that is all-encompassing in the councils,” he explained.

Commiserating with families who lost loved ones in the Ibarapa crisis, the governor stated, “This is also to let people know that I feel their pain because I have had a very close interaction with the late Dr. Fatai Aborode.

“I commiserate with his family and many others who have lost loved ones to the situation. I feel the pain, and I believe that with everybody coming together, we will be able to tackle the problem.”

On the enforcement of the anti-grazing law, the governor noted, “Quite frankly, the governors are at the mercy of federal security agencies to implement certain laws.

“That was why we asked for state police. In the first instance, it is a constitutional issue, and in the absence of having that, governors in the South-West came together and formed Amotekun as a stop-gap.”

(NAN)