As part of its effort in curbing insecurity in the state, Oyo State governor, Mr Seyi Makinde on Sunday approved the recruitment of additional 500 men for the Oyo State’s Western Nigeria Security Network (WNSN), codenamed Amotekun.
The Governor stated this at a monthly security meeting with local government Chairmen, Vicechairmen, heads of security agencies, traditional rulers and stakeholders at the House of Chiefs, Secretariat, in Ibadan.
Makinde said this development is part of his administration’s efforts to enhance the security of lives and properties in the State just as he appealed to the people of the state saying the security issue is a collective responsibility.
“Security is everyone’s business and if we all play our parts well, we will have a safer and more secured environment, although the security of lives and properties is a paramount responsibility of government, the government cannot do it alone except with cooperation of the entire citizenry and as we can see from the report gotten all over the country.
“Oyo State is relatively peaceful, this was not achieved by the effort of government alone but with the efforts of the all stakeholders, most especially the security commanders.”.
“This meeting is aimed at getting the situation report from various quarters on security as well as to dialogue on what to do as stakeholders and finetune necessary steps, this will help the government to put necessary machinery in place for people in the state to sleep with their two eyes closed and as the operation of the Amotekun corps is concerned, we have perfected the process of employing 500 more hands to enhance their performance and further deepen the security architecture of our State,” he said.
In his welcome address, the State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Chief Bayo Lawal assured that the meeting would provide solutions and necessary moves on the need to ensure the security of lives and properties are sustained in the State and commended Governor Makinde on his continued efforts at ensuring people of the state sleep with peace of mind despite the security challenges facing the country.
By James Favour