Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, yesterday, revealed that he does not use ‘security vote,’ but has made a case for governors to be given more latitude and headroom to tackle security challenges at the sub-national level.
 
Uzodimma disclosed this after meeting with President Bola Tinubu to secure an appointment for South East leaders and Ohanaeze Ndigbo to meet with the President over unrelenting insecurity in the region.
 
While stressing that he has no security vote to draw from as the chief security officer of the state, the governor said he manages to adopt both kinetic and non-kinetic strategies to deal with security challenges as much as the law permits him. He stressed the need for governors to be given more latitude to perform their functions effectively. 
 
The governor pointed out that the people of the South East, like other regions, deserve the Federal Government’s support to enable them live their daily lives and go about their businesses. 
 
He, however, did not give details of what the South East leaders would be demanding from the President when the meeting holds, but lamented that non-state actors have utilised fear, indiscriminate killing and brigandage to enforce an illegal sit-at-home in the region.
 
According to him, it has become an issue of “perception management,” pointing out that international diplomacy, which is also part of the solution, is beyond the purview of governors.