Okowa pledges to partner, encourage vigilance groups

Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has declared his intention to work closely with the vigilante groups in the state.

He said that the meeting the state governors are expected to have with President Muhammadu Buhari today in Abuja would be focusing on insecurity.

Okowa, who stated this yesterday during a media parley in Asaba where he expressed gratitude for the constructive criticism by journalists in state on his numerous projects during his first tenure, said: “It is possible for journalists to create crisis in the state, but that partnership does not stop you from objective criticism that will bring out the best in me.”

“The issue of the menace of the herdsmen is very touchy and they are giving us a lot of challenges in Delta. But when you look at it generally, Delta State is not even classified as one of the states that you will consider as where there is insecurity, because there are worse things going in this country that everybody is now agitated that we are now being put on our toes.

“In fact, the President has called for a meeting of all the governors for tomorrow (today) by 11:00 a.m. And the issue that will occupy us is the insecurity across the nation, which is something we need to find a lasting solution to before it consumes us.

“We need a very strong directive from the Presidency for security agencies to work with us, to enable us take certain actions. And until that is done, we may just end up doing what we can.

The governor, who stated that his administration intends recognising and partnering with the vigilante groups in the state, said: “Vigilante groups, we know are doing the best that they can, and I have been thinking about what ways we would be able to assist, and we are actually going to do something towards that, no matter to what extent can we assist them. We intend having a partnership, recognise and the most important thing is to recognise what they are doing.

“It not easy to govern a state as Delta, especially now that there are lots challenges of insecurities, minimum wage and whether this country is moving on the direction the people want it. There is also the issue of population explosion. So long as this trend continues without checking it, then we are planning for crisis.”