PANDEF, stakeholders task South-South governors over proposed regional security outfit

The Pan-Niger Delta El­ders Forum (PANDEF), the BRACED Commission, and other stakeholders in the South-South have called for the effective col­laboration of the regions’ governors and leaders to ensure the realization of its proposed security out­fit.

The Acting Director, Institute for Peace and Se­curity Studies (IPSS) at the Bayelsa State-owned Niger Delta University (NDU), Wilberforce Island, Dr Philips Okolo, has said the proposed regional securi­ty outfit by governors of the South-South can only work if there is cohesion among the state govern­ments.

The governors had met in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and agreed to set up a regional security outfit in line with similar organ­isations by the South-West and South-East.

Okolo said the issues of funding, command struc­ture, and operationalisa­tion, among others, would determine the sustainabil­ity of the security outfit.

The university don, an associate professor of Political Science, further noted that clash of inter­ests among the governors could jeopardize the effec­tiveness of the proposed security outfit and derail the objectives behind the initiative.

He said: “The desirabil­ity, expediency, and other­wise of the establishment and operation of a securi­ty network by the South- South state governments for the protection of lives and property is not only valid but also absolutely pivotal.”

He said the challenges are surmountable if the gover­nors commit themselves and their state governments to sincerity of purpose.

Similarly, former se­curity adviser in Riv­ers State and leader of PANDEF, Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, said the for­mation of the regional security organisation was overdue, adding that with oil activities going on in the Niger Delta, the region deserved a solid security network.

Sara-Igbe stated that while the BRACED (Bayel­sa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo and Del­ta) states would serve as the regional economic bloc, it was important to equally have a regional se­curity network to protect lives and property of the Niger Delta.

He disclosed that PAN­DEF had advised the South-South governors two years ago on the need to form such a security network for the benefits of the region.

Chief Sara-Igbe ex­plained that despite the availability of several se­curity formations in some states of the Niger Delta, “a strong and cohesive network was necessary to protect our borders and at the same time create jobs for our teeming youths”.

Also speaking, the Director-General of the BRACED Commission, Ambassador Joe Keshi, said states in the region needed to collaborate with one another to make the proposed security outfit cohesive.

Ambassador Keshi corrected the impression that there may be division among the governors, ex­pressing optimism that the six governors of the South-South would form a solid security system for the interest of the re­gion.

(Sunday Independent: Excluding headline)