Former Delta State Governor James Ibori has reiterated his call for states in the South-South geopolitical zone to collaborate in addressing insecurity and promoting development in the region.
Ibori made the call Saturday ahead of the 24th anniversary of the South-South Governors, Legislators, and Leaders’ Summit, which he initiated on March 31st, 2000, in Asaba, Delta State.
In a press release by his media aide, Tony Eluemunor, Ibori expressed optimism that, 10 months after the inauguration, the rancour and disagreements from the last election are behind them.
“From where I stand, the question is, what’s the trajectory of the Niger Delta region? We must pull together to answer that question for the benefit of Niger Deltans,” he said.
Ibori urged present governors, national legislators, and the entire people of the region to address both old and new challenges.
“Among the old is the land and environmental question and a higher derivation principle percentage,” he said.
He also highlighted new challenges such as herders “seizing the bushes of the entire South-South zone, killing farmers, raping women and kidnapping people while the police remain comatose and the people frozen by fear.”
“This definitely brings to the fore calls for state and community policing. Now, the South-South has to go beyond the lip service some of our governors paid to the establishment of state security agencies and combine forces to raise a South-South zonal self-defence team and seek ways to enforce the law against open grazing enacted by most of our state legislatures.”