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)

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