Southwest Governors And Miyetti Allah Set To Meet Over Eviction Notice

Following the expiration of the seven-day ultimatum given to Fulani herdsmen to vacate forests in Ondo State by Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, governors of the Southwest are set to hold a meeting with the leadership of Miyetti Allah on Monday, January 25, 2021 by 12 noon to address the situation. Set to be hosted in Akure, the capital city of Ondo State, the meeting is expected to resolve issues such as the incessant killings, kidnapping, and crises between the herdsmen and farmers in the Southwest region.

Reports from The Nation noted that the meeting was a directive from the presidency in a bid to save the situation. An undisclosed source who is a media aide to one of the Southwest governors stated that his boss would attend the meeting:

The whole thing was about the misconception. We all know the Presidency misinterpreted the Ondo State government’s directive. They took it to mean a total action which intended to clear the state of all herders. And while admitting that the spokesman to Mr President acted hastily and without proper authorisation, they (Presidency) have reached out to other governors to facilitate a meeting where the leadership of Miyyetti Allah would likely plead for time to comply with the directive. My principal is involved and very concerned too because this is a Yoruba matter and not a personal issue between Aketi and the herders. So we are coming to Akure for the meeting tomorrow at 12. We need to give the honour to our chairman, the governor of Ondo State who is even leading the fight against insecurity in the region

Reacting to the news about the meeting, Donald Ojogo, the Ondo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation stated that meetings were not unusual.

Well, meetings of that nature, if true, are not unusual. We are all in it together. No ethnic group or a particular trade is the target of the government order. So it will be a welcome development if the meeting is holding. There is nothing too unusual about it

Donald Ojogo

Source

Linda Ikeji

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