The six southwest governors, who initiated Operation Amotekun have fired back at a Second Republic lawmaker, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, who described the southwest security outfit as a tribal militia to prosecute the region’s agenda of transforming into a separate nation through the backdoor.
The emphasised that the initiative is not a regional army or an ethnic agenda to obliterate and undermine national unity.
THE Six South-West governors, weekend, declared that they will not “capitulate to blackmail” from within or outside the region, and reaffirmed that the South-West security initiative, Amotekun
Chairman of the South West Governors Forum, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, who made this known during the weekend warned against divisive comments and expressions that could jeopardise the genuine plans of the governors.
Akeredolu in a release in Akure by his Information and Orientation Commissioner, Donald Ojogo noted that ethnicizing the current situation is even more harmful, saying that “There should be no reason for such.”
While noting that the security scheme is not targeted at any non-South West ethnic group, the Governor assured that its benefits are to be reaped by all Nigerians irrespective of ethnic or religious placements.
Akeredolu disclosed that Operation Amotekun was initiated to complement the efforts of the conventional internal security agencies, which according to him, appear to have been hampered by the absence of local intelligence gathering architecture.
Put simply, Amotekun when fully operational, will serve the purposes of local information and intelligence gathering for processing and usage by the conventional security agencies.
Amotekun is, therefore, merely supportive and not a replacement for the Nation’s security agencies. The concerns expressed by individuals, agencies of government and several stakeholders are noted without bias.
“Where possible, the inexorable efforts of the South West governors will be deepened through a relentless interface. On-going discourse on the issue of Amotekun must not be misguidedly used as a platform to ventilate personal or group views aimed at oiling primordial sentiments and grievances.
“The South West governors will not capitulate to blackmail either from within or outside the region but are ready to pursue the Amotekun security scheme through all permissible political and legal means. Under circumstances of the nature of Amotekun, the choices are numerous.
