Seyi Makinde, Governor of Oyo State, Southwest Nigeria says officials of the State Security Network codenamed Amotekun are answerable to him and will be responsible for their actions.
Makinde made this statement on Wednesday during the inauguration of the security outfit to fully commence operations in the state
The agency was declared operational by Seyi Makinde, Governor of Oyo State at a passing-out ceremony to usher in the pioneer officials of the security network in the state held at the Sports Complex of Emmanuel Alayande College of Education, Oyo.
The journey to create Amotekun, a regional security arrangement, began in July 2019 after governors of the six Southwest states, namely Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, and Oyo agreed to its creation. However, it was officially launched on January 9, 2020.
The Governor signed the bill for its creation in the state into law in March 2020 four days after the House of Assembly passed the Oyo State Security Network Agency Bill 2020.
Makinde noted that despite the challenges faced during the recruitment of a total number of 1,500 successful candidates in October, his administration ensured the process was transparent and open.
“Shortly after that, their training began in the first week of November. Today we are here to witness the passing out parade of the pioneer members of the Amotekun Corps,” he said.
“Security has always been an issue close to my heart. While on the campaign trail, I spoke about how we could tackle insecurity in Oyo State. We outlined clear plans in our manifesto, the Roadmap to Accelerated Development in Oyo State 2019-2023. And so, when we came into office, we went ahead to make security one of the pillars of our administration.”
The governor said the state would not be able to attract investment with high-security challenges.
“Our actions have been based on the fact that if our state is insecure, we cannot attract investment, whether foreign or local,” he said.
Debo Ogundoyin, Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, noted that while he strongly believes that state policing is the only sustainable solution to insecurity in the country, Southwest states have no choice but to settle for Amotekun which he described as the next best thing.
“The security of lives and properties is not negotiable, thus the deployment of 1500 intelligent indigenous Corps across zones and local governments will definitely enhance the safety of our people and communities,” Ogundoyin added.
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