Voice of Nigeria: Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has signed the Oyo State Security Network Agency Bill 2020 into Law exactly a week after the Bill was passed by the State House of Assembly.
The Governor used the occasion to appeal to those he described as criminals and criminally-minded individuals and groups too, as a matter of necessity, stay away from the State and the Southwest geopolitical zone, vowing that the Amotekun Corps would catch up with them if they come to the region.
The Governor reiterated that the Amotekun security outfit had come to stay and would be complementary to the traditional security outfits provided by the Federal Government.
The signing of the Bill into Law, which would legalise the domestication of the regional security outfit code-named Operation Amotekun, was held at the Executive Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Agodi Secretariat, Ibadan.
The event was witnessed by top government functionaries, members of the State House of Assembly, led by the Speaker Adebo Ogundoyin and party stalwarts, among other relevant stakeholders.
The high point of the signing was the customised dressing in leopard design outfit by members of the State Executive Council, the same pattern adorned by the legislators while passing the Bill last week Tuesday.
According to the Governor, the signing of the Amotekun Law, about nine months after the process started, was an indication of the commitment given earlier being followed by his administration in delivering the dividends of democracy to the people of the State.
Makinde said, “Today is the 10th of March, 2020 and history has just been made, because the Amotekun Law is in force in Oyo state. There has been a long and torturous journey, the concept, the first meeting, engagements, all these started as far back as July last year, and we are just signing this into Law today.”
He disclosed that the journey started with all the Southwest Governors realizing the need to secure the people of the Zone, adding that Operation Amotekun is not a replacement for the traditional security agencies in the country.
The Governor noted, “We saw that there is this gap in their operations, in their funding and even in the number of personnel that can be employed by the Federal Government, but we have to secure our people. So, this is to complement the efforts of our Federal security agencies.”
Affirming that the Amotekun had come to stay, Makinde revealed that anyone who does not have criminal intent or is criminally-minded should not be afraid to stay in the Southwest zone, as what is needed is a secured environment.
“We want to give assurances to the investors, like I promised them recently at an event in Florida, US. We are providing a safe and secure environment in Oyo State so the investors should please come and we guarantee decent returns on their investment,” the Governor concluded.
