Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State has revealed that the governors from the South-East region are working on modalities that would see to the birth of a unique security outfit for the zone.
Uzodinma said the need for security outfit populated by people of Igbo extraction, who know the lay of the land, has become necessary with security challenges bedevilling the country.
The governor said this when he met with journalists in Owerri on last night.
He noted that the South-East governors had agreed and put in place modalities to establish ESN but Kanu hijacked the name of the outfit.
The governor also accused Kanu of using ESN operatives to cause mayhem in the region.
He said, “The governors will not want to be a copycat, especially with the pressure put on us after the formation of Amotekun by the South-West governors.
“In the next couple of weeks, governors of the South-East will hold a security summit in Owerri with a view to fashioning out modalities for setting up a security outfit for our region. We will hold an elaborate discussion with a view to finding a lasting solution and to complement the work of security agents in the country.
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“It is necessary for every zone to be vigilant and have a security outfit, especially with the present situation we have in this country. We cannot lose fate with the management of security in our region and at the same time, we must be careful in the way we go about it.
“South-East governors tried to set up the Eastern Security Network by working with Ohanaeze Ndigbo. The attorneys-general of the five South-Eastern states have already anchored a report on it and before we know it, IPOB hijacked the name and started using it to commit crime.
“That arrangement has not stopped. We are trying to take a review. We will come up with an outfit that will be lasting. We don’t want to do things because others have done it or be copycats. There are permutations and we must defend our people and ensure that there is no external aggression.
“It is not failure of government because the primary responsibility of government is to protect the lives and property of the people.”
This is coming barely a week after the Indigenous Proscribed of Biafra warned the southeast governors to steer clear of the Eastern Security Network as it won’t handover the security outfit to the governors.
The proscribed seccessioni group said the governors could not be trusted as they are stooges of Northern politicians working on how to perpetuate Northern hegemony.
IPOB said this in reaction to the call by the leader of the Movement for the actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, Raph Uwazurike, to hand over the security outfit to the south-east governors.
