₦airaland Forum

lexy2014:
How did he prevent it by all you said he did?

mandax:
What stops Nigeria from embracing these noble ideas conceptualised by this forum , if not that at one point, the southwest region will sabotage the ideas for SW region to achieve its parochial objectives in wider Nigeria?

naptu2:
Southern Governors Meet In Lagos Today.

Southern governors to meet again in Lagos tomorrow

• Akinrinade, Opadokun, Dogo Salute Move
• Urge Lobby Of NASS, States Assembly To Achieve Restructuring

Following their May 11, 2021 declaration in Asaba Delta State, the 17 Southern governors will again converge on Lagos tomorrow for the second leg of the first gathering. The meeting is to be hosted by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu at the State House, Ikeja.

Critical stakeholders have, however, warned the governors not to allow Nigerians to perceive their meetings as a “mere gathering” where empty threats or resolutions are made.

They said the governors should deploy better strategies by involving their representatives in the National Assembly, engage the State Houses of Assembly and also seek collaborations of socio-cultural and political organisations, to get their aim and objectives achieved.

In telephone conversations with The Guardian yesterday, former Chief of Defence Staff, General Alani Akinrinade (rtd), General Secretary, National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), Mr. Ayo Opadokun and spokesman, Middle Belt Forum, Dr Isuwa Dogo, commended the governors’ determination to meet and take a stand, especially at this uncertain period. But they all tasked them to go beyond making resolutions.

Akinrinade, who commended the governors for having the courage to reconvene, said the present challenges confronting Nigeria would linger till the next century “except something urgent is done. You must remain resolute in the demand for restructuring.”

He enjoined the governors to mount pressure on elected representatives from their various states in National Assembly to support restructuring.

“I wonder what Southern lawmakers in the National Assembly are doing about restructuring? They seem not to be serious about it.”

To him, the governors should as a matter of necessity impress it on Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila and all Southern Senators to kickstart the debate on how to restructure the country.

The retired general also said the governors must be more assertive in their demand for state police in the meeting tomorrow. “I think after tomorrow’s meeting, the governors should return home and begin to lobby their states Assembly to raise Bill on State Police. Their demand now should be a full-fledged State Police and nothing more. They should also make their stand known to President Muhammadu Buhari that he (Mr. President) must come out and speak on the state of insecurity in the country.

Opadokun said the governors must act their talk. He said it was not enough of the 17 southern governors to make pronouncements. They should make their state Houses of Assembly legislate the Asaba Resolutions into law to give it a force of law. If the governors can collaborate with lawmakers, it will become more effective and remain a credible voice for the marginalised southern part of Nigeria.”

Dogo challenged the governors to deploy tactical strategies to get their demands achieved. He urged them to ensure they deploy their numerical strength to persuade the National Assembly and their various States Assembly to implement and recognise the resolutions of the 2014 National Conference.

“If they are serious, they can also get support from States like Adamawa, Plateau, Taraba, Southern Kaduna, Sokoto, Kwara and Kogi. They should mobilise all the socio-political and cultural bodies to support restructuring and how to implement the conference report. By the time they do this, President Buhari will have no choice than to adhere to their demands.”

The State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, was said to have confirmed that the parley would deliberate on insecurity, true federalism, open grazing, State Police, restructuring, and food security, among others.

The meeting would also discuss the aftermath of the Asaba gathering to assess if any meaningful success was made.

The Guardian gathered that nearly all the governors are likely to be in attendance because of the near-war situation Nigeria is in at the moment and how insecurity is currently affecting their states.

But a serving member of the House of Representatives, who did not want his name in print, disclosed that northern lawmakers are watching Gbajabiamila closely and would not hesitate to initiate an impeachment motion against him if he tries anything they perceive to be against the interest of their region.

It would be recalled that the governors, at the last meeting, which was hosted by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State and attended by 15 of the 17 Southern governors, arrived at a 12-point resolution, which included the banning of open grazing of cattle in all the states.

https://guardian.ng/news/nigeria/national/southern-governors-to-meet-again-in-lagos-tomorrow/

oshozondii:
Insecurity: Southern Governors Meet In Asaba

There is heavy security in Asaba the Delta State capital as southern governors meet today, Tuesday.

Security operatives were seen at strategic points in the capital to forestall any unforeseen occurrences.

The road leading to the Government House, the venue of the summit has been barricaded while security at the entrance gate has also been beefed up.

The PUNCH gathered that the persistent attacks on police assets and killings of policemen in the south-east and south-south, and kidnappings would be top on the agenda for the meeting.

The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr Olise Ifeajika, said that almost all the governors are expected to arrive in the state today (Tuesdays).

He said, “Yes, we are happy to have them, the meeting will hold in the government house; after the meeting, decisions will be taken and the communique will be read.”

https://punchng.com/breaking-heavy-security-in-asaba-as-southern-govs-meet/?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter&amp&utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter&__twitter_i

naptu2:
Southern Governors Forum To Meet In Lagos 12 Years After Last Meeting

The Lagos State Government

12 years after, Southern Governors meet in Lagos on Monday


…Fiscal federalism, devolution of powers top agenda
Twelve years after their last gathering, Governors from the Southern part of Nigeria will on Monday converge in Lagos to deliberate on how to forge stronger ties for the three geo-political zones.


In a statement signed by the Secretary to the Lagos State Government (SSG), Mr Tunji Bello, the meeting which will be co-hosted by the Governors of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode and Akwa Ibom, Emmanuel Udom will address issues that are germane to the development of the three contiguous zones.


Bello said the meeting is in line with the realisation that the different states in the South have since 2005 developed several areas of comparative advantage which could be harnessed and become mutually beneficial.


According to him, the Governors would also be expected to adopt a common position on the issues of armed robbery, kidnapping, devolution of powers and issue of fiscal federalism which have all gained prominence of late.


“The 2017 Lagos summit of the 17 Southern Governors representing the South South, South West and South East zones is expected to come up with a communiqué after the deliberation.


“It is noteworthy to recall that the inaugural meeting of the Southern Governors took place in Lagos in 2001 under the administration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” Bello said.


The statement added that the predominance of views is that if the Southern States speak with one voice, they are bound to attract weighty and credible listenership.


The 17 Southern States expected at the summit include Governors Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom; Ben Ayade- Cross Rivers State; Godwin Obaseki - Edo State; Nyesom Wike - Rivers State; Ifeanyi Okowa - Delta State; Seriake Dickson- Bayelsa and Rochas Okorocha- Imo State.
Others are Willie Obiano - Anambra State; Okezie Ikpeazu - Abia State; David Umahi - Ebonyi State; Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi -Enugu State; Rauf Aregbesola - State of Osun; Abiola Ajimobi – Oyo; Ibikunle Amosun –Ogun; Oluwarotimi Akeredolu – Ondo; Ayodele Fayose - Ekiti and Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State.

https://m.facebook.com/followlasg/posts/1628203977200862

Nigeria: Udenwa Makes Case for Southern Governors Forum

2 MARCH 2005
Vanguard (Lagos)
By Chidi Nkwopara

Owerri — The Southern Governor's Forum has been described as "a veritable ground for highlighting the peculiar problems of the Southern states as well as that of the entire nation." Imo State Governor, Chief Achike Udenwa, who made the explanation in a chat with Vanguard in Owerri, also said that the forum has been able to address and proffer solutions to certain recalcitrant issues bugging the citizenry." The Southern Governor's Forum was established in 2000. It has succeeded in calling attention to some very pressing national issues. We have made our contributions and I am sure that we have quite a number of contributions to make in the future", Udenwasaid.

While saying that these contributions will not be limited to the development of only the Southern States, the governor also said that they equally keep the entire country under serious focus each time they meet."We have never limited our deliberations to the development of only the Southern States. We equally keep the welfare of our citizens and the entire country under serious focus, each time we meet", Chief Udenwa said.

Nigeria: A Memo From Southern Governors

28 FEBRUARY 2005
This Day (Lagos)
ANALYSIS
By Tokunbo Adedoja

Lagos — Four years after gathering at the Akodo Resort, Epe, Lagos for the maiden edition of the Southern Governors Summit, governors of the states in the three southern geo-political zones, again converged on Lagos last Friday for the 9th edition of the summit where politics, economy and security of the nation were discussed.

And coming on the heels of the National Political Reform Conference, inaugurated last week by President Olusegun Obasanjo, the gathering also served as an opportunity for the South to restate its position on some salient national issues, reports Tokunbo Adedoja, who was at the summit

Nigeria: Deductions: Southern Govs Lash FG

4 DECEMBER 2004
Vanguard (Lagos)
By Osaro Okhomina And Simon Ebegbulem

SEVENTEEN GOVERNORS of the Southern states of the federation rose from a meeting in Benin City yesterday, berating the Federal Government's inability to ensure the practice of true federalism and frustrating efforts of the state governors to take total control of security apparatus in their states. They insisted that these failures were responsible for recurring national problems

The 8th summit of the Southern Governors chaired by the Edo State Governor,Chief Lucky Igbinedion, insisted that for the realisation of true federalism and security in the country, the constitution must be amended to provide for a strict adherance to the principle of federalism and make the state commissioners of Police answerable to their state governors.

Nigeria: Southern Govs. Summit: Igbinedion Carpets FG Over Anambra Crisis

4 DECEMBER 2004
Daily Champion (Lagos)
By Vincent Adekoye

Benin — EDO State Governor, Chief Lucky Igbinedion has criticized the Federal Government over its inability to provide adequate security as well as the apparent inaction towards ending political crises in some parts of the country with Anambra State as a case in point.

He warned that this growing disquieting trend of resorting to unbridled violence as a means of seeking redress for perceived wrongs and achieving political advantage is capable of aborting the present political dispensation if not urgently checked.

Nigeria: FG Out to Discredit Us - Southern Govs

4 DECEMBER 2004
This Day (Lagos)
By Tokunbo Adedoja And Omon-Julius Onabu

Lagos/Benin-City — The 17 southern governors yesterday rose from a meeting in Benin-city, Edo State, declaring that the Federal Government was all out to "malign" state governors through sustained and deliberate efforts of its officials to create an impression that corruption exists only at the state level.

The governors, who expressed the need for the states and the Federal Government to collectively promote and ensure the sustenance of democracy and the corporate existence of the nation, said maligning state governors was not only unfair but it could also discredit government and promote lawlessness.

Nigeria: Southern Governors' Forum -- a Forum Out of Puff...and the Dangers Ahead

6 FEBRUARY 2004

OPINION
By Jide Ajani

After just seven summits, it appears the Southern Governors' Forum, SGF, designed to give a voice to the many problems of states south of the Niger, has gone the way of most things Nigerian - full of hope, brimming with expectations but mostly truncated. There are strong implications should the SGF be allowed to atrophy as is the case now because the real essence of what the forum once stood for, making a case of the south, is being befuddled by the fact that 16 of the 17 governors in the south are of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, stock, therefore, feathers should not be ruffled with an Olusegun Obasanjo as president. But power would someday go back to the north and a resuscitated SGF may be perceived as a mere hegemonist agenda to distract a president of northern extraction who would emerge then. What really went wrong with the forum and how can it be brought back to life.

"There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations much is given. Of other generations much is expected. This generation has a rendezvouz with destiny"

Nigeria: 7th Southern Governors' Summit: Same Agenda, Same Rhetorics


12 JULY 2002
This Day (Lagos)

Lagos — Samuel Ajayi reviews the Seventh Summit of Southern Governors in Akure, the Ondo State capital and writes that gradually, the meeting is becoming a forum of hammering on same issues every four months

If there was one thing that would remain indelible in the minds of those who witnessed the Seventh Summit of Southern Governors in Akure, Ondo State capital earlier in the week, it was the fact that the event was so rich in razzmatazz and empty in any radical departure of what has always been.

Nigeria: Resource Control Tops Agenda of Southern Governors Summit

11 MARCH 2002
This Day (Lagos)
By Oma Djebah

Port Harcourt — The sixth quarterly summit of the 17 southern governors kicked off yesterday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital with resource control and True Federalism topping the agenda.

By 7pm yesterday, no fewer than 10 of the 17 governors had arrived, throwing the oil city of Port-Harcourt into a carnival mood.

Nigeria: Owerri to Host Next Southern Governors' Summit


11 SEPTEMBER 2001
The Guardian (Lagos)
By Tolu Olarewaju And Kola Alade

Ibadan — OWERRI, the Imo State capital is to host the fifth Southern Governors summit. The date, however, is yet to be determined

The two-day summit in Oyo State came to an end yesterday. Traditional drummers were on hand to bid state chief executives fare-well as they emerged from the council chambers, venue of the meeting.

Nigeria: Southern Governors Meet Again In Benin City On March 26


19 MARCH 2001
Vanguard (Lagos)
By Jide Ajani, Political Editor

Lagos — Governors of the 17 southern states will between March 26 and 28 storm Benin City, the Edo State capital, for the third Southern Governors' Forum, Vanguard can reveal.

According to information available to Vanguard, the governors would, at the meeting, decide on how to tackle the federal government on the issue of revenue allocation.

Nigeria: Conclave Of Governors


15 JANUARY 2001

The News (Lagos)
By Uba Aham

Lagos — When Senator Bola Tinubu, Lagos State Governor, strolled out of the conference hall of the Nike Lake Resort Hotel after the second summit of the Southern Governors, 10 January, he expressed his approval of the resolutions reached at the summit. "I am elated about our resolution to establish state police," he told this magazine. "Security," he asserted, "is a right, not a privilege for the people". The Governor who is an advocate of state police argued that the present situation whereby security of the masses is solely entrusted to the federal police gives room for fraud, irregularity and abuse of power. The governors, according to Tinubu, would not allow the issue of state police to be sabotaged by any act of omission or commission. He said they were determined to pursue it to a logical conclusion.

The summit had in its nine-point communique endorsed by all the 17 Southern governors, resolved that a constitutional amendment empowering states to establish the state police be pursued.

Nigeria: The Inside Story Of Southern Governors Parley In Enugu


14 JANUARY 2001

OPINION
By Jide Ajani

Lagos — It is not everyday that the executive governor of a state sits by his phone, calls his colleagues and extracts a commitment from them. But to host the Southern Governors Forum, it is increasingly becoming a ritual that every prospective host governor would have to go through.

It is necessary, and it will become more so as development gets stormier in the country. It was on the telephony note that the last lap of the preparations for the second in the series of the Southern governors' parley kicked off.

Nigeria: Lagos State Governor Justifies Meeting of Southern Governors

Panafrican News Agency (Dakar)
By Segun Adeyemi

10 OCTOBER 2000


Lagos, Nigeria — Host Lagos Governor Bola Tinubu has justified Tuesday's maiden meeting of governors of the 17 states in southern Nigeria, saying such a gathering was necessary to strengthen the country's fledgling democracy.

In an apparent reference to criticism of such gathering as sectional and divisive, he said it should actually be encouraged and supported.

naptu2:
The first meeting of the southern governors in the 4th Republic was held in Lagos in October 2000. The Southern Governors Summit was used to coordinate the fight for resource control and more importantly, the fight against the onshore/offshore dichotomy. It was also used to demand for devolution of powers (state police, etc.).

Offshore/Onshore Dichotomy.

The 1999 constitution stated that a percentage of mineral revenue that was derived from a state should be given to that state. It also stated that the National Assembly should meet to determine what the percentage would be, but it must not be less than 13%.

The Federal Government led by President Olusegun Obasanjo paid the states 13% of the revenue derived from minerals in their states. This was because the National Assembly did not set any percentage, so the Federal Government simply used the percentage that was mentioned in the constitution.

However, there was a problem.

The Federal Government stated that any mineral (that is, crude oil) that was found in the ocean, off the continental shelf of a state, belonged to the Federal Government and it would not pay any derivation funds to any state for it.

The states argued that they must have a share of the revenue from such minerals, regardless of the fact that they are in the ocean.

The battle was waged in the National Assembly and in the courts. State governments sued the Federal Government. The state governors were meeting to coordinate their strategy, but then there was a division. A few northern state governments took the side of the Federal Government and so the Southern governors then decided to coordinate their strategy through the Southern Governors Forum.

Politics crept in ahead of the 2007 elections and the Southern Governors Forum did not meet between 2005 and 2017. Their wives continued to hold meetings, but the Southern Governors Forum did not meet.

Until recently, the host governor usually acted as chairman and spokesman of the forum.


List of Southern Governors Forum meetings

Southern Governors Forum meeting, Lagos, October 2000.
https://allafrica.com/stories/200010100252.html


Southern Governors Forum meeting, Enugu, January 2001.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200101150174.html

Conclave of Governors (report of the Southern Governors Summit in Enugu)
https://allafrica.com/stories/200101150096.html

Southern Governors Forum meeting, Benin, March 2001.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200103190380.html

Southern Governors Forum meeting, Ibadan, September 2001.
https://allafrica.com/stories/200109110026.html

Southern Governors Forum meeting, Owerri, November 2001.
https://allafrica.com/stories/200111140102.html

Southern Governors Forum meeting, Port Harcourt, March 2002
https://allafrica.com/stories/200203110194.html

7th Southern Governors Forum meeting, Akure, July 2002.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200207120292.html

Southern Governors Forum meeting, February 2004
http://allafrica.com/stories/200402060556.html

Southern Governors Forum meeting, Benin, December 2004
https://allafrica.com/stories/200412060193.html

Nigeria: Southern Govs. Summit: Igbinedion Carpets FG Over Anambra Crisis
https://allafrica.com/stories/200412060258.html

Nigeria: Deductions: Southern Govs Lash FG
https://allafrica.com/stories/200412060349.html

Southern Governors Forum meeting, Lagos, February 2005
https://allafrica.com/stories/200503010200.html

Udenwa makes case for southern governors forum. March 2005.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200503020368.html


Southern Governors Forum To Meet In Lagos 12 Years After Last Meeting (Lagos, 2017)
https://www.nairaland.com/4130625/southern-governors-forum-meet-lagos


Southern Governors Forum meeting, Asaba, May 2021
https://www.nairaland.com/6548268/insecurity-southern-governors-meet-asaba

Southern Governors Forum meeting, Lagos, July 2021
https://www.nairaland.com/6634966/southern-governors-meet-lagos-today

Southern Governors Back Fubara On Tenure Of Local Govt Chairmen In Rivers State

Speaking on behalf of other Governors from the region, Abiodun said if tenure extension is allowed, then it will become a reference point in the future and such is capable of truncating democracy in Nigeria.

Governors of the southern region of the country have thrown their weight behind Gov Siminalayi Fubara's position on the tenure of local government chairmen in Rivers State.

Speaking on the political upheaval in Rivers State based on the tenure of local government chairmen, the chairman of the Southern Governors Forum, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, said it was unconstitutional for anybody to extend the tenure of constitutionally elected public servants.

He argued that the law is very clear on the tenure of elected officials, and when the tenure expires, there is no need to extend it by whatever means.

Speaking against the backdrop of the decision of the Rivers State House of Assembly to extend the tenure of the local government chairmen in the state, but which was refused by Governor Fubara, who then went ahead to appoint caretaker chairmen, Abiodun in an interview with a national television said it would be a dangerous precedent to extend the tenure of local government chairman.

Speaking on behalf of other Governors from the region, Abiodun said if tenure extension is allowed, then it will become a reference point in the future and such is capable of truncating democracy in Nigeria.

He said: “On local government administration, it is a constitutional issue that will be put to rest at a point in time.

“When your tenure has expired, it stands to reason that your tenure has expired.

“It is not up to the governor of that state or anybody else to extend the tenure of the local government chairmen.

“The collective position of the governors is that it would be a dangerous precedent and an abuse of the democratic ethos for the tenure of an elected local government chairman to expire and for anyone to imagine that their tenure can be extended by one day.

“I think that puts that matter to rest. If that is not the case, that becomes a precedent, a reference point, and the thing is that somebody will ask for a tenure extension.

“Our democracy has evolved and we should not do anything to truncate the process.”

Abiodun, who revealed that the forum also agreed on a modal transport master plan for the region as part of infrastructural development, noted that the governors were delighted with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the award of the coastal road project.

“We spoke about infrastructure. For us to be regionally integrated, we must have the infrastructure for investment facilitation, promotion, for enhancing movement of goods and services.

“On that note, we were unanimously appreciating President Tinubu for the construction of the coastal road.

“This road connects almost all southern states. It is a key enabler of economic development like no other. It will also create a lot of job opportunities.

“We also spoke of the need for the Federal Government to transfer some of the Trunk A roads to the states if a state government is prepared to take on such roads.

“We also agreed to have a modal transport master plan that allows us to connect rail, water and road transportation because we realised that transportation is key to enabling investment promotion, facilitation and the general wellbeing of our people.”

Southern Nigeria Has No Business Not Growing What We Eat – Dapo Abiodun

He said Southern governors have decided to be more deliberate and intentional about promoting agriculture and ensuring food security in the region.

By Donatus Anichukwueze
Updated June 24, 2024

The newly-elected chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, says with over 8 million hectares of land, Southern Nigeria should be self-sufficient in food production.

Governor Abiodun, who emerged as the chairman of the Forum at their meeting in Abeokuta on Monday, said this when he appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

He noted that the Forum made up of all the 17 governors in the Southern part of Nigeria has decided to be more deliberate about promoting agriculture and ensuring food security in the region.

“What we discussed as a region was to ensure that we become more deliberate and more intentional about food security and agriculture,” Governor Abiodun said.

“This is a region that has over 8 million hectares of land; we don’t have any business not growing what we eat and eating what we grow.

“So, governors resolved that going forward. We are going to be intentional and more deliberate about promoting agriculture and ensuring food security.”

The focus on food security and agriculture is only one of the many issues discussed by the governors in the meeting, according to the Ogun State governor.

He said that infrastructural development was also among the areas the governors resolved to look into, adding that they decided that the region must have a multi-modal transport master plan that will connect rail, road air, and water transportation.

The move, according to the governor, follows the realisation by the Forum that transportation is a key enabler in investment promotion, facilitation, and of course the general well-being of the people.

According to him, the governors spoke about insecurity in the region, backing state, community, and regional security outfits which he said almost all the zones in the region have set up.

With Governor Abiodun’s emergence on Monday as the new chairman of the Forum, he replaces the former governor of Ondo State, the late Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, who held that position until his death in December 2023. The governor of Anambra State, Chukwuma Soludo will serve as his deputy.

Governor Abiodun assured that Nigerians will see a new, repositioned, refocused Southern Governors’ Forum going forward.

Southern govs unveil five-point agenda for region’s development

Abiodun emerges forum’s chairman, Soludo vice chairman

by Olayinka Olukoya and Wale Akinselure
June 25, 2024

The newly elected chairman of the Southern Governors Forum, Governor Dapo Abiodun, has unveiled a five-point agenda of the forum under his leadership.

While the governor of Anambra State, Professor Charles Soludo, became the vice chairman, Abiodun emerged as chairman to succeed Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, who died last December after s protracted illness.

Issues on the agenda, according to Abiodun, include Security, Infrastructure, Food Security and Agriculture, Transportation and Devolution of Powers.

Speaking on a Channels Television programme, Politics Today Monday evening, Abiodun said the focus of the governors is socio-economic development of the Southern zone, which he said would be pushed under the ‘Southern States Development Agenda.’

Mentioning security as first priority, Abiodun said the governors are in support of state policing such that governors are indeed chief security officers of their states, adding that the zone is resolute about establishment of a regional security outfit.


He said that the governors remained keen on state police and community policing, having discovered that the federal police lacked the manpower, resources and understanding of the terrains so as to quickly detect and arrest acts of criminality.

The forum’s chairman said that southern governors were also keen on regional integration through infrastructure.

He said the zone was intent on having a multi-modal transport infrastructure to connect road, air, rail, water transportation to aid the movement of foods and services and investment.

He particularly lauded the administration of President Bola Tinubu for initiating the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project, which he said epitomized the intended infrastructure drive of the forum.

While acknowledging the current high cost of food items in the country, Abiodun said that the governors resolved to be more deliberate about promoting agriculture and food security in their various states.

He noted that the Southern region had millions of hectares of arable land, adding that the zone had no reason not to grow what it eats as well as export its cash crops.

He said the states resolved to really key into their competitive and comparative advantages in the overall interest of the zone.

Abiodun also identified the push for devolution of powers as top on the priority of the Southern Governors, which he said would ensure that the states no longer rely on federal allocation.

Specifically, he said the Southern governors demanded that the Federal Government transfers to states some Trunk A roads, as well as grant the states more powers for exploitation and exploration of resources in their domains including Value Added Tax (VAT).

To achieve their goals, Abiodun said that the Southern governors would meet quarterly, while the meetings would rotate among the states of the zone.