The South West Governors’ Forum, comprising the governors of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, and Ondo States has resolved to establish a joint monitoring team to tackle worsening food inflation in the region.
A communique issued at the end of the forum’s meeting held on Thursday at Governor’s Office, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos State, revealed that all the governors attended the meeting and extensively deliberated on key issues affecting the South West region.
The governors expressed concern over the activities of unscrupulous middlemen who deliberately inflate prices of goods and commodities in South West markets.
It therefore, agreed to establish a State Food Inflation Joint Monitoring Team and also the establishment of Aggregation Centres/Food Hubs to foster inter-state collaboration and mitigate food inflation.
The Forum who commended President Bola Tinubu for the economic stability and improvements recorded across the nation, particularly in the sustained supply and distribution of petroleum products and the stabilization of the exchange, acknowledged the threat posed by ISWAP activities in parts of the region and strongly condemned any threat to the region’s security.
To prevent insurgency in the region and enhance security operations, the governors agreed to establish a Joint Surveillance Monitoring Team to oversee and coordinate security efforts across the South West region.
It also indicated interest in deploying advanced technology, including aerial surveillance systems to enhance security operations, adding that the its Special Advisers on Security would collaborate on intelligence gathering and sharing between State security agencies, local security networks, and federal law enforcement authorities among South West States.
While commending the Federal Government and the Senate for establishing the South West Development Commission, the Forum collectively agreed to situate its headquarters at Cocoa House, Ibadan, Oyo State.
The governors acknowledged the efforts of Odu’a Investment Company Ltd. in efficiently managing joint assets of the South West region over the past five years.
