From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Six governors of the South-West rose from a meeting in Ibadan, Oyo State capital yesterday and resolved to forge regional integration and also, not to allow political differences to truncate the common cause of the Yoruba.
They vowed not to allow politics divide the region.
The governors agreed to work together within the framework of people-centred development towards the unity of the Yoruba people to evolve regional integration that will accelerate the growth and development of the region.
The meeting held at the Executive Chambers of Oyo State Governor’s office and had in attendance, the host governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, his counterparts from Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos, Ogun, Ibikunle Amosun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola from Osun and Ayodele Fayose Ekiti, from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Also in attendance was Secretary to Ondo State Government, Dr. Rotimi Adelola, who represented Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, who was away to Abuja to confer with President Muhammadu Buhari on the security situation in his state.
Fayose, who read the communiqué at the end of the meeting, said the governors resolved to “better the lot of their people, play politics of development, play politics that will bring food to the table of the average South Westerner.
“We have agreed that beyond our differences, the region must come first and we must have unity of purpose beyond politics, an economic base that we can be proud of. We need unity, regardless our differences. We have agreed to use this collaboration to improve on our infrastructure, commerce, security, agriculture and beyond… All states, including Ekiti, have subscribed and agreed that regional integration is the way forward and we should do everything to realise this for the people, the Yoruba race.”
The next meeting of the South-West governors, he said, will hold in Ekiti, in February 2017.
The host governor, Ajimobi, noted that, “except for occasional opportunities, mostly in Abuja, and perhaps at social and informal functions, we do not meet together as a forum.
There is no organised format for meetings and therefore the capacity for common positions on issues affecting the region is blunt. This is dangerous.
“Going forward, we must ensure that never again will our busy schedules prevent us from meeting periodically to review notes and brainstorm together on issues affecting us as a people and seeking common solutions.”
In an interview with newsmen, Amosun said: “There is no way the part can be bigger than the whole. It is in our interest to unite as a region, race, and as a people. What we want to improve upon are those things that will benefit the people such as commerce, economy, security, youth, sporting activities, culture, values, infrastructure. We are looking at a train that will run from Lagos to Ekiti.
“We are collaborating, interfacing among ourselves. We want to feed Lagos, clothe Lagos, move Lagos. We recognise that we can use Lagos State as a launch pad that all states in the region will collaborate. We will look at areas where we have comparative advantage and leverage on that…”
We can look up to one another in areas like agriculture, education, infrastructure for political reasons.
“Not necessarily, our forbearers were not like that. Yes, it is good that if all of us have a common ideology, we will all be in synch with one another. Our party has its own programmes while other parties may have their own programmes, but they are in the interest of development of our people.”
Fielding question on what the governors agreed to execute before their next meeting in February, Ambode said: “We must move our people forward in the path of prosperity in all the states of the region. It is about the people, not about politics, in the overall interest of the people.”