By Jennifer John
The joint council of Igbo Bishops, comprising Bishops in the South-east and parts of the South-south have called on governors of South-east states to come together and set up a well mobilized security outfit for the zone.
The Bishops made the call during a courtesy visit to Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma at Imo State Government House, Owerri.
The leader of the delegation, Archbishop of Enugu and chairman of the joint council of Bishops, Archbishop Emmanuel Chukwuma said “We need our own security because we can no longer trust the current structure to guarantee our security. As far as I am concerned, if we continue to trust the current security structure, we are in danger. It is necessary to have our own security outfit, to be able to police ourselves, the way Yoruba’s have done with Amotekun.
He assured the Imo state governor of their unalloyed support and urged him to coordinate all the governors in the East to set up the security outfit to guarantee security of the people of South-east.
“We also want them to mobilize resources for agriculture and animal husbandry to make sure there is adequate food and meat for the people of South-east and also tackle the challenge of unemployment.
“We are behind you in your effort to unite the Igbos and make sure whatever that is due to us comes to us. We are also behind you in your effort to recover all that the state lost. People should be made to understand that leadership is service and not an opportunity to sap the common wealth of the people.
Responding, the governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, said he had taken all the advice given to him by the Bishops, promising to keep to them religiously. “All over the world, government alone cannot handle security, adding that the call for the complementary role of the citizens is in line with global best practices.”I think that what we will do as governors is to really man our different states, man our zone, support what the federal government is doing, so that there will be security to guarantee protection of lives and property of our people, which is the primary duty of government.
