Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has finally taken over presidential duties as he summoned all the South-West Governors for an emergency meeting, at Aso Rock, on Thursday.
A scheduled meeting between the Presidency and the South-West Governors on the Western Nigeria Security Network, Operation Amotekun, was fixed on Tuesday but later called off.
The South-West launched operation Amotekun on January 9, in Ibadan, Oyo State, to help address the rising security challenges, particularly kidnapping and banditry, in Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Lagos, Ekiti, and Ondo States.
The South-West Governors, who made 120 patrol vehicles available to the Security outfit, had said that it would complement the Police and the Military, in terms of intelligence gathering.
However on Tuesday, last week, the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, Abubakar Malami, SAN, declared Operation Amotekun “illegal”,
He stated: “The setting up of the paramilitary organisation called Amotekun is illegal, and runs contrary to the provisions of the Nigerian law.”
A few days later, the Chairman of the South-West Governors Forum, Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, said that the South-West would go ahead with the Security outfit.
Akeredolu, who is also the Ondo State Governor, revealed that the South-West would first seek a political solution to the problem, then go to court, if the first step fails.
However, Legal Luminary and Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Chief Afe Babalola, on Sunday, advised the South-West Governors to proceed with the implementation of Amotekun, and leave the Federal Government to challenge the matter in court.
After for why the meeting between the South West governor and the Presidency could not take place on Tuesday, findings showed that two of the Governors were out of the country to London, to attend the United Kingdom-Africa Summit, in company of Buhari.
They are those of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun. They are not expected back home till Thursday.
A source disclosed that the meeting was moved to Thursday, when most of the 36 State Governors would be in Abuja, for the National Economic Council, NEC, meeting.
The source stated: “Thursday seems convenient for everyone; all the Governors are coming for their monthly NEC meeting.
“The South-West Governors’ meeting with the Presidency too, can take place on Thursday. It is more convenient that way. Besides, two of the South-West Governors are not in the country now”, the source added.
“It is a delicate issue, which the VP too may be trying to handle with caution, because of possible political backlash at his home base”, another source claimed.
It was learnt that the Presidency is not exactly against Amotekun, since Buhari has already given his backing to Community Policing.
