Oyo state Governor Seyi Makinde on Sunday visited the zone to hold consultative meetings with selected stakeholders on how to proffer lasting solution to the security challenges facing the zone.
Makinde who held overnight meetings assured the people that all the problems and challenges they are facing are also his.
While speaking in Igboora, the governor told the people that he feels their pains adding that the visit to the region is to enable him find lasting solutions to the lingering insecurity issues in the area.
The stakeholders who attended the meeting include political office holders from Ibarapa Central, Ibarapa East and Ibarapa North, in Igbo Ora.
According to him, the state has approved the setting up of Peace and Security Committee at the local government levels, adding that the state government would put in place other security measures to ensure peace in the area.
He also disclosed that the government had directed the immediate take-off of an identity management programme to enable it to know who is who in the communities.
Makinde said; “The take-home from the interaction for me is that it is a collective problem and I can see the commitment from everybody to find a solution to this. And, at least, I am quite glad that some of the initiatives that the government is trying to put in place to stem insecurity are coming to fruition.
“We will ensure that our identity management programme takes off as quickly as possible. We will also ensure the setting up of peace and security committee that is all-encompassing in the councils.”
He also urged political office holders to always call the attention of the government to the happenings within their localities, saying that he decided to sleep over in Ibarapa to feel the pulse of the people.
According to the governor, he cannot sleep with two eyes closed in Ibadan if the people of Ibarapa are unable to sleep with two eyes closed, noting that the problems of insecurity in Ibarapaland needed to be tackled collectively.
The governor commiserated with the families that have lost loved ones to the insecurity situation, saying “so, this is also to let people know that I feel their pain, because I have had a very close interaction with Dr. Fatai Aborode in the past. I commiserate with his family and many others who have lost loved ones to this situation.
“I feel the pain and I believe that with everybody coming together, we will be able to tackle the problem. Also, political office holders need to know that when they see something, they have to say something.”
