Security: Jonathan, South/East Govs in closed-door meeting

As a follow to the amazing Police discovery of two Improvised Explosive Devices in Winners Chapel Church in Owerri, Imo State, on Sunday, ‎the governors of the South East geo-political zone have held a closed-door meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja. Addressing state house correspondents, the governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano assured the people of the South/East geo-political zone that security arrangements have been put in place to forestall any plans by terrorist sect Boko Haram, to attack the area. According to him,, the governors of the South East zone have already placed security forces on the alert, adding that there is no way the Boko Haram sect can extend its activities to the South East.

The Anambra State Governor while refusing to give details of the plans in place assured that governors of the South East states have made adequate arrangements to ensure that the insurgents do not make inroad into the zone.

“No, they cannot get there. I can assure you of that. We will not allow that to happen. I cannot tell you in any material details about the bombs found or not found. All I can assure you is that we are very alert in the South-East and we are watching what is going on. I can assure you that Boko Haram cannot come to the Southeast.

“The President is a human being and he is under a lot of pressure. Some other people are making the work a lot more difficult for him. Instead of supporting him to steer us out of these stormy waters, they are adding kerosene to fire. So, we are here to tell him that we are supporting him and that he should count on us,” he said.

‎ On the purpose of the visit to the State House, Obiano said the governors had come to pay a solidarity visit to President and to assure him of their support and backings.

“The South East governors came in this morning to assure him that we are with him all the way and that he can count on us”.

Speaking also on the erosion challenges facing the zone, the Anambra Governor announced that the zone will soon put in place legal framework to address man made erosion, adding that he and his colleagues in the zone were tackling the challenge head on.

“The World Bank with the state governments are working on a lot of erosion sites already. We have expanded the four erosion sites we are working on currently to 12 so we are adding eight more erosion sites. I believe that this intervention which is 50/50 per cent contribution will go a long way in helping to tackle the erosion sites we have in the state.

“We are also tackling erosion from the legal point of view. Bush burning will no longer be allowed, so also is cutting roads to lay pipes to houses. These are some of the factors that lead to erosion.

“We want people to do the necessary things that they should do, we want people to stop termination of drainages abruptly. We are putting a law in place to ensure that anybody that violates the law will face the consequences”, he said The meeting was attended byGovernor Theodore Orji of Abia State, Sullivan Chime of Enugu State and Chief Martin Elechi of Ebonyi State, with the exception of Rochas Okorocha of Imo State who did not come or sent a representative.