Governors from.the South-West region on Wednesday condemned the attitude of a Chief Superintendent of Police refusing to obey the order of the Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to remove policemen who had laid a siege at the Magodo Phase II Estate in Lagos.
Speaking on behalf of the governors, Chairman of the South West Governors Forum and the Ondo State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, described the action of the police officer who claimed to be acting on the order of the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General of the Federation, as an unacceptable intrusion and act of disrespe
Akeredolu, in a statement issued in Akure, the Ondo State capital, and signed by him, said the utter disrespect which underlines the response of the officer to the governor established beyond doubt the impracticability of the current system.
The govwernors condemned the brazen assault on decency and called on the Inspector General of Police to explain the justification for this intrusion.
The governors also condemned the alleged role of the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami, in the whole development.
The South-West governors called on President Muhammadu Buhari to rein in the excesses of certain elements bent on acting in a manner capable of eroding the bond of trust existing between the people and the Federal Government.
According to the governors, it is preposterous for political appointees to seek to undermine the very structure of service upon which their appointments rest.
The statement read: “We are in possession of a video which has gone viral on the social media concerning the disgraceful exchange between a police officer and the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the supposed Chief Security Officer of the state, at the Magodo residential estate.
“The content of the video is very disconcerting and this is being charitable. The utter disrespect which underlines the response of the officer to the governor establishes, beyond doubt, the impracticability of the current system, dubiously christened ‘Federalism.’
“An arrangement, which compels the governor of a state to seek clarifications on security issues in his jurisdiction from totally extraneous bodies or persons is a sure recipe for anarchy.
“This is not acceptable. Any expectations of rapprochment between so called federating units and federal security agencies are becoming forlorn, progressively, due to deliberate acts which mock our very avowal to ethics and professionalism.
“We, on our part, will continue to interrogate the current system, which treats elected representatives of the people as mere prefects, while appointed office-holders ride rough shod over them as Lords of the Manor.
“If the purported chief security officers of the states of the federation require clearance from the office of the Inspector General on matters within their areas of jurisdictions, only hypocrites will wonder why the current security crisis deepens and there appears to be no solution in the foreseeable future.
“We condemn very strongly, this brazen assault on decency. We call on the Inspector General to explain the justification for this intrusion. This is not acceptable.
“We stand by our brother, the governor of Lagos State. We advise him to deploy the regional security outfit in the state to protect the lives and property of the people.”
and then