Why South East Can’t Have Regional Security Outfit – Umahi

The Governor of Ebonyi State and Chairman of South-East Governors Forum, David Umahi, says the region cannot have a joint security outfit.

Speaking during an appearance on Channels Television on Thursday, Umahi said the reason is that security challenges in the states are different and that every state is peculiar.

He asserted that the governors in the region are comfortable with the different security architectures at various states.

The governor said the issue of insecurity is not peculiar to the region alone, but a national problem that must be tackled accordingly.

Umahi opined that one of the reasons the region cannot have a joint security network is the challenge of deployment of personnel from one state to another which they may not be familiar with.

He said: “What we have in South East states in a Joint Security Committee which trains Neighbourhood Watch and the Vigilante groups or other local security architectures at different states in the region. If anybody tells you that there could be security personnel contributed from different states to form a joint security for this region, it is not a possibility. It is not workable even if the constitution permits it.

“Every state is peculiar and so is their security challenges. The problem is that those complaining about the lack of joint security for the South-East are not living in the region. They don’t have the knowledge of how security works in the region.

“The governors of the South-East States are comfortable with the different security architectures at various states because the personnel are working very well. There is a problem of insecurity in the region, but the issue is not peculiar to the region alone, it is a national problem.

“We are happy with what our local security personnel are doing at different states. We are not God who assures 100 percent security but we are trying our best and this what our people want.

“Our local security architectures at different states know the terrain and the people very well and are given the opportunity to secure their environment and the people. That is the kind of arrangement we have in the South East.”