S/West Govs Raise Committee on Integration

Posted by admin Governors, South-West Saturday, July 9th, 2011

Governors of states that made up the old Western Region have given teeth to their quest for regional integration when they agreed to set up a 21-man technical committee to explore areas of possible cooperation among them.

This was their main decision at a meeting they held in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital on Friday.

In a communiqué read by the host, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the governors said they deliberated “on the possibility of formulating a regional plan of action in the area of politics and socio-economic integration of the zone.”

They also agreed “to explore and collaborate in critical areas that could revamp the economy of the region and return it to the enviable position it has maintained in the pre-independent era,” saying that they would pull resources together to catapult the fortunes of the region in areas that are germane to the yearnings of the people.

The governors also stated that the meeting became imperative to fine-tune the legal and political processes that could engender quick take off of the integration.

Earlier in his welcome address, Governor Fayemi pointed out that the meeting would enable the states of the old Western Region “to build a consensus on major issues of communal concern and also facilitate a genuine process of political and economic cooperation for the much needed rapid growth and development of our dear states.”

He expressed the belief that “with determination and concerted efforts on our part, we can collectively surpass the 1952 benchmark, enunciate a developmental paradigm and also provide the window of hope for our people that would herald a new dawn for the region.”

At the meeting were Governors Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo, Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun and Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State while Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State was represented by his deputy, Mrs. Titilayo Laoye-Tomori.

Governors Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State and Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State were absent but sent their apologies.

-Tribunewp_posts