Ekiti State Government on Monday asked residents of the state to go about their lawful businesses without any fear of harassment or intimidation, saying it is in full control of the security situation in the state.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Security Matters, Ebenezer Ogundana, said this in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, during the quarterly security meeting involving heads of security agencies and chairmen of the 16 local government councils and 22 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).
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He assured residents not to panic over reports of activities of banditry in neighbouring states, stressing that Governor Biodun Oyebanji is on top of the security situation in the state.
Mr Ogundana, a retired brigadier general, affirmed that Ekiti State remains the safest state in the country based on the various measures the government has put in place, especially at all the border towns to provide adequate safety for residents.
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He commended the residents of the state for providing the necessary intelligence needed by various security outfits. This, he said, has made the state surmount all security challenges.
He also assured residents that Ekiti borders are well-secured with military and police presence against any incursion, adding that the state’s intelligence and surveillance network remained strong and well-coordinated.
“We’ve been having some unusual activities along the states bordering with Ekiti, particularly Kogi and Kwara states and these incidents have been sending unholy signals to the state to the extent that it is creating panic among the people and then we met with Mr Governor and he directed that we should meet with all the stakeholders, so we met with traditional rulers and other stakeholders.
“Today, we are meeting the local government chairmen to be able to listen to them and ascertain what their plans are so that we can work out plans on how to ensure that we have security in all our local governments, particularly the areas that are close to these turbulent states.
“At the same time, we want to make sure that all of them are on the same page and to inform the people that the kind of panic that has been created is not true. That is the essence now, so when we finish with them, they will go back home and realign their people and tell them to go about their businesses without fear.
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“We want our people to be very vigilant and pay attention to small details. When they hear anything, they should not cover it up. They are not in a position to assess whether that information is true or not. Let them send the information to the security agencies closer to them so that we’ll be able to make an adequate response.
“We have sufficient resources at our disposal to determine whether information is true or not.
“Like what is happening in Kogi and Kwara states now, we discovered that all the farmers, the herders, the community, everybody is affected now. Everybody is running up and down there, so we don’t want that thing to escalate to us in Ekiti State. That’s why we are making all the necessary efforts to put everybody on the same page so that at least we can move ahead,” Mr Ogundana stated.
