The South-south governors Thursday concluded plans to establish a regional security outfit in order to protect the lives and properties in the region.
Chairman of the South-South Governors Forum and governor of Delta state, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, while addressing newsmen in Asaba at the end of their meeting said the governors also agreed to resuscitate the BRACED commission, a regional economic and integration platform.
Dr. Okowa noted that BRACED, which stands for Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Cross River, Edo and Delta, would be mandated to come up with modalities on the establishment of the regional security outfit.
According to him, “The commission is expected to brief the governors on the steps being taken for the establishment of the regional security outfit at the next meeting of the Forum in May, 2020 in Port Harcourt, Rivers state.
Okowa explained that BRACED commission was set up over 10 years ago by their predecessors to facilitate economic cooperation among the South-south states, adding that the incumbent governors have concluded plans to provide the needed logistics for the commission to come back to life.
On the 13 per cent derivation, the governors prevailed on the federal government to adopt the system where the percentage is deducted at source before the revenue is shared out.
“And we need to stress that in any allocation that is being done, 13% derivation must first be taken out of the funds that come from oil revenue before the rest of the funds is shared out.
“This 13% is supposed to be for the oil producing states and that has not been the situation for a very long time,” Okowa said.
