The Alaigbo Development Foundation (ADF), a prominent Igbo think tank, expressed its dissatisfaction with the South East Governors Forum over their handling of regional security issues, as reported by Vanguard.
Professor Ukachukwu Awuzie, the National President of the ADF; Dave Umahi.
The ADF criticized the governors for obstructing efforts to establish a regional security outfit intended to address the severe insecurity in Igboland.
Professor Ukachukwu Awuzie, the National President of the ADF and former Vice Chancellor of Imo State University, voiced his disappointment during a recent press interaction in Enugu.
Awuzie revealed that the ADF had been involved in efforts to develop an indigenous security strategy for the region.
He mentioned that the initiative to form a security outfit was undermined by the South East Governors Forum, particularly under the leadership of then-Governor Dave Umahi.
According to Awuzie, the governors chose to support the Federal Government’s community policing approach instead of backing the regional security plan.
Awuzie noted that despite their efforts to establish a security framework similar to the South West’s Amotekun Corps, the plan faced significant setbacks.
He said, “We were all involved in the attempt to articulate our own security strategy, after the South West established their Amotekun Corps. The brother of Dave Umahi was made the Chairman of the Security Committee, but he (Dave) never funded it.
“We were waiting for the inauguration of our own security outfit to police Igboland, when Umahi suddenly said that the governors had accepted community policing. We were disappointed. Where has the community policing taken us? Nowhere.”