The Oyo State Government on Monday called on the USA for assistance in tackling insecurity in the State and Nigeria as a whole.
The state Deputy Governor, Chief Adebayo Lawal, sought for the assistance on behalf of state government while receiving the new United States Consul-General, Mr Williams Stevens, who paid him a courtesy visit at the Executive Council Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Agodi in Ibadan.
Lawal, who observed that insecurity was becoming endemic in Nigeria, said Oyo state would welcome whatever technology required to combat the menace.
“Initially, we thought we can localise this issue of security, but it has become a hydra-headed phenomenon.
“We must give it to you that if you choose to assist, you can be deliberate and we will encourage you to assist and partner with Oyo State Government in the area of security,” he said
On efforts made so far to address the insecurity, Lawal said “we know security is key and we have really deployed greater percentage of resources into security development.
“Since the inception of this administration, we have put in place an outfit called ‘Amotekun’ to complement the efforts of our conventional security outfits – Police, Department of State Security and others that are national in nature.
“Amotekun is domesticated, localised and goes into the nooks and cranny of our communities to ensure our environments are safe”.
He stressed that the state government was looking forward to using the opportunities and mutually-beneficial partnerships with United States to better the lives of Oyo State residents and create an atmosphere where businesses could thrive.
