They also called on field commanders to take measures to protect civilian communities as a confidence-building mechanism between the military and those communities.
According to the statement, the president and the governors believed that ”when the trust that has been lost between both parties is re-established, there would be improved cooperation in intelligence-gathering and sharing.”
The presidential aide revealed that the meeting also agreed that poverty and youth unemployment were at the root of the nationwide security challenges, and needed to be addressed with greater vigour by all tiers of government.
Shehu said the meeting also focused on the country’s security policies and approaches in tackling the internal security challenges with a charge that intelligence-gathering and sharing must be optimised.
In their submissions anchored by their Chairman, Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, and Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno, the governors highlighted the problems of poverty, unemployment, trust deficit between the military and civilian populations and the inflow of small arms into the country.
The governors also pointed to the problem of coordination among military and security chiefs and played up their own security roles which included one billion dollars they allowed the President to withdraw from the Excess Crude Account for weapons procurement two years ago.
They, therefore, urged the President to consider a “bail out” for security for the States in view of the enormity of the resources they now expend in support of the military and the police.
The three-hour meeting was attended by the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, heads of defence, security and intelligence agencies, and members of the Security Committee of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum represented by one governor from each of the six geo-political zones.
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