The Ondo State House of Assembly has begun public hearing on a bill for the establishment of the State Security Network Agency codename “Amotekun”.
Declaring the public hearing open, the State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, said the Amotekun Bill, when passed into law, would reduce various security challenges in the state and the South-West region as a whole.
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Traditional rulers, civil society organisations, and representatives of the government attended the public hearing in Akure, the state capital.
Speakers at the public hearing made contributions in support of the bill.
Meanwhile, Speakers of State Houses of Assembly in the South-West region are also expected to meet in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Wednesday, to deliberate on the submissions before the bill is passed into law in their respective states.
In a related development, the Osun State House of Assembly, Monday also held a public hearing on the proposed Amotekun security outfit.
The public hearing is to help the state legislature galvanise opinions of different stakeholders and to review some sections of the proposed Amotekun bill.
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The public hearing was attended by different groups including traditional rulers, representatives of hunters association among others.
Various speakers expressed their concern, calling on the government not to allow Amotekun corps to become political tools.
The State Governor, Gboyega Oyetola, represented by his Deputy, Benedict Alabi, and the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Timothy Owoeye, assured the gathering of neutrality in the recruitment of the officers of the outfit.
They urged the people of the state to support the legal framework of the security initiative, stating that when it begins operation, it would reduce unemployment in the state.