By CHARLES IWUOHA

Abia State Governor, Alex Otti says his administration will continue to collaborate with the government of Enugu State and his other brother Governors in the South East to enhance security in the region.

Governor Otti stated this while addressing press men after a closed-door meeting he held with the Governor of Enugu State, Mr. Peter Mba, who visited him in his office.

He thanked Mba for the cordial relationship existing between the government of Enugu and Abia states and for the visit to Abia.

“You know, we share boundaries. So, some of the things we discussed are also, how to ensure that there is security and that our people are secured in those places.

“So, we talked about the Enugu State government and Abia State government partnering, because, if he successfully drives away criminals from there, they will probably end up here.

“If we don’t do anything, then, one part of the South East will be secured and the other part will not be. So, this kind of cooperation is very important,” Otti stated.

He said that his administration and many other states are in support of the creation of state police and expressed the hope that the Federal government would consider their position in no distant time.

This is contained in a statement issued on Saturday and made available to journalists in Umuahia on Sunday by Otti’s Chief press secretary, Ukoha Njoku Ukoha.

“I’m completely in synagy with my brother’s (Gov. Mba) position. As a matter of fact, our two states and many other states, have supported the creation of state police.

“And, I believe that the Federal government will do something about that very soon. You know, the issue about security is local, just like politics,” Otti maintained.

He equally affirmed his support for the call for the creation of an additional State in the South East region, noting that South East is the only region across the 6 geo-political zones that has less than six states.

“And then, on the creation of additional States, virtually every geopolitical zone has six, and I believe the North West has seven states.

“The South East has five states. So, I’m also in alignment with the creation of one additional state in the South East,” Gov. Otti stated.

Also speaking, Governor Mba said that he came to rub minds with Otti on issues of common interest for the two states which is centered on providing a better life for the people as both of them came from the private sector.

He noted that coming from the same geo-political zone and sharing common boundaries, their programmes and policies must have far reaching impacts on the two states, and commended Otti’s giant strides.

“So, I essentially came to talk about how we would continue to serve our people better. And so, that’s largely why I’m here for us to compare notes.

“Our focus is largely on governance. We believe that the people are the epicentre of governance. So, what we do, the projects and programmes we execute are all about the people.

“I also came to commend him for the great work he is doing for the people of Abia State across several sectors. And I’m sure, you know that’s something we have in common between Abia and Enugu.

Some top government officials including, the Speaker Abia State House of Assembly RT. Hon. Emmanuel Emeruwa, the SSG Professor Kenneth Kalu, Chief of Staff to the Governor, Pastor Caleb Ajagba were on hand to join Governor Otti in receiving the visiting Governor.