Nigerian governors have said the unity of the country is sacrosanct and non-negotiable.

Oyo State governor, Abiola Ajimobi who spoke on behalf of his colleagues said this at the end of a meeting called by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo as part of consultations for peace on Wednesday.

He made the appeal against the backdrop of rising hate speeches and secessionist agitations in the south-east.

Ajimobi said the governors do not want a repeat of incidents in Rwanda and Somalia.

He added that the areas of poverty, unemployment and hardship which led to secessionist agitations will be addressed.

“It has been unanimously agreed that the unity of this country is sacrosanct, it is non-negotiable and we have all agreed to work together to educate people,” he said.

“Any time you have agitation, usually there will be poverty, there will be unemployment, there will be hardship. So, we should address fundamentally these areas of poverty, unemployment and hardship.

“Nigerians are by nature a united people; nobody cares whether you are from the north, south or the east.

“There unity must be there and we cannot play with the unity of this country. The consensus has been that there must be unity.

“The message is for Nigerians to work more together and collaborate. We have more to gain when we are united. We cannot afford to break, and anybody is thinking of that is wasting his time and we will not allow it, not in this country. All of us are unanimous about that.

“To you the media look for what unites us and not sensational news. If we fight everybody will lose, have you ever seen a country that fought a civil war and remained the same? We don’t want to be another Rwanda and Somalia and all these places. The government is doing its best.”

Azeez