By Christopher Oji
The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the state Commissioner of Police will next week Tuesday, brief citizens on the state of security .
The briefing will be done during the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF )17th Annual Town Hall Meeting at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island,11am.
This year’s theme , according to the executive secretary/ CEO of LSSTF, Mr Abdurrazaq Balogun: Security complexities and convergence, the Lagos Imperatives,would enable him to brief the donors of how the fund spent the money entrusted to its’ care and to let the people know the way forward on the issue of funding as the fund needs more money to function more efficiently.
Balogun,said that the State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, would be on ground at the event to have a- one -and -one interaction with stakeholders, adding that as the chief security officer of the state, he would be listening to know how far we have done with the money entrusted In our hands, while the members of the public will be given the opportunity to make suggestions,ask questions or offer advice to us .
” Also in attendance will be the state Commissioner of Police, who will also brief the Governor and the public on how far he has done in securing lives and property in the state. It is not as if we are supporting only the police, but the force is the leading security agency that is incharge of security, that it why we allow only the Commissioner of police to brief us .The members of the public will also have the opportunity to express their views concerning the fund and the security situation in the state .
The executive secretary / CEO LSSTF, said with the global trend and challenges, most especially the high cost of goods because of Dollar economy,it was no longer business as usual as prices of equipment have increased in geometric ratio.
‘ I stand tall to say that LSSTF is the most transparent organization in the country, because we render account of what we have done with donors money or gifts. We are audited regularly and that is why the public are donating and trusting us with their gifts. I will like to thank the members of the public and corporate organizations and private individuals ,who are giving and doing their best to seeing that Lagos State remains the most secured state in Nigeria.
” However, security remains the most challenging aspect of our society. As it is today, if you don’t secure your state, criminals will overrun the state, but when you secure the state, it will be peaceful and habitable for people to live and invest. It is pertinent to note that crime has gone beyond breaking and entering, carrying of guns up and down. We are now talking of cutting edge technology and combating crime with technology. We have started this in Lagos.
“If you move around the city ,you will see cameras all over everywhere. These cameras are not for jokes, they are doing wonderfully well. For instance, if a hit and run takes off after committing the act, the camera will fish the person out as the driver will be tracked with his vehicle’s number plate.
” During this year’s meeting, we are going to talk of many things regarding security. For instance, there is problem of food insecurity, but people should be able to talk about it. If the state takes care of its’ citizens, give employment and put everything in place, crime rate will reduce drastically. We are going to brainstorm on how to fund the police. That is why we chose a larger venue, Eko Hotel and suites this year to accommodate more people.
” We will talk on how to fund the police. We need over N50 billion annually to fund security. We have over 23 million population in Lagos. If we are sincere and people are willing to support the war against crime , we can do it. For instant, if people volunteer to donate towards the project, Lagos will make it and our security will be tighter. We need about 200 fleets of vehicles to police the state. A vehicle we bought like N 5 million last year should now be three times more than what we bought it. We are going to engage stakeholders on how to assist us for a beter funding of the state security. All of us will discuss whether we are going to support the force and how to run it.Everything we buy for our police is imported and dollar economy has affected the prices of equipment, so we need big money to run the fund.
He appealed to members of the public to donate in Cash or in kind. You don’t need to give money, if you don’t have money and you want to give us gift in kind, please do. Any product or equipment you give will be well utilized . I also want to invite you to come for our event to see what we do with the money donated and to ask questions”.
He however, he appealed to security agencies to synergies so that the war on crime will be won.