Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, says his government will donate 300 new vehicles to security agencies to boost their operations in the state.
Sanwo-Olu said this on Tuesday at Victoria Island, during the 17th Annual Town Hall Meeting On Security, with the theme: ”Security Complexities and Convergence: The Lagos State Imperatives”.
He said that the donation would be made by January 2024, to ensure that the Police and other security agencies performed their duties with ease.
The governor said that there were challenges with security but with the efforts of donors to the Lagos State Security Task Force (LSSTF), Lagos State remained the most secured state in the country.
He announced that donors pledged almost N2 billion to the fund at the event, with business mogul, Femi Otedola, pledging N1 billion.
On the death of Oladimeji Aloba, better known as Mohbad, Sanwo-Olu said that the police were doing everything possible to ensure justice was done and served.
The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun, said that the influx of people from other parts of the country to Lagos State posed security threat.
Egbetokun, who was represented by Assistant Inspector-General Zone 2, Mr Muhammad Alli, commended the state government on efforts at ensuring a safe Lagos.
Speaking earlier, the Chairman, LSETF, Mr Kehinde Durosinmi-Etti, said that since inception, the fund had received encouragement from the public on the effectiveness of fund and the need to do more to combat the ever-growing security threats in the country, as they affect Lagos State.
Durosinmi-Etti said: “on the whole, 2023 had not been a great year for the fund, even though the total donations surpassed that of 2022 by over 100 per cent.”
He said that the challenges faced by the fund in 2022 were still very much experienced in 2023.
According to him, the unstable economic climate, largely influenced by increasing foreign exchange rates, has been a major challenge to fundraising.
”KPMG predicted that General inflation in Nigeria may hit 30 per cent in December 2023, meaning that the purchasing power of the Naira is still falling an so the fund would purchase less with more money.
”This makes the donation drive even more pertinent for us especially as there is no alternative to our collective funding model, given the indication that the government cannot do it alone.
”The state is contending with several security threats which are clear and present dangers to our ability as citizens to carry out our various legitimate activities unhindered.
”I cannot overemphasise the fact that we must join hands to raise our security preparedness, so we can secure the future of our loved ones. We must make the necessary sacrifice now as tomorrow may be too late,” he said.
-NAN
