By Lucy Osuizigbo
Lagos – The Lagos State Government says it will intensify its quest for sustainable strategy to further improve security of lives and property in anticipation of future challenges and needs of the state.
Dr Abdulrasak Balogun, the Executive Secretary of the State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), spoke on Wednesday at a news conference in preparation for the upcoming State Security Summit in Lagos.
Balogun said that the summit is slated to hold on April 9 at Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Theme of the one-day security summit is: “Securing, Lagos State Toward a Sustainable Framework for a Modern Mega City.’’
Balogun said that state governments in Nigeria have active roles to play in the provision of security to complement the efforts of the Federal Government.
”Security in any given nation is mainly the responsibility of government. In Nigeria, security is an exclusive affair of the Federal Government as contained in the Constitution.
”The direct correlation between the development and the protection of lives and property has made it imperative for state governments in Nigeria to play active roles in the provision of security.
”Successive governments in Lagos State have continued to provide support for security agencies operating in the state.
”In order to further improve the security of the state in anticipation of future challenges and needs of the state, Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode has approved the organisation of a security summit.
”The summit will provide us with more robust deliberations on current security issues and proffer actionable solutions which can be implemented by the state government,’’ he said.
Also, Mr Opeyemi Agbaje, the Chairman, Organising Committee of the Summit, said that security experts and scholars would be sharing best practices, knowledge and experiences and make recommendations for a sustainable security framework for the state from 2018 to 2030.
Agbaje said that the experts would be discussing the various aspects of security – cultism, gender-based crimes, drug abuse, terrorism, arms proliferation, transnational crimes, including intelligence and community policing, among others.
He said that objective of the summit was to design an overall security strategy and system for the state.
According to him, it will also seek home grown solutions that can be implemented as well as design a sustainable funding model for security in the state.
In his remarks, Mr Kehinde Bamigbetan, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, said the state government had realised that security had been a challenge in the state.
Bamigbetan said that the state government would continue to intensify efforts to make the state safe and secured. (NAN)