Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State will on Tuesday host the 10th Edition of the annual Town Hall Meeting on Security under the auspices of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF).
The Executive Secretary of the LSSTF, Dr Abdulrazaq Balogun, said in a statement in Lagos on Sunday that the Town Hall Meeting would focus on the theme “Optimising Security Funding in a Recession.”
“Sustaining the funds in the face of recession might be a tough task, hence the need to fashion out new strategies to help donors and partners continue to see the need for supporting the organisations,” Balogun said.
According to him, these strategies will form the thrust of this year’s meeting, with discussions centering on the economic benefits of maintaining a safe and secured business atmosphere.
“For us at the Fund, our focus in the past year has been in the direction of Gov. Ambode’s tripod strategy of security, job creation and improved infrastructure.
“With security at the forefront, Lagos State increasingly becomes attractive to businesses and investors, which in turn will generate more taxes and pave the way for more infrastructural development.
“We really cannot emphasise this enough; and this is why a lot of resources has been committed to the Lagos State Police Command and other security agencies in the state, and will continue to do so with the support of our partners and donors,” Balogun said.
He said that while funding and supporting security agencies was the bedrock of peaceful co-existence in the state, the involvement of every level in the society was also critical, from the community level to all corporate organisations.
Balogun acknowledged the remarkable achievements made in the outgoing year by the Fund owing to the massive support from donors and partners.
He said that this development had continued to put Lagos as the cutting-edge in urban crime fighting.
He said that those expected at the Town Hall meeting with the governor are leading donors to the Fund, captains of industries, heads of various security agencies operating in the state and stakeholders in the sector. (NAN)