SECURITY: LEBANESE COMMUNITY DONATES N10M, BULLET PROOF VESTS TO LAGOS

The Governor, who spoke at the Lagos House, Ikeja when he received the Chairman and the directors of the LNI through the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Tunji Bello thanked the group for the initiative, adding that a lot could still be done for the State in that regard.

“Particularly in the field of security, there is still a lot you can still do for us. Without the efforts of people like you and others in the past, Lagos would not have been where it is today in terms of maintenance of peace and security”, he said.

The Governor added that with the business pedigree of each of the members of the LNI, the present administration is deeply appreciative of their contribution which, according to him, is a good initiative.

He said the issue of security cannot be left alone for government to handle and that this was one of the reasons that informed the clarion call to members of the organized private sector to join the State Government in ensuring that the people can sleep with their two eyes closed.

Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the Lebanese Nigerian Initiative (LNI), Mr. Faysal El-Khalil said the members of the Lebanese community have been in Nigeria for over a century doing legitimate business.

He said the members are, through the latest gesture, demonstrating a reassurance of their commitment to the determination of the present administration to keep criminals at bay permanently.

Mr El-Khalil said the donation was about how the members of the Lebanese community can give back to the Nigerian and Lagos community which they have been operating for long.

He said in addition to the security initiative, the LNI has also embarked upon a project towards investing in education by creating an endowment fund in the American University in Beirut where specified number of Nigerians would be beneficiaries.

Meanwhile, the State Government, through the LSSTF, on Thursday donated 100 hundred level four bullet proof vests and ballistic helmets to the State Command of Nigerian Police.

Speaking during the donation which was received by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, Executive Secretary of LSSTF, Dr. Abdulrazak Balogun said the massive support to security agencies in the State was part of the strategy of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration at ensuring a safe, secure and prosperous State.

While stating that businesses and investments can only thrive in a secured and conducive atmosphere, Balogun said there was a need for the Organized Private Sector (OPS) to continue to support government, especially by complementing the sincere and genuine efforts of the present administration in the State at securing lives and property.

He said: “We just continue to appeal to the private sector to continue to support us. They have been doing so well. As you know, the Trust Fund is based on donor funding and so all we have been able to achieve is from the private sector and we just appeal to them that nothing is too small.

“As Lagos continues to grow and improve, security challenges continue to increase and we need to forestall this problem in future and we can only do that with the continuous support of the private sector.”