Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola
The Lagos State Government has said it will no longer replace stolen power cables, vandalised transformers and other government property.
Commissioner for Rural Development, Mr.
Cornelius Ojelabi, who lamented the rising wave of vandalism and
stealing of power cables and transformers in the state said this on
Friday.
Ojelabi spoke at the monthly interactive
stakeholders’ meeting of the ministry with officers of the Neighbourhood
Watch, Community Development Associations and Community Development
Committees in Ikeja.
He argued that if residents of
communities in the state would not protect public property in their
domains, they should not also expect government to replace them if they
were stolen.
The commissioner, who was represented by a
Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mr. Olatunde Agoroa, said, “Cases
of cable theft and transformer vandalism are now very rampant in the
state, especially along Lekki-Epe area. CDAs must take ownership of
government’s projects and property in their domains by protecting and
maintaining them.”
Ojelabi also urged the NW, CDAs, CDCs and
other residents to be more vigilant and report any strange movement or
faces in their communities to the police.
He said, “The issue of security is still
germane to the state government. All hands must be on deck and everybody
must be conscious of influx and movement of people into their community
and alert security personnel to any strange faces, movement or
gatherings.
“Community leaders should educate
residents on how to avoid fire incidents and the need for them to have
fire extinguishers in their homes.
“CDAs should encourage residents on how
to use the emergency numbers given by the government in case of any fire
outbreak. The state now has fire services in all local governments to
ensure prompt response.”
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Tunde
Shobulo, who commended NW officers for exemplary conduct, urged them to
continue to collaborate with police to rid communities in the state of
crime and criminals.
Shobulo urged the CDAs and CDCs to
educate their community that commercial motorcycle operation (okada) had
not been banned in Lagos, but merely restricted from the highways and
some designated roads.
He said, “Report any policeman that is found arresting okada rider on roads that are not part of those under restriction or phone the police emergency numbers to report.
You should also report any police officer
misbehaving in your area by calling our lines, writting or reporting
such cases to us for prompt action.”
PUNCH
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