Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, 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 Town Hall Meeting, which would hold at the Civic Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos, would focus on the theme “Optimizing Security Funding in a Recession.”

Executive Secretary/CEO of the LSSTF, Dr. Abdurrazaq Balogun, in a statement on Sunday, acknowledged the remarkable achievements made in the outgoing year by the Fund owing to the massive support from donors and partners, a development he said has continued to put Lagos as the cutting-edge in urban crime fighting.

Balogun, however, noted that 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 organisation.

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 Governor Akinwunmi 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.

While stating that funding and supporting security agencies was the bedrock of peaceful co-existence in the State, Balogun added that involvement of every level in the society was also critical, from the community level to all corporate organisations.

Those expected at this year’s Town Hall Meeting with the Governor are leading donors to the Fund, captains of various industries, heads of various security agencies operating in Lagos and stakeholders in the sector.

Among the speakers and panelists include the Assistant Inspector General of Police (rtd.) Ibrahim Manko; Managing Director, Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe; CEO of RTC Consulting, Opeyemi Agbaje; Managing Director of Skye Bank, Adetokunbo Abiru; and Thisday Law Editor, Mrs. Onikepo Braithwaite.

•Photo shows Governor Ambode.

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