Magnus Eze, Enugu
Enugu State Government has created a Ministry of Security Affairs and would soon institute a trust fund for security.
The government also said it would stop at nothing in providing 24-hour security for residents of the state in order to ensure that the state retained its rating as one of the most peaceful in the federation.
Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi disclosed this, yesterday, when he conducted newsmen on inspection of some of the 260 vehicles procured by the Government to beef up security system in the state.
Daily Sun gathered that 260 vehicles equipped with state-of-the-art communication gadgets and same number of motorcycles would be distributed to the 260 wards in the state; while an undisclosed number of bicycles would also be given to hunters across the remote communities of the state. Most of the vehicles were procured from Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Limited.
He explained that the trust fund would be patterned towards that of Lagos state, adding that a team was already in Lagos to understudy their framework with a view to remodelling it in Enugu.
He also said that executive bills would be forwarded to the State House of Assembly once they resumed from recess for the necessary legislative framework.
“We are coming up with security trust fund, and we want to pattern it after what is happening in Lagos state. We have dispatched a team to actually study what is happening there. Government would not manage fund; it would be run by an independent body which would have Executive Secretary and Board of Trustees. It’s on record that we’re the first state to do forest guard. So, what we are doing now is community policing, but we believe that it’s time for state police,” he said.
Stating that security was an all-time issue that required the support of all and sundry, the Governor also disclosed that the emergent security arrangement would be intelligence-driven, hence, a lot of young people would be employed for that purpose.