Skye Bank Plc., one of Nigeria’s leading retail commercial banks and six other companies have been commended and awarded platinum prize for committing huge resources in support of securing lives and property in Lagos State.
The top donor awards to Skye Bank and six organisations were part of the activities at the 11th Town Hall Meeting on Security with the Governor of Lagos which coincided with the 10th anniversary of Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) which took place on Wednesday in the new Banquet Hall at the Governor’s Office in Ikeja, Lagos.
Handing over the award to the ‘Platinum 7’, at the well-attended meeting which had all stakeholders in security circles present, Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, commended the companies for partnering with the state government through LSSTF to secure lives and property in the state by committing huge resources to the fight against criminality in the megacity.
Ambode noted that “Security is the most expensive venture of government and the most important responsibility of government. Insecurity is capable of disrupting any worthwhile activity. It can reduce successes into ruins. We as a government and good citizens of our country understand that security is the bedrock of peaceful coexistence and we should be proud of what we are and what we have achieved together in the last decade”.
While pledging to commit more to the security of the state, Governor Ambode promised to acquire 30 brand new BMW power bikes before Christmas meant to scan and comb the metropolis and report to relevant agencies any development for swift action, among other far-reaching decisions that were the outcome of the meeting, among which is a planned security summit to hold in quarter 1 of 2018.
Commenting on the award, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Skye Bank, Mr. Tokunbo Abiru, thanked the State Governor, LSSTF and other stakeholders for recognizing the efforts of the bank in combating crime in the state.
Abiru noted that, there can be no meaningful progress where the peace of the state is under security threat. He used the opportunity to reach out to well-meaning Lagosians and residents in the state, especially the business community, to join hands with “the rest of us who have demonstrated corporate citizenship by supporting the state to combat crime.”
The Skye Bank boss was ably represented by the directorate head, Lagos Business, Segun Opeke, who received the award from the state Governor.
Earlier, Chairman of the LSSTF, Mr. Hassan Oye-Odukale traced the history of the fund and commended the initiative and the transformation that it has had on crime fighting which according to him has become a model being copied by the federal, states and even other countries.
“Over the 10 year period, the Fund, which was the first of its kind, has become a source of succor to Lagosians and a shining example of an endearing Public Private Partnership in the country as a whole such that state Governments and even the federal government have sought to understudy the Fund to replicate it”
Executive Secretary and CEO of LSSTF, Dr. Abdul Razaq Balogun and the State Commissioner of Police, Edgar Imohimi in their address, took participants down memory lane of how Lagos was before the establishment of the Fund, and current security situation in the state while commending personalities who ensured the success of the initiative, including erstwhile Skye Bank CEO, Kehinde Durosinmi-Etti and the Directorate Head, South, Dr. Ayodele Abina
LSSTF was established a decade ago to mobilise private sector funds to provide the needed financial muscle in the fight against robbery and other violent crimes in the state.
The six other companies are; Zenith Bank Plc; First Bank Plc; United Bank for Africa (UBA); Access Bank Plc; Dangote Group and MTN Foundation.
Skye Bank and the six other organisations honoured at the meeting are said to have committed over a quarter of a billion each over the last decade to the security trust fund.
