Posted by Tobi Soniyi and Oluyinka Akintunde, Abuja on
President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday directed the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Sunday Ehindero, to deploy additional 6,000 policemen in Lagos State.
President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday directed the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Sunday Ehindero, to deploy additional 6,000 policemen in Lagos State.
The order, it was learnt, ,was to curb the high rate of crimes in the state and make the nation's commercial hub attractive to investors.
The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Segun Mimiko, told journalists after a four-hour meeting between Obasanjo and officials of the Lagos State Government, led by Governor Bola Tinubu, that the Federal Government was concerned about the deplorable security situation in the former Nigerian capital.
Mimiko added that Ehindero was also asked to support the increased police presence in the state with such logistical support as speedboats, communication gadgets, accommodation for the personnel and increased security intelligence gathering.
"We must separate politics from security in Lagos," he said in apparent reference to the disagreements between the Federal Government and the Tinubu administration on issues bordering on the creation of new local governments and the maintenance of some roads in the state.
A standing committee, headed by Prof. Akin Mabogunje, was inaugurated by the President to review the Lagos State Master-Plan and recreate the city as quickly as possible.
The committee is expected to submit an interim report by March next year.
Mimiko said that other issues such as the chaotic transport situation in the state and sanitary conditions, taking into cognisance the metropolitan nature of the city, would also be tackled.
He said the meeting also created a better rapport between the Federal Road Maintenance Agency and the Lagos State Transport Management Authority, which had been engaging each other in a battle for the control of Lagos roads.
Obasanjo was said to have directed FERMA to stick to its job of road maintenance only and avoid squabbles with LASTMA.
But a statement by Tinubu's Chief Press Secretary, Mr Kehinde Bamigbetan , claimed that the President banned FERMA officials from meddling in traffic control on highways in the state.
Mimiko also said that the kind of demolition of illegal structures witnessed in Abuja, but with a human face, might be extended to Lagos, if really necessary.
"If you want to recreate Lagos, it will be done in a painless manner and the people will see the benefits as they will be integrated into the master plan," he said.
The PUNCH, Tuesday, December 20, 2005