Fashola lauds Dangote over N50m security trust fund donation

GOVERNOR of Lagos State, Babatunde Raji Fashola on Monday was full of praise for the President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote for his group’s donation of N50 million to the State’s Security Fund.

Describing Dangote Group as the single largest donor to the fund, outside banks and oil companies, he assured that the state will continue to place high premium on security and collective safety of all the residents of the state.

“On behalf of the good people of Lagos State, I sincerely thank you for this noble and voluntary gesture on the part of Dangote Group. We also express our delight and pleasure for the recent prosperity of Dangote Group and the defining success of Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who has made all of us very proud. His success is a reflection of the character and dynamism of Nigerian youth, because he is still a young man. ”

Urging other corporate bodies and the private sector in general to be fully part of the security arrangements in Lagos, he said donations from the private sector does not relieve the state of his responsibilities, but make it easier for the government to adequately meet all set targets.

Dangote, who was represented by the Group’s Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Olakunle Alake, assured the governor of the determination of the group to continue partnering with the government to make life easier for the residents of the state.

“We sincerely appreciate the good work you are currently doing in Lagos, especially in the area of adequately securing the state.  We will always support your measure to ensure that we are all safe in the state.”

Dangote, according to Alake has aggressively given back to the society through his foundation. Aside feeding millions of children in Africa through the foundation, Alake also said the foundation provided dialysis machine to Lagos Island General Hospital and sank boreholes in various communities in the country, totalling over N200 million, this year alone.

“The foundation has gone beyond Nigeria to reach out to other people living under virtually straitened circumstances. For instance, in neighbouring Niger Republic, it donated relief materials worth over N120 million to assist famine victims. The items include 3,000 bags of sugar (50kg), 6,000 bags of flour (50kg), 3,000 bags of salt (50kg) and 30,000 cartons of Dangote noodles.

“Interestingly, that would be the first time an individual would make an unsolicited donation to assist victims of a humanitarian crisis.”

The Lagos State Security Trust Fund was established in 2007, through which the state government partners with individuals and corporate organisations in the state to effectively address the security question.

Before the fund was established, crime rate in the state was alarming, bank robberies became rife in different parts of the state, and the use of public buses to rob was on the increase, car snatching, ritual killing and burglary had become almost normal activities in the metropolis. But the trend has now changed tremendously as evident in the 2010 report of the Lagos State Police Command.

Source : Guardian