SECURITY TOP PRIORITY FOR NEW CDCs AND CDAC-OJELABI

Lagos State Government has charged the newly elected Community Development Committees (CDCs) and their apex body Community Development Advisory Council in the 57 Local Government/Local Council Development Areas of the State to ensure adequate security of life and property in their respective Local Government Areas.

 The Commissioner for Rural Development, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi gave the charge during the Ministry’s monthly stakeholders meeting with the Executive Members of Community Development Committees, Community Development Advisory Council, Coordinators of Neighbourhood Watch in the 57 LGAs/LCDA of the State and top Government Officials in the various MDAs/Security Agencies.

 The Commissioner urged the new executives to settle down immediately and plan how they will work together with their CDAs in their respective Local Governments and police their community against unwanted intruders and terrorists.

 He noted that the problem of Boko Haram and bombing of communities is getting bigger every day in Nigeria   particularly in the North and if care is not taken with the heat on the insurgents by the Federal Government and the international bodies they may want to relocate to the southern States.

 Hon. Ojelabi further emphasized  the need for the CDCs to put their houses in order and get their security right by working with their Neighbourhood personnel and report any watcher that is not cooperating with them to his Ministry.

 He urged the new executives to also see their election as a call to service and opportunity to develop their community and people adding that they should be proactive and show concern to happenings in their community and partner with the State Government in the supervision of the CDAs in their respective Local Government Areas.

 He charged them to bring up ideas and formulate policies that can assist the State Government in making CDAs relevant and key to its programmes.

 He further charged the CDCs and CDAC to educate their people on the importance of obtaining their permanent voters cards from INEC whenever INEC start its distribution. According to him INEC will be distributing Permanent Voters Cards any time from now and the card is their power to choose the type of government  they want.

 In his own contribution, the coordinator, Lagos State Waste Water Management Office, Engr. Nurudeen Olalekan Shodeinde, educated the gathering on the need to manage waste water in our different homes.

 According to Engr. Shodeinde, waste water is the spent water from the community which include fecal matter, urine and all waste water emanating from domestic, commercial and agriculture process. He noted  that the one that affects the homes are the drinking, cooking, cleaning washing and the water used for hygiene and sanitation.

 He said if water is not treated and managed very well, it can lead to pollution of drinking water sources e.g. wells, boreholes, e.t.c. resulting in incidence of water borne diseases such as Cholera, Typhoid, Dysentery which  may also Increase health care cost and pollution of surface water bodies like canal, stream, river lagoon e.t.c. adding that it could lead to loss of aquatic life such as fish, crabs, shrimps e.t.c.

 Shodehinde therefore charged the CDC to educate their community members on the need to properly maintain their septic tanks, direct all spent water from bathroom, urinal, kitchen, flushed toilets and laundry into the septic tank and not by pass into the soak away for treatment and caution them not to pass un-treated spent water from their various premises into public drains or roads.

 Other speakers at the stakeholders meeting include, representative of Lagos State Vehicle Inspection Services, Engr. Abel Adebanjo, Representative of Lagos State Agriculture Development Authority, Mr. Adesina Adebayo, representative of Ministry of Justice Mr. Adewale Adebola and the Special Adviser to the State Governor on Security Rtd Major Tunde Panox.

Modupe Ileyemi

Lagos State Government Press Release