Dangote Cement Plc and the Lagos State government on Wednesday strengthened further their private-public partnership to make the state more investor-friendly with the donation of 35 fully equipped security operational cars by the company to the state government.
Presenting the cars to the Lagos State Security Trust Fund, Emmanuel Ikhazobor, non-executive director of Dangote Cement, who led the management of the firm to Lagos House, Marina, said the gesture was part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities and was being done in appreciation of the efforts of the governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to make the state secure for the people and investments.
He said the donation of the cars was in response to the challenges of securing Lagos State as a destination of choice to investors, adding that the fact that security is essential to economic development makes it one of the major demands of investors.
“We are presenting 35 saloon cars today to strengthen the operations of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund. We commend the government of the state for instituting a Trust Fund with the mandate of utilising donations from corporate bodies and individuals to equip the security agencies operating within the state,” Ikhazobor said,
According to him, the company decided to support the Lagos State Security Trust Fund, which was established in September 2007, because it was in direct response to the security challenges in the state such as logistics, mobility, communications and kitting.
He said the donation of operational vehicles was in continuation of the company’s commitment to the promotion of security in Lagos State.
“It should be recalled that our chairman, Aliko Dangote, made donations to the Fund in the past. As a socially responsible organisation, the security and well-being of our host communities remain utmost in our minds,” Ikhazobor said.
“Therefore, a major step towards encouraging investments and creation of employment is promoting and ensuring adequate security in our environments. This is why we at Dangote Cement fully appreciate several initiatives by the state government in the promotion of security and a safe operating environment for business,” he said.
Ikhazobor maintained that Dangote Cement management was of the firm belief that government alone cannot continue to bear the full cost of meeting the expectations of the entire populace in the provision of basic necessities like health, education and security. This gave rise to Public Private Partnerships where private sector collaborates with public sector in the provision of essential services.
“Our desire to partner government or the public sector informed our interventions such as Apapa-Wharf Road, Itori-Ibese Road, and Obajana-Kabba Road,” he said.
Receiving the car keys, Abdulrazak Balogun, executive secretary of the Fund, described the donation as a huge intervention from a private sector organisation to solve critical challenges of logistics and mobility faced by the security personnel in the state.
He expressed the appreciation of the state governor to the gesture and promised that the vehicles would be put to good use.
“We know that receiving these vehicles is one thing, maintaining them is another thing. Though we don’t have control of the security personnel that would make use of the vehicles, we will try to ensure they are well maintained,” he said.
Balogun said the state government was particularly happy that Dangote Group is always there for the state in the area of maintaining security of lives and investments, pointing out that Dangote has been helping the Fund to the tune of hundreds of millions of naira in the last 13 years that the Fund was established.
He explained that the Fund operates transparent administration and that the governor from time to time renders the Fund’s stewardship as its accounts are audited periodically. He urged other corporate bodies to emulate the gesture by Dangote Cement and help in strengthening security in the state.
