In a bid to safeguard the lives and property of the residents, by putting machinery in motion to abate incidences of robbery and other associated crimes, the Ekiti State Government, has promised to provide all the required accessories that will make the National Emergency Management Centre more functional and effective.
The Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Chief (Mrs) Monisade Afuye, gave the pledge, on Wednesday, during a visit to the Centre in Ado Ekiti, to appraise the level of its viability in line with Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s poise to tighten noose on perpetrators of crime in the state.
Mrs Afuye, in a statement by her Special Assistant on Media, Victor Ogunje, expressed the government’s position to strengthen the Safety Control Centre, which was a partnership between the State and the federal government, via its agency, Nigerian Communication Commission(NCC).
The Deputy Governor urged the operators of the Centre to ensure that they are alive to their responsibilities to prevent crime in the state or give the required security agencies the deserved clues to respond and arrest those threatening the peace of the land.
“I want you to be committed to this course, because Governor Oyebanji is desirous of making Ekiti safe for all of us to attract investors and protect the ones that are already flourishing in our land. Peace is very strategic to investment drive.
“As you know that you are providing a covert operation, let your secret be secret. I want to assure you that the State government will make this place functional. If there are technical issues, let us know, we are ready to help you to overcome them for the safety of all of us.
“Your duty is to offer operations that won’t make us to be in danger, so all the Close Circuit Television(CCTV) Cameras you have in town must be made active to be able to transmit messages and indicate where there are cases of robbery for the security agencies to act promptly to either prevent or arrest the perpetrators”, she said.
Mrs Afuye appealed to the security agencies, commercial banks and private organisations and businesses domiciled in Ekiti to subscribe to the Centre and partner it to foster a strong and waterforced collaboration to tackle crime.
In his submission, the General Manager, Ekiti State Emergency Management Agency, Mr. Oludare Asaolu, revealed that the Centre has a 112 Toll Free Line the residents can dial to send messages to the centre during emergency situation, urging the the citizens to key into the concept to make it effective.
Asaolu added that the initiative was a build up to Governor Oyebanji’s visit to the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency a couple of moths ago, as part of his efforts to co-opt other sister agencies for effective emergency management operations in the state.
“Governor Oyebanji had even given approval for the reconnection of all CCTV Cameras in town to this Centre, so that there could be effective monitoring of situations. This will be done soon and I know that this will add to the functionality and efficiency of this Centre”.
Applauding the government for collaborating with the Centre since 2020, the Safety Centre Manager, Mr. Idowu Semiu Olawale, stated that the Centre performs 24 hours operations daily and had helped in stemming the tides of criminalities in the state since inception.
Idowu appealed to the government to impress it on the private organisations operating in Ekiti like banks, eateries, shopping malls and other institutions to key into the vision by making subscriptions that will strengthen collaborations among all stakeholders.
“We have our staff who are working 24 hours in the Control Room and receiving signals from the public. The recent robbery cases in some sections of Ekiti, this centre played critical roles by giving clues to the police to act promptly to avert terrible situations from happening.
“But we have not been able to receive signals from CCTV Cameras in town due some technical hitches that will require money to get resolved. But I learnt the government was making moves to do this, so that we can improve substantially in our operations”.
