Cabinet Office Will Continue To Drive Agenda Of Lagos State Government – SSG

The Secretary to the Lagos State Government, Mrs. Folashade Jaji, has pledged that her office will continue to drive the agenda towards achieving a Greater Lagos as espoused in the T.H.E.M.E.S. Agenda of the present administration.

Mrs. Jaji gave the assurance, while speaking at the Y2020 Ministerial Press Briefing to mark the first year of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in office, emphasising that the agenda is hinged on the promotion of justice, peace, security and social development in Lagos State.

Reiterating that her Office documents and disseminates the government’s decisions, in addition to monitoring the implementation of the State Executive Council’s policies, Mrs. Jaji said the Cabinet Office is the archival database of the government that links the policy direction of yesteryears with the present day so that governance can continue seamlessly.

“Within one year, the Office initiated series of meetings with the Secretaries to Local Governments and Local Council Development Areas to achieve synergy in the implementation of government policy at the grassroots. We also hosted the first Regional South West Geo-political meeting of Secretaries to State Governments and Permanent Secretaries of Cabinet Affairs offices”, she stated.

Speaking on the Government’s T.H.E.M.E.S development agenda, the SSG explained that the responsibilities of her Office fall within the Security and Governance Pillar, noting that the Office had collaborated with the league of Secretaries to the Local Governments/LCDAs, as well as Police Community Relations Committees (PCRC), to sensitise Lagosians on peace and security at the grassroots, especially during the festive periods.

“These collaborations involved several town hall meetings and sponsored radio jingles aired in English, Pidgin and Egun. The sensitisation plus other measures by other security apparatus were responsible for the reduction in crime during the 2019 yuletide”, Jaji maintained.

She averred that as a member of State’s Security Council and Security Intelligence, her Office provided logistics to the Nigerian Army’s Directorate of Recruitment, Resettlement and Reserve and the Nigeria Police during the recruitment drive to ensure that Lagos State fills its quota in the Armed Forces, revealing that 100 Lagosians gained admission into the 79 Regular Recruits Intake (RRI) of the Nigerian Army during the administration’s first year in office.

Speaking on partnership with the Lagos Command of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Mrs. Jaji said her Office was involved in the migrants’ e-registration exercise of the Federal Government by running a 3-month public awareness campaign on Radio and TV stations on the inherent security risks of not registering immigrant workers.

“This support from the State Government led to an increase in immigrant registration, which resulted in the extension of the registration period by two weeks. The exercise helped to produce data on immigrants working in the State in various capacities such as house-helps, cooks, stewards, security guards etc. to aid the safety of residents,” the SSG said.

She stated that the Cabinet Office also powered the sensitisation of 57 Secretaries to Local Governments facilitated by the Director Epidemiology, Biosecurity and Global Health, Dr. Ismail Abdul-Salaam.

Disclosing that her office birthed a new initiative called One Community At A Time (OCAAT), Mrs. Jaji said the programme is expected to harness activities of the Government, Development Partners and the Organised Private Sector in four thematic areas namely; Sanitation, Health, Education and Recreation.

“In the first instance, five communities – Gbaji (Badagry West LGA), Ijeododo (Ojo LGA), Egan (Alimosho LGA), Okegun-Odofin (Ibeju-Lekki LGA) and Otto (Lagos Mainland LGA) are beneficiaries of the programme”, Mrs. Jaji disclosed.

Speaking further, the SSG pointed out that residents of the five communities were sensitised on the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control to prevent a spread of COVID-19, while hand sanitisers were distributed within the communities.

While disclosing that the OCAAT team also joined the Ministry of Agriculture to ensure that the State Government’s palliatives were received by vulnerable and indigent residents at the five communities, Jaji added that the team also participated in the inspection of the State COVID-19 Emergency Markets in the designated areas.

“In the coming years, the Cabinet Office will expand the coverage of community development programmes and engage more stakeholders to address the security concerns of the citizens”, Mrs. Jaji assured.