Kunle Adelabu
The Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo – Olu, has charged members of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) and Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) boards that were recently constituted, to see the empowerment and development of youths in the state as a priority.
Sanwo – Olu made the call at the State House in Alausa on Tuesday (today) during the inauguration of the two boards which he said are mutually connected in providing opportunities and safeguarding the people of the state.
He said that the new boards would be supported to efficiently steer the affairs of the agencies and help the Government to change the State’s narrative in improving businesses and security.
According to the statement, the Governor also disclosed that the State Executive Council had scaled up the allocation to the LSETF in the 2020 revised Budget to make more funds available to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), with the objective to support young people in financing their entrepreneurial skills and create jobs.
“For the LSETF, we want to continue creating jobs and economic opportunities for the present and especially for the future. This means a radical rethinking of existing entrepreneurship, certification and financing models and strategies. We must establish new paradigms that are fit for the 21st century”, Gov. Sanwo – Olu said.
“Our young people should be a priority in the design and implementation of the initiatives of both LSSTF and LSETF. The success in delivering on the mandates setting up these bodies will be determined in large part by how well we are able to take the attitudes and mindsets of the youths into consideration.”
The Governor said that since the creation of the two agencies, Lagos has strengthened its capacity to provide security across the State, thereby, witnessing improved business activities as a result of the improvement in the operational capacities of security agencies.
He said that his administration would deploy instruments of law and resources to sustain the template by investing more in programmes specifically targeted at security, job creation and youth unemployment.
“The Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) and the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) were created at different times to address the two key challenges of insecurity and unemployment. The responsibilities of these two important bodies are inter-connected and mutually reinforcing. Their mandates are critical to ‘Making Lagos a 21st Century Economy’ as outlined in the pillars of the T.H.E.M.E.S agenda.
“Today, Lagos has become safer and more secured because of the improved operational capacities of our security agencies. Individuals and corporate organisations have made this possible largely through the financial and material donations to the Lagos State Security Trust Fund. The effectiveness of these initiatives as a strategy to fight and prevent crime has been widely acknowledged, given its replication by other sub-national governments, and even at the national level.”
Sanwo-Olu urged members of the two boards to discharge their duties and surpass achievements of their predecessors, adding that members of the previous boards of the two bodies left enviable records during their stint and urged the new board members to take the agencies to new heights of achievement.
The Governor particularly charged the LSETF to scale up its oversight on loan beneficiaries and help them build capacity to successfully manage their businesses on a trajectory of growth, especially in the period of Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The LSETF Board chairperson, Mrs. Bola Adesola, who spoke on behalf of members, said the agency would work with partners to double its impacts on MSMEs.
Mr. Kehinde Durosinmi-Etti, a former Bank Chief Executive Officer and LSSTF chairman, in his own speech, said that the organisation would keep its focus on designing programmes that would boost protection businesses and improve security across the State.
Members of the newly inaugurated LSSTF Board are Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr Tayo Ayinde, Commissioner for Special Duties, Engr Tayo Bamgbose-Martins, Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank (GT Bank), Mr. Segun Agbaje, Managing Director of First Bank, Dr Adesola Adeduntan, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, Agboola Oshodi-Glover (rtd), Dr Ayo Ogunsan, Mr Ebenezer Onyeagwu, Otunba Niyi Adewunmi, Mr Emeka Onwuka and Dr. Abdurrazaq Balogun, the Fund’s Executive Secretary.
Also, those inaugurated alongside the LSETF’s Chairman are the Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Rabiu Olowo, Commissioner for Wealth Creation, Hon. Yetunde Arobieke, Mr. Idris Olorunnimbe, Ms Kofo Durosinmi-Etti, Mr Segun Ojelade, Mr Sinari Bolade Daranijo, Ms. Tatiana Mousasalli-Nouri, Mr Donald Chagoury Jnr., and Mrs. Abisoye Tejumola, the Fund’s Executive Secretary.
