Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Wednesday said that his administration decision to invest huge resources on the security of lives and property in the State was geared towards ensuring that the City remains safe for residents, visitors and investors alike to carry out their businesses without any threats to their lives or investments.

The Governor who spoke when he received the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai on a courtesy visit to Lagos House, Ikeja spoke on the backdrop of the recent handover of equipment worth over N1.85billion to all security agencies in the State on Monday as a follow up to the N4.8billion equipment given to the Police last year November.

He said his administration believe strongly that if the State is safe, economic activities will thrive, just as he assured that his administration would continue to support security agencies to keep the peace in the State.

“Six months ago, we donated security equipment to the Police and then two days ago, we have done this not because we do not understand the importance of security, but because, I must tell you openly that the security agencies that have been operating in Lagos in the past one year have actually shown selflessness and serious sense of duty and in return we as a government have decided that we must support, we must complement everything they are doing and encourage them to do more.

“This administration is placed on a tripod; we believe that if we have a safe and secured city, it would allow more people to come and invest in Lagos and then more people can life more comfortably and by so doing, we would get more taxes and be able to provide more infrastructure. That is why we are placing much emphasis on security,” he said.

He also commended the role played by the Army to the speedy restoration of calm and order after the Mile 12 crisis in March.

Governor Ambode seized the occasion to commend the Chief of Army Staff for the efforts towards liberating the North East from insurgency, assuring that his administration would continue to provide the necessary support to boost their operations.

“I owe special gratitude to your officers here in Lagos, they were largely responsible for the successful management of the Mile 12 crisis, they acted promptly after clearance, and I want to thank you for that clearance and for allowing peace to reign. I don’t like to share success story alone, I like to thank people for the things they have done secretly. We’ve had OP MESA operations for a while and it has been successful and the Nigeria Army Staff have been very civil and I that has also encouraged me to continue to support them”.

On his part, Gen Buratai commended the cordial relationship between the army, the State Government and residents, saying that the Army would continue to carry out its operations effectively.

He said the support the Army has gotten from the State Government would spur them to continue to work round the clock to keep the peace so as to encourage investments into the State.

“We want to say thank you for the external relationship and for supporting the Nigeria army in carrying out its responsibilities by support it through the provision of logistics including mobility and the latest logistics support that has facilitated the effective conduct of operations here in Lagos State. I know the resources are limited, but the demands are very high, notwithstanding, Your Excellency has done very well and we appreciate you in that regard,” he said.