Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State vowed, yesterday, that the brains behind the recent Ijegun pipeline fire in the state would not go scot-free.
Government, according to him, is working with the security agencies to bring the vandals to justice.
No fewer than 10 people died in the fire penultimate Thursday, which resulted from the vandalisation of petroleum pipelines in the community.
Receiving members of the Senate ad-hoc committee investigating the cause of the inferno, the governor said his administration was “concerned about the damage to lives and property that trailed the incident.”
”We are hopeful that we will identify the perpetrators; whatever level they are, they will be brought to justice. Bringing them to justice will serve as deterrent to other criminals, who are bent on perpetrating economic sabotage at the expense of innocent people’s lives,” he said.
As part of measures being taken by the state government to ensure the crime did not re-occur, Sanwo-Olu said he met with traditional rulers in the state to sensitise them on the need to cooperate with the government and other security agencies to secure federal assets in their localities.
The governor said he was hopeful that the recommendations of the committee members would bring about lasting solution to the problem.
Read also: Ijegun fire: Lagos will ensure your comfort, Sanwo-Olu assures survivors
Chairman of the committee, Senator Ibrahim Gobir, promised that the committee members would ensure a thorough investigation into the matter, and hoped that the committee’s recommendations would help the Federal Government tackle vandalism effectively.
The senator representing Lagos West, Solomon Adeola, who moved the motion leading to the constitution of the ad-hoc committee, renewed the call for community policing, noting that it would help in checking re-occurring activities of pipeline vandalism. He said empowering community members to secure their neighbourhood against vandals would help the security agencies in tackling the problem efficiently.
Meanwhile the governor has intervened in the lingering industrial crisis rocking the Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH).
Governor Sanwo-Olu, on Friday, constituted a Visitation Panel with a task to investigate all contentious issues that are setting the staff union of the school against the management.
He also ordered members of staff earlier disengaged by the management to forward their letters of appeal to the school’s Governing Council within seven days for a review of the process of their disengagement, but with a condition that the appeal letters get endorsed by the Head of Service to ensure transparency in the review process.
The governor expressed concern over the effects of the protracted crisis on the wellbeing of the school, noting that the prevailing situation had affected the morale of law-abiding employees of the institution, as well as the academic performance of its students.
Governor Sanwo-Olu said he was aware of the humiliation and denigration that the Governing Council and management of the school had endured in the last six months when this impasse began, calling on all stakeholders to keep peace in the interest of the students.
He said: “By the powers conferred on me as Governor of Lagos state, I hereby order the constitution of a Visitation Panel to the Institution to investigate all contentious issues and submit its recommendations for my consideration.
”The State Government, without prejudice to an earlier rebuff of its magnanimous gesture to re-consider the disengagement of some employees of the Institution, is once again asking disengaged Officers who are willing to continue their service in the institution to forward their letters of appeal to the institution’s Governing Council within seven days for a review of their disengagement. Copies of such letters should be duly endorsed to the Head of Service for an unbiased review of the process leading to their disengagement.
”Employees of the institution should note that they are under contractual obligation to perform optimally as stated in the terms of their employment. Any acts that are contrary to this shall be treated in accordance with the Public Service Rules, other extant regulations and the Labour Laws.”
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