Mr Paul Ayeni, the Lagos State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps ( NSCDC), has charged its officials to take Nigerians’ civil rights protection and guarding of critical National Assets as core mandates.
Ayeni gave this charge while addressing Lagos NSCDC officers at an event organised by the command to mark “World Civil Defence Day” on Monday in Lagos.
The theme for the ”World Civil Defence Day” is “Strong Civil Protection to Preserve the National Economy”.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the International Civil Defence Organisation (ICDO) sets aside every March 1 to mark “World Civil Defence Day”.
The ICDO which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, would also celebrate its 90th anniversary as one of the oldest and strongest organisations in the world in 2021.
Ayeni charged the corps members to be stronger at Civil protection for the development of the national economy in 2021.
He urged the officers to be ready to take responsibilities every minute to defend civil rights and critical national assets.
“We must guard against vandalisation of pipelines, operation of illegal refineries, siphoning of Premium Methylated Spirits (PMS) that cause the governments huge losses”
“We must ensure continuous monitoring of the Private Guards Companies (PGCs) for effective service delivery,” he said.
Ayeni said that embracing the right leadership and its tutorship would always translate to national growth.
“Nigerians don’t deserve the least, we deserve the best,” he said.
While congratulating the newly appointed Commandant-General (CG) of NSCDC, Mr Ahmed Audi, sworn-in on March 1 by the Minister of Interior, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, he said that the corps would give maximum support to the new leadership.
He pleaded with the new leadership to provide operational tools for the Lagos command.
NAN reports that the NSCDC was established by Act 3 of 2003 with numerous security responsibilities.
The Act was amended in 2007 to further strengthen and empower the Corps for better service delivery.
The primary function of the NSCDC is to protect lives and properties in conjunction with Nigeria police.
One of the crucial function of the corp is to protect pipelines from vandalisation.
NSCDC also involves itself in crisis resolutions, licensing and monitoring of PGCs. (NAN)
