By Ikugbadi Oluwasegun
The Lagos State Government has commenced the installation of boundary demarcation signposts across the state to ensure peaceful coexistence among neighbouring and border communities.
The exercise, being executed through the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Rural Development, is aimed at resolving ambiguities around boundary lines and preventing disputes arising from encroachment.
Speaking at the commencement, Kikelomo Bolarinwa, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, said the government is committed to ensuring that boundaries between communities and neighbouring states are properly indicated in line with specifications from the Office of the Surveyor-General.
She said the installation is a practical step towards upholding official boundary specifications and checking encroachment from neighbouring states.
According to her, the initiative will also ensure residents in border communities are adequately captured for welfare provision and infrastructure that will boost the local economy, improve living conditions and reduce rural-urban drift.
Bolarinwa urged residents of border communities not to vandalise the signposts or engage in actions capable of causing a breakdown of law and order, warning that anyone found demolishing the installations would be punished.
She said the government would not be lenient with anyone who hampers social order, peaceful coexistence and ease of business in the state.
The Permanent Secretary assured that the government would continue to extend the dividends of democracy to all communities through the strategic cascading of the T.H.E.M.E.S Plus Development Agenda, especially to rural communities, in line with its mandate of making Lagos a 21st Century Economy.
