the Director General Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, test running the boat during the inauguration of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency Marine Rescue Unit four jetties in Lagos Lekki, Ikorodu, Ilaje-Bariga and Ijegun-Egba.

The Lagos State Government has procured over 5,000 drones which it has already connected to its   Command Control Centre with CCTV equipment and mobile CCTV equipment to enhance security in the state.

The Director-General, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu revealed this while inaugurating 10 additional boats procured to boost rescue operations and protect the lives of citizens in the state on Thursday.

He added that the drones will be deployed for monitoring of the waterways.

According to him, for Lagos citizens to enjoy the dividends of democracy, the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, have promised safety of lives and properties holistically.

“You will realise that three quarters of Lagos State is made of water bodies, although we have efficient Waterways Authority but today we are inaugurating our marine rescue units.

“Our Shore base in Lekki will be the Headquarters of Marine Rescue Unit of LASEMA and we are operating from four jetties such as Lekki, Ikorodu, Ilaje-Bariga and Ijegun-Egba.

“We have 26 jetties in Lagos State and five terminals, over 100 operators and out of the operators 90 per sent of them are private while the remaining 10 per cent terminals are government owned.

“Today the daily movement of passenger on Waterways is about 70,000 daily while monthly is about 1.5 million. 15 of our 57 local governments are accessed through the waterways,” Oke-Osanyintolu said.

He said that the governor was optimistic of safety of lives and properties on its waterways, adding that he had purchased sophisticated equipment like ambulance boats, rescue boats, drones and others to ensure that 20 million lives of the citizens were safe.

Oke-Osanyintolu said that Sanwo-Olu want to ensure safety on waterways in the preparedness of the establishment of petrol chemicals along Lekki axis.

He said that LASEMA would also collaborate with other key stakeholders, saying the agency will expand its fleet anytime there was expansion of emergencies.

“We have more than 5,000 drones on ground in the state which is connected with our Command Control Centre with CCTV equipment and mobile CCTV equipment.

“We are ready, we are well prepared, we will ensure that safety on our land will be our priority, safety on the waterways and air will also be our priority.

“We will key in into the Agenda of the Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who promised that citizens of Lagos will be safe wherever they resides,” Oke-Osanyintolu said.

Also speaking, the General Manager, Mr Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, Lagos State Waterways Authority, said the inauguration of the rescue boats would boost residents of Lagos confidence to use the waterways.

“One of the benefit of the inauguration of the rescue boats is to boost the residents of Lagos confidence to use the waterways, this is a welcome development.

“We are just starting with this, there is room for development, we are going to keep expanding on this and is a real welcome development to the safety infrastructure on our waterways,” Emmanuel said.

He said the inauguration of the rescue units would increase jetties operators as well as increase in channelisation on the waterways.