The Enugu State government has expressed willingness to collaborate with traditional rulers in the fight against insecurity and other forms of criminality in the state.
  
This was even as the state government said it had slated February 13, 2025, for the launch of the Enugu State Security Trust Fund (ESSTF), aimed at mobilising resources in cash and kind from both the public and private corporate organisations, as well as well-meaning individuals, to strengthen security in the state.  
  
These were made known by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Enugu State Security Trust Fund, Dr. Ike Chioke, during a stakeholders consultative meeting with the State Traditional Rulers Council at the House of Chiefs Chamber, Enugu State House of Assembly Complex, Enugu, on Wednesday.
  
Chioke said the board considered it appropriate to engage and sensitise the monarchs about the objectives of the fund, urging them to key into the project and assist the government in fighting criminality in their respective communities.

Stressing that security is everyone’s business, Chioke called for the buy-in of the generality of the people, pointing out that the ambitious vision of Governor Peter Mbah to grow the state’s economy from $4.4 billion to $30 billion by 2031 may be difficult to achieve unless everyone works together to address insecurity in the state. 
    
According to him, the Board of Trustees was stepping up its engagement and enlightenment efforts to ensure that key stakeholders were aware of the fund’s objectives before its launch.

He said: “The essence of the sensitisation is to enable Ndi Enugu to understand that security is everyone’s business. The security trust fund is designed as a private/public partnership between the people and the state, such that each one of us contributes to security as part of our daily activities. We need to build and sustain the security architecture around the entire state, which is where the trust fund comes in.
   
“As you know, we are going to launch the trust fund on February 13. So, we are meeting with key stakeholders across the state to ensure that the government will be supported in securing the state and securing the progress that is evident from the work the governor is doing already.”

The Commissioner for Local Government, Rural Development and Chieftaincy Matters, Deacon Okey Ogbodo, on his part, noted that due to the prominent position the monarchs enjoy as chief security officers of their communities, the state government thought it wise to inform them about the policies aimed at prioritising the welfare of the people, especially about security.