The Enugu State Executive Council has released N100 million to the vigilance groups, popularly called Neighbourhood Watch, the Commissioner for Information, Dr Godwin Udeuhele, has said.
Udeuhele disclosed this in Enugu on Thursday when he briefed newsmen on the outcome of the council meeting held on Wednesday night.
He said that the release of the money followed an earlier approval in 2016 to set aside the sum to equipping the group for optimal performance.
He said that the money would be used to purchase touches, batteries, rain boots and other items for the effective operation of the groups.
The commissioner said that the state government could not release the money before now due to clash of interests on how the funds would be disbursed.
“This money was approved long ago to buy things like touch, batteries, whistles, rain boots for their jobs, but there was a problem on how to distribute the money.
“The traditional rulers as well as the town unions wanted to anchor the distribution. That’s why it was delayed.
“We are now going to use the neighbourhood watch structures in the state, local government and ward levels to disburse the money,” he said.
Udeuhele said that the efficiency of the neighbourhood watch groups had significantly improved since the inception of the current administration, adding that they had been well equipped to check crime in different areas.
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