Security: Oyo State to Spend N6.5bn On Vehicles, Light-up Project

The Oyo State Government has approved the purchase of 100 units of Kia Rio 1.4ltrs engine and five units of Kia Optima 2.0ltrs engine vehicles to boost security operations.

The vehicles, whose cost is put at around N3.354 billion, are to be branded, equipped, and distributed to security agencies across the 33 Local Government areas in the state.

The state government also approved the sum of N3.192 billion for the payment of the backlog of operations and maintenance of the Light-up Oyo Project.

The development formed part of the decisions taken at the State Executive Council meeting which was held at the Executive Council Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, the state capital.

The meeting, which was the first since the inauguration of the Council for the second term was presided over by Governor Seyi Makinde.

Speaking during a press briefing shortly after the meeting, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Prof Musibau Babatunde, stated that “the effort was basically to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the security operatives in the state”, saying providing all the equipment to work with would ensure citizens live in a safer environment.

Babatunde said: “As you are all aware that security is one of the major pillars of this administration, right from Omituntun 1. 0 (first term in office) now down to 2.0 (second term in office), this has been able to boost economic activities in the state.”

He recalled that something similar had been done in the first 100 days during the governor’s first term in office, saying “the government was being proactive to be able to manage effectively, prevent crimes as much as possible and also to fastback the response time to distress calls made to security agencies in the state.”

Babatunde noted: “If they have all the equipment to work with, definitely we will live in a safer environment relative to what obtains in some other states of the country. So, we will continue to boost the security architecture of the state.”

In the same vein, the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Dotun Oyelades said that it had become the tradition of the Governor Makinde administration to pay particular attention to security.

He recounted that the fleet of cars that have been purchased for the Oyo Amotekun, the state Anti-crime Joint Task Force team, codenamed Operation Burst, and the Nigeria Police, would add up to the excess of 400 in the last four years, saying the government would not rest on its oars in the area of security, among others.

While speaking on the approvals for the Light-up projects, the Commissioner for Energy, Mr Seun Ashamu, noted that the government decided on the payment for the backlog of operations and maintenance, after an earlier audit was carried out on the project and an improved service delivery was observed.

Asamu said: “It is also important to let the public know that in any of our localities if there are any challenges or issues with the public lighting, there is actually a holiness that has been set up by the state and that has been in use in the last three years. They can report any of the lines that may be malfunctioning there.”

He explained that the government had commenced fixing and maintenance of all damaged public lighting infrastructure in the state.

Asamu stressed that the government was now more determined to enforce the law that sanctions those caught damaging or pilfering public lighting infrastructure in the state.

He appealed to residents not to vandalize the public lighting infrastructure and to ensure they are careful when driving, particularly at weekends and late at night, as the public lighting infrastructure is there for the benefit of all residents in the state.

Mercy Chukwudiebere