Babatunde Fashola Blasts Stella Oduah

Lagos State governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, has said that the two armoured cars bought at the cost of N255 million for the Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Stella Oduah, will purchase 51 patrol vehicles for the Nigerian Police.

The governor said this at the 7th annual Town Hall Meeting on Security, themed: ‘Sustaining Local Responding To Rising National Security Challenges,’ held at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.

“It is sad to know that the Federal Government that allocate three patrol vehicles for one state police command of 370, 000 police men, is unable to resolve how N255 million was used to purchase 2 saloon vehicles for one officer. It is a very grave irony.

“The cost of average vehicle needed to patrol the state is just N5 million. And with such fund, we will have put at least 51 patrol vehicles on the road, patrolling the streets of Lagos.”

“In spite of all this, they resist the idea of a state police. The money from the fund was in the last one year used to provide vehicles for the Nigerian Prison Service, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, National Security and Civil Defense Corps, NSCDC and indeed the airport wing of the Nigerian police, is funded from this money. And it is the same aviation ministry that manage the airport that we had this very odious car scandal of N255 million.”

The governor noted that the upshot of central Government’s failure to confront security has continued for the past seven years.

“The residents of Lagos have borne the burden of that neglect, and there is no indication that anything will change soon, in spite of endless reform deliberation and proposals.”

On the crime rate in the state, Fashola said “Our crime data base now has record content of 92, 488 which helps us to keep track of all those who have been arrested, prosecuted, jailed or have any contact with the criminal justice system.”

He added that the state is preparing for a future of crime prevention, saying “it will be technologically driven, scientifically grounded and result assured.”