Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi yesterday handed over 35 security patrol vehicles and one armoured personnel carrier (APC) to security agencies in the state.
The vehicles, which were reportedly refurbished with over N80 million, will enhance and strengthen the state’s security architecture.
The handover ceremony, an initiative of the Oyo State Security Trust Fund (OYSSTF), held at the Oba Akenzua Crescent, Onireke, Ibadan secretariat of the trust fund.
The state police command, the Army, the Air Force, the Directorate of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Nigerian Prison Service (NPS) and the state-owned anti-crime security outfit codenamed, Operation Burst, benefitted from the refurbished vehicles.
Besides, 15 batteries and 30 tyres were presented to the Operation Burst team, while 20 new tyres were also given to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC).
Members of the State Executive Council (Exco), heads of the security outfits, religious leaders, traditional rulers, among others, attended the ceremony.
Ajimobi, who was represented by his deputy, Moses Adeyemo, noted that the presentation of the patrol vehicles was the third phase of government efforts to improve the operational capabilities of security agencies in the state.
Ajimobi said: “Since the inception of this government in 2011, peace and security were made the key vital points in which any meaningful development could be achieved. We are happy to say we have moved the state away from the brigandage and impunity we met then.
“However, we still need to do more. It was on this basis that the Oyo State Security Trust Fund (OYSSTF) was established as a Public-Private Initiative in 2012 to assist security agencies in the state by providing funds for the acquisition and deployment of security equipment for all security agencies operating in Oyo State. The Trust fund has been operating since November 2013, after the inauguration of its Board of Trustees (BoT).
“To make OYSSTF more effective and improve its performance as well as address its operational impediments, there was need for it to be solely private sector-driven and the process of inauguration of a new BoT, therefore, commenced. The trust fund is, therefore, poised to match and achieve greater goals.
“To this end, the enabling law of OYSSTF has now been amended by the Oyo State House of Assembly to incorporate the introduction of security levies into it to the effect that corporate organisations, including religious and other social bodies, are made to pay yearly security levies to the trust. This is to ensure that these organisations fulfil their roles as responsible corporate citizens by contributing their quota to the prevailing peaceful atmosphere in Oyo State.”
