25th September, 2015
Eromosele Ebhomele
The Lagos State government will acquire two new helicopters for safety and emergency rescue purposes between now and December.
But this, according to findings by P.M. NEWS is dependent on the ability of the state to meet the newly re-ordered budget of N25.440 billion approved by the state House of Assembly on 15 September, 2015.
Part of the 16-point recommendation of an eight-man ad-hoc committee that worked on Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s request to re-order the 2015 budget was that the sum of N3.8 billion be approved for capital expenditure to meet the security and emergency needs of the state.
“The additional sum of N670,418,193 and N3,819,248,855 be approved respectively as recurrent and capital expenditure for security and emergency intervention fund (including acquisition of rescue helicopters),” the fifth recommendation stated.
While trying to convince his colleagues prior to the approval of the recommendations by the House, chairman of the ad-hoc committee, Rotimi Olowo, had said the committee found that the two helicopters earlier purchased by the state government could not meet the safety and emergency requirements of the state.
He said there was the need to have modern rescue equipment for rescue and evacuation operations at accident sites in the state.
For example, he said, if the state had enough helicopters, quick rescue would have come the way of the victims of the recent Bristow helicopter crash that occurred in Lagos.
The House further approved the sum of N3.9 billion as special expenditure. This makes the total 2015 budget for ‘special expenditure’ N8,400,000,000.
The House approved another N2 billion as contigency fund in addition to the N1,160,075,209 initially approved as its allocation in the 2015 budget.
Lagos State currently has two Bell 412 EP helicopters which former Governor Babatunde Fashola launched in December 2009 with a promise to commit the state’s resources to securing the lives and property of residents.