20th June, 2011
N700 million is to be spent by the Lagos state government on the purchase of 10 armoured personnel carriers as donation to the police in the state for security beef-up.
This means that the state would spend N70 million on the purchase of each of the armoured tanks.
Though the state House of Assembly this afternoon approved the request of the state government which was sent through a letter signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Planning,
Bayo Sodade, the lawmakers were however divided on the source of the funds.
The request had sought for the funds to be taken from the state’s Local Government Intervention Fund instead of the Police Trust Fund.
Many of them also disagreed and argued that the Local Government Intervention Fund is meant to execute constituency projects selected by members of the House rather than be used to buy armoured tanks.
Ipoola Omisore representing Ifako/Ijaiye argued that the letter was a personal one and that it was not written on the ministry’s letter-headed paper.
He also urged the House to look critically into the request since there is the Police Intervention Fund from which such amount could be taken.
For Mudashiru Obasa, “the essence of the fund is for each member of the House to choose projects in his constituencies to be handled and executed.
“We should not overlook the usefulness of this fund because if we do, it would affect other projects in our various constituencies.”
Funmilayo Tejuosho also explained that the need of the people of the various constituencies were very crucial.
“It is not something we can just jump into but look critically. The issue of security is important but where do we get the money from?
“We just completed a retreat and should not throw the importance of the retreat away,” she said.
Another lawmaker, Dayo Fafunmi also supported those opposed to the request, adding that this is not the first time “we would receive such letter asking that we should take money from a vote head. We have the security trust fund that can generate funds for the project rather than dip our hands into the coffers of the fund.”
Lawmakers who also rejected the request included Bisi Yusuf, Rotimi Olowo and Bayo Oshinowo, who claimed that the letter had no substance.
But the Speaker, Adeyemi Ikuforiji, Deputy Speaker, Taiwo Kolawole and Olawale Oshun appealed to the other lawmakers to see the request as very urgent considering the security situation of the country.
According to Oshun, ” in as much as the Local Government Intervention Fund is meant for constituency projects, the nation’s security is situation is state-wide.
“It should be very important to us at this period. I will want to ask that we look at it properly and think of ways we can work with those concerned.”
Wahab Alawiye-King also supported the purchase of the security vehicle saying, ” we must spend so much on security at this period.
“A lot of us just came from Rwanda and we saw the guaranteed security situation despite the fact that they just came out of war. We should try and liaise with the concerned authority to see how the issue could be solved.”
Taiwo Kolawole, while urging his colleagues to consider the request, said the state Tenders Board refused to approve the letter asking for the vote head that the ministry would get the money from. That was why the Permanent Secretary wrote to us.
“I will appeal to my colleagues that we should accept it since Lagos is part of the solution to the country’s security situation.”
Speaker Ikuforiji maintained that the request is made because the Permanent Secretary knows that the fund is there.
“We should see it as a donation by the state to the police for the safety of the state. We bought about ten of this kind last year and you know that for a place of our size, we need a substantial number of them for the security of the 18 million Lagosians.
“We will get there. If the amount in the fund is about N19.3 billion, a total of N700 million is not too much.
“This is the first request from them and since we have agreed that we would collaborate with the executive, let us just approve this. We all need it and we know what security means to the nation right now,” the Speaker said.
—Eromosele Ebhomele