There are indications that some
governors, their wives and deputy governors have continued to ride in
expensive bulletproof vehicles in spite of the biting economic recession
in the country.
Saturday PUNCH investigations
revealed that the number of bulletproof vehicles in the convoy of 14
state governors, their deputies and wives is close to 100 while the
citizens have been struggling to enjoy daily meals.
Findings by our correspondents revealed
that the average cost of an armoured vehicle is about N75m. The cost
could be more, depending on the level of armour recommended or requested
by the buyer, and such depends on the location of use and the type of
threat the owner is guarding against.
According to JPA Armouring Group, an
armoured vehicle manufacturer in Germany, the cost of a bulletproof 2014
Lexus LX 570 starts from €192,000 (N89.3m), an armoured 2015 Toyota
Prado starts from €125,000 (N58.1), while the cost of an armoured Toyota
Land Cruiser starts from €149,000 (N69.2m), excluding shipping costs.
Another armoured vehicle manufacturer,
Texas Armoring Corporation, in the United States, says armoured vehicles
needed in West African countries tend to be more expensive and buyers
from the region are often advised to adopt the T6 protection level
because high-powered rifles are the predominant weapons used by
criminals there.
Interestingly, many governors that have
yet to pay their workers’ salaries for many months and who are blaming
their inability to pay them on the dwindling monthly federal allocation
have enough money to buy these vehicles for themselves and the use of
their wives.
At the beginning of the year, the
Federal Government and states recorded a drop in allocation from
N387.77bn in December 2015 to N370.38bn in January 2016 when oil prices
fell from $43.4 per barrel to $39.
In March 2016, allocations from the
Federation Account to the three tiers of government declined by a
whopping N18.2bn – from N299.74bn to N281.5bn, according to the
Federation Account Allocation Committee.
But in spite of this, it was learnt that some of the governors, their deputies and wives still maintain ostentatious lifestyles.
Saturday PUNCH investigations
showed that Bauchi State Governor, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar, and his
deputy, Mr. Nuhu Gidado, have three bulletproof cars. A security source
attached to the state Government House told one of our correspondents
that while the governor uses two bulletproof cars, his deputy uses one.
The source said, “I can confirm that
Governor Abubakar has two bulletproof cars while the deputy governor has
one. The governor inherited two bulletproof Prado sport utility
vehicles from his predecessor, Isa Yuguda.
“But just about a month ago, a new
bulletproof car was acquired by the state government. The newly acquired
bulletproof car is a Mercedes Benz 4matic. This car has yet to be put
into use.”
The security source, however, said the
governor and his deputy might need the bulletproof cars because of the
precarious security situation in the state.
He said, “I don’t think there is
anything wrong with the governor and his deputy using bulletproof cars.
Definitely, they need these special cars because of the security
situation in the country.”
The Senior Special Assistant to the
Bauchi State Governor on Media, Sabo Mohammed, admitted that both
Abubakar and his deputy, Gidado are currently using bulletproof vehicles
but said the cars were inherited from the past administration.
He, however, denied the recent purchase of a brand new Mercedes Benz 4matic bulletproof car by the state government.
When asked about the newly acquired bulletproof car by the state government, he laughed saying “how did you know that?”
“I can tell you without mincing words
that the state has not bought any new bulletproof car for the governor.
It is not true. I only read that of Kogi State recently but not in
Bauchi,” Mohammed said.
Also, Saturday PUNCH learnt that there are no fewer than six bulletproof vehicles in the fleet of the Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola.
A security source, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, listed the vehicles as three Mercedes Benz
product, a bus, G-Class, and a 4matic and two Toyota Land cruisers.
It was also gathered that the state deputy governor, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori, has one armoured Toyota Land cruiser.
But the Consultant on Information to
Osun State Government, Mr. Sunday Akere, said he doubted that the
governor had armoured cars in his fleet.
He said, “I can’t confirm that the
governor has bulletproof cars. If at all there are bulletproof cars
among his vehicles, they might be the ones he met in the Government
House before he became the governor.”
Findings also showed that Cross River
State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, has at least four bulletproof vehicles.
This is in addition to four others used by his deputy, Prof. Ivara Esu,
and the wife of the governor, Dr. Lynda Ayade.
Investigations revealed that the
bulletproof cars in the pool of the governor’s convoy include a 2015
Range Rover Vogue, Toyota Land Cruiser Prado (2015), BMW 7 series (2015)
and Toyota Sequoia (2012).
The deputy governor uses a Range Rover
Vogue (2015) and a BMW 5 series (2014), while the governor’s wife has a
Toyota Land Cruiser Prado (2015) and Lexus jeep (2010) bulletproof
vehicles.
The Chief Press Secretary to the
Governor, Mr. Christian Ita, did not respond to calls and text messages
sent to his mobile telephone.
A security expert, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, stated that it was imperative for the governor
and his deputy to use bulletproof vehicles because of criminal
activities in some parts of the state.
He listed dangerous spots where the
governor would, as a matter of necessity, visit periodically to include
Akpabuyo and Bakassi local government areas where activities of
militants had posed security threat for some time.
Findings also showed that two
bulletproof Ford Expedition SUVs were among the fleet of the Katsina
State Governor, Alhaji Aminu Masari.
It was learnt from a source in the
government that the two vehicles were bought last year shortly after the
governor’s inauguration.
The source said the condition of
Nigerian roads and the general insecurity in the country might have
informed the governor’s choice of the vehicles.
Investigation, however, revealed that
the governor’s three wives were not permanently resident in Katsina, but
stayed in Kaduna and Abuja and used to visit the state during important
celebrations.
Findings further showed that no official
vehicle was attached to the three wives, but it was learnt that they
use three vehicles, namely: Mercedes Benz “C’’ Class, Honda (End of
Discussion) and Peugeot 607.
A Government House source told one of
our correspondents that the Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko,
and his wife, Olukemi, have three bulletproof SUVs.
He said, “The governor and his wife
often use the bulletproof vehicles when they travel out of the state or
to attend social and official functions.
“The governor was initially using a
Toyota bulletproof car during his first term, but later added the Lexus
Jeep to his fleet after he was inaugurated for a second term in office.”
The Niger State Governor, Abubakar Bello, and his wife were said to have two bulletproof vehicles in their fleet.
The Senior Special Adviser to the
Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr. Jide Orintusin, confirmed to one of
our correspondents that the governor was using the Toyota Land Cruiser
bulletproof car he inherited from his predecessor, Dr. Babangida Aliyu.
Orintusin, however, said that buying a new bulletproof car was not the priority of the governor now.
He said, “We are interested in the
well-being of our people especially in this economic recession that is
affecting the country. We do things in order of importance; the
happiness of our people is our concern.”
Similarly, it was gathered that two
armoured Mercedes Benz G-wagons were in the fleet of the Ogun State
Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun.
Of the about five exotic cars the Kwara
State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, is using, the Range Rover and E-Class
Mercedes Benz car among them were suspected to be bulletproof cars. His
wife, Omolewa’s Lexus SUV and Prado SUV were also suspected to be
bulletproof vehicles.
The Governor’s Senior Special Assistant
on Media and Communication, Dr. Muyideen Akorede, declined to comment on
whether any or all of the vehicles had bulletproof facility.
“For security reasons, I cannot answer that question,” he said.
In Benue State, Saturday PUNCH
found that the number of bulletproof vehicles currently available for
the use of the state governor, Samuel Ortom, his deputy and their
spouses are 12.
One of our correspondents gathered that
while Ortom and his wife are using five of the cars, the deputy governor
and his spouse use three.
A source at the Government House said
the immediate past governor, Gabriel Suswam, left six bulletproof cars
for Ortom, while Suswam inherited two from the erstwhile governor,
George Akume.
Investigation revealed that the model
and year of each of the bulletproof vehicles belonging to Ortom are
2012 Mercedes Benz S550; 2015 Mercedes S550; two 2014 BMW 7 series; 2015
Lexus LX; two Toyota Land Cruiser and two 2013 Escalade.
A Government House source said that each of the bulletproof vehicles cost between N70m and N120m.
The source added that Ortom bought two of the vehicles in addition to the eight purchased by Suswam.
The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Terver Akase, declined to comment on the bulletproof vehicles.
He said, ‘The question you put before me
is purely security matter. Therefore, I cannot comment on that because
if I do, it means I am exposing my boss to danger. It is not proper to
ask me to tell you what kind of cars my governor is using. So, it is not
right for me to disclose such information.”
The situation is the same in Enugu, Abia
and Anambra states. It was gathered that the Enugu State Governor,
Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, has three armoured cars in his fleet. His Abia State
counterpart, Okezie Ikpeazu, has two armoured cars in his fleet.
Ikpeazu, whose convoy moves without
siren, has one 2016 LX Lexus car, a Toyota land cruiser XXRL 2016 and
Toyota Land Cruiser XXL 2015, among others.
Reacting to the development, the Special
Assistant to the Enugu State Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr. Louis
Amoke, said Ugwuanyi had been using the vehicles he inherited from the
previous administration in the state.
Amoke said the governor had not bought any official vehicle for himself since he came into office.
He added that the need for bulletproof
vehicles was a security matter that concerns the Office of the Governor,
and not necessarily the holder of the office.
James Eze, the Senior Special Assistant
to Governor Obiano on Media, neither answered calls made to his mobile
telephone nor replied a text message sent to him.
Investigation also showed that Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State has 10 vehicles in his convoy.
A Government House source said eight of the vehicles are Toyota Prado SUVs.
It was gathered that the governor’s main vehicle, a Toyota Landcruiser 2014 model, and his backup car, are armoured.
It was also learnt that Governor
Mohammed Bindow of Adamawa State and his Delta State counterpart,
Ifeanyi Okowa, have many armoured vehicles in their fleet.
While a source said Bindow has two bulletproof Lexus LX cars in his fleet, Okowa is said to have four.
One of our correspondents gathered that of Okowa’s four bulletproof cars, three were bought in 2015 after his inauguration.
His wife, Edith, is also said to be
using a bulletproof Lexus 570 jeep, which Okowa was said to have bought
before he was elected as governor.
While giving the breakdown of the
numbers, our sources said the governor has Benz 550 and Lexus 570 Jeep
as official bulletproof vehicles.
An ex-security aide to a former governor
in the state said two other bulletproof cars aside the four mentioned
by Okowa’s aides were usually stationed in Abuja and Lagos.
The Delta State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Patrick Ukah, said he was at a meeting and could not speak on the issue.
Security chiefs in the state also declined comment. They described the issue as classified information.
But the Chief Press Secretary to the
Governor, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, explained that the vehicles were not
meant for luxury but to provide security for the governor. He explained
that presidents, governors and ministers are expected to have
bulletproof vehicles to safeguard their lives.
Aniagwu added that the governor did not
have more than the number of bulletproof vehicles he was required to
have, but declined to give the number.
Yohanna Mathias, Chief Press Secretary
to Bindow, said visitors to the state are being chauffeured in one car
because the former administration left only two Toyota Prado
(bulletproof) SUVs, two Hilux vans and one 406 Peugeot vehicle, which it
uses to convey guests.
He also said the wife of the Governor
does not have any bulletproof vehicle assigned to her, adding that the
case was pathetic because the previous administration had boasted of
over 60 vehicles, but that the current administration had inherited not
more than seven vehicles.
A security expert, Patrick Agbam, says
governors do not need more than two bulletproof vehicles in their fleet
even if the economy is prosperous.
Considering the increase in poverty and
hunger, he added that it was immoral for the governors to have spent
huge amount of public funds on acquisition of bulletproof vehicles.
He said, “I don’t think the current
economic reality requires governors to spend so much on acquiring
bulletproof vehicles. I wouldn’t know how their security advisers
convinced them to acquire more than two bulletproof vehicles.
“In security analysis, when poverty and
hunger increase, there are bound to be increase in security threats, but
that doesn’t mean they should spend so much money to acquire such
vehicles. They could have used the money to cater for the citizens.
“If they do this, hunger will decrease
and when hunger decreases, there will be decrease in security threat.
Governance is about serving people. Even if we have a buoyant economy,
governors and their deputies shouldn’t have more than one bulletproof
vehicle each.”
An economist, Dr. Babatunde Abraham, referred to the governors’ action as economic sabotage.
He said, “It is not only when vandals
destroy pipelines that we have economic sabotage. Spending state
resources extravagantly is also economic sabotage. Even if there is no
hunger, it is wasteful for any governor to have more than one
bulletproof car, if they need it at all.”
source:Saturday PUNCH
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