By; SAMSON YAKI, Lafia
Nasarawa State Government has donated 35 operational vehicles worth over N642 million to various security agencies in the state.
Governor Tanko Al-Makura, while presenting the vehicles on Saturday in Lafia, said that the gesture was part of the state government’s commitment to boost the security architecture of the state in view of the incessant crisis that befell the state in recent and time past.
He explained that 22 of the vehicles would be allocated to the police.
The governor said that the Nigeria Army, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Department of State Security Service (DSS) would get two vehicles each.
He said that the Nigeria Air Force and the Prison Services would get one vehicle each.
The governor said that the vehicles were meant for the mainstream security outfits working round the clock toward ensuring peace in the various communities.
Al-Makura said that other security agencies would be considered in due course.
“ The distribution of the vehicles is another milestone in our collective efforts to contribute toward the protection of lives and property of the citizens.
“I believe that the gesture will go a long way in supporting the security agencies toward the maintenance of law and order in the state, ” he said.
He said that his administration had donated a befitting state headquarters for the Nigeria Police as part of the support to security agencies in the state adding that his administration also donated land and N300 million for the construction of the 177 Guards Battalion Barracks in Doma Local Government Area.
Al-Makura listed other state interventions in security matters to include the ongoing construction of the state headquarter of the NSCDC, provision of land for the construction of Air Force base in Lafia, among others.
He lauded the Federal Government for its spontaneous response with the deployment of security forces to douse the recent challenges in the state, especially along the border communities with Benue.
The governor said that his administration would continue to provide logistics support to security agencies to enhance their operations, thereby guaranteeing the security of lives and property of citizens.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Bello Ahmed, on behalf of other security agencies, thanked the state government for the gesture.
Ahmed said that the operational vehicles would enhance the effectiveness of the security personnel in their constitutional mandates, assuring that the vehicles would be judiciously utilised.
