Cross River to purchase 50 security vehicles – assembly speaker

Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Elvert Ayambe, has said the state government has entered into agreements to purchase operational vehicles for security agencies.

He urged the Federal Government to take the issue of insecurity seriously by providing operational vehicles and world-class gadgets to security agencies and improving their welfare to boost their morale.

The speaker, who spoke to journalists in Abuja, said the federal government must equip the military, police and other security agencies with vehicle logistics and other gadgets to achieve better results in the fight against insecurity and other vices.

He said: “The Cross Rivers State Government is doing a lot. As I say this, the state is close to purchasing 50 operational vehicles for security purposes.

“The state government is implementing huge projects in the barracks, on the parade ground. He also implements similar projects at the DSS facility.

“That’s why I said that the current government is very flexible. It should normally view them as parastatals of the federal government. What would he do with the state government spending money.

“But it’s basically a matter of time, he will need their services. At the moment, we have completed the purchase phase of 50 operational vehicles, which we will provide to most security agencies, which will also increase the security of our country.

“If you check, you hardly hear the issue of kidnapping in Cross River State considering the efforts of the governor. If you travel across the sea, you will see Navy checkpoints in the middle of the sea, so the kidnappers will have no route through which to take their victims. Waterways are now safe.

“Currently, police stations do not even have a functional vehicle. If the Federal Government takes up this matter to provide functional vehicles for the police and world-class gadgets for all security agencies, it will greatly increase their confidence in fighting crime.

“Let me tell you this. In the robbery that took place a few weeks ago, because the police did not have operational vehicles, the perpetrators fled before the police could reach the scene within the stipulated time,” he said.