The Special Adviser to the Kogi State Governor on Media and Strategy, Abdulkarim Abdulmalik, has confirmed that 110 vehicles were indeed procured for security agencies in the state and not for politicians.
He was on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday to clear the air on the 12 million dollar controversy surrounding the procurement of the vehicles.
He said that the cars were not bought for government appointees but instead, the 110 of them were given to security officials, as well as hundreds of motorcycles given to the vigilante to mark the 25th anniversary of the state.
This, according to him, was aimed at boosting security in the state as cases of kidnapping and other crimes had been on the increase.
Mr Abdulkarim further stated that the allegations that the over 110 cars were bought for members of the State House of Assembly and traditional rulers in the state were false.
He explained that no government official, including himself, had been given any car in the last seven months, adding that the vehicles in question were vans.
“They were distributed to the military, the Police, Civil Defence and vigilante, to enable them become more effective and proactive, in ensuring the tide of criminality in the state is brought to a halt,” he said.
Good of the State
In response to a letter by the Commissioner For Finance, acknowledging a 12 million dollar loan, the Special Adviser explained that the amount should not be considered a problem, as it is being used for the good of the state.
He, however, did not state what the exact figures were, and how they were being spent.
He said that the letter was referring to the set of vehicles to be bought for government appointees, and not the already bought security vans.
For the cars, “what I am saying is that we have not even done that yet, we are simply at the negotiation level”, he explained.
“Governance is about the people, and for a government appointee to be able to perform his duties properly, he has to be given a vehicle to ease his transportation from one place to another,” he added.