Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has said that security votes being allocated to state governors are not meant for their personal use as being insinuated by a section of the media.

Speaking on Monday in Ibadan during the South-West Geopolitical Zone Security Summit, Akeredolu said that the money was rather meant for securing the lives and property of the citizens.

The summit, which was organised by the Nigeria Police Force, had the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, in attendance.

Akeredolu, who was represented by his deputy, Mr Agboola Ajayi, said that securing the lives and property of citizens was not cheap.

The governor disclosed that his administration recently spent over N250 million on boats for the Nigerian Navy to increase security around the riverine areas of the state.

Akeredolu also used the opportunity to remind the IGP on the need to expedite action on apprehending the killers of Mrs Olufunke Olakunri, daughter of a Yoruba leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Olakunri was, on July 12, killed on Ore-Benin expressway in a failed kidnap attempt.

“The Ondo State government has purchased vehicles that will be given to security agencies.

“Ondo State, in collaboration with other states in the South-West and the DAWN Commission, is trying to engage our local vigilantes and collaborate with security agencies.

“This cannot be achieved without involving our traditional rulers who are the custodians of our culture; who know everybody in their communities. We are doing all these so that we can sleep with our two eyes closed.

“With the little resources at our disposal, the Ondo State government will continue to do its best.

“We have organised a security summit where all the critical stakeholders were involved. Very soon, we will launch the Security Trust Fund that will take care of the security arrangement of the state,” he said.

Akeredolu, who said that the entire riverine and other border communities were very porous, urged security agents to do their best to ensure that the checkpoints in and out of the state were improved upon.

In his address, the IGP described the Ibadan summit as the second edition of the zonal security meeting, the first being the one held in Katsina for the North-West zone.

Abubakar said that the Katsina summit had been yielding results, with considerable reduction in banditry and various arrests of criminals.

The IGP revealed that special operations for safer highways, with CCTVs to tackle kidnapping and armed robbery, would soon commence in the region. (NAN)

GSD/MA/WAS

Edited by Muftau Adediran and ‘Wale Sadeeq