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.
Investigation 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 Land cruiser 2014 model, and his backup car, are armoured.
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 by PUNCH correspondents.
The situation is the same in Enugu, Abia and Benue 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.
Findings by PUNCH 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.