From Damola Adeloye, Ibadan
Oyo State government said it will procure two aircrafts to curb the menace of illegal miners, kidnappers and other forms of security threats.
The Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, said in a statement after the State Executive Council meeting yesterday, that the procurement was approved in a renewed determination by government to secure the state from the influx of bandits and their operations.
According to the commissioner, the council noted that though Oyo enjoys relative peace compared to other states in the federation, government would not be complacent because there are pockets of kidnappings and banditry going on in parts of the state.
The two light aircrafts, DA 42 MNG model, are Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance, ISR, aircrafts, with sophisticated surveillance gadgets capable of identifying targets from high and low altitudes.
Oyelade said the preference for these aircrafts, instead of helicopters, is because they are less expensive to maintain, the spare parts are accessible and the Nigerian Air Force, NAF, possesses a number of the model which gives room for synergy.
Oyo State, according to him, has the largest land mass in the southern part of Nigeria which is bigger than 10 countries in Africa with a landmass of 28,454 square kilometres.
The aircrafts will cost N7,763,360,000 and will effectively back up Amotekun and other security forces to prevent and destroy bandits in their hideouts.
Oyelade said of all the South West security networks, Amotekun in Oyo has the highest number of staff with 2,500, highest number of vehicles at 181 and motorcycles (450).
He noted that Amotekun in the state are the highest paid in the South West with the least paid N116,000 per month.
Council also approved the construction of bridges, interchanges and clearance of the north east and south west segment of the 110km Rashidi Ladoja Circular Road project, particularly from Molarere, Odo-oba, Abiola Ajimobi Technical University axis, all at N83,037,000,000.
It assured that 72km of the circular road would be completed by the time this administration completes its tenure in 2027.
