NSCDC Procures 93 New Vehicles To Tackle Oil Theft

Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has procured and commissioned 93 specialised operational vehicles to increase the mobility and combat efficiency of its personnel in it mission areas, especially in the ongoing fight against oil theft.

LEADERSHIP Friday recalls that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had in May this year, approved over N2 billion for the procurement of operational vehicles by the NSCDC.

The minister of interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola who commissioned the newly acquired vehicles Thursday in Abuja, described the feat as a strategy to sustain a responsive and professional civil defence in its unrelenting fight against the vandals and other criminals

Aregbesola, who warned that the federal government and Nigerians at large would no longer accept excuses for failure, said the move is in pursuant of the radical and proactive steps by government towards addressing the challenge of insecurity in the country.

He said: “This is a leap in government’s avowed commitment towards repositioning the country’s internal security organs, particularly the NSCDC for better performance.

“The acquisition of the 93 specialised vehicles is in tandem with the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration’s policy of tackling insecurity heads on, in the nation’s  march towards social and economic development and the building of a safe and secure Nigeria.

“As we all aware, there are challenges of vandalism of critical national assets and infrastructure, theft of crude and refined oil, banditry, kidnapping for ransom, ritual killings and insurgency, among other heinous crimes that have become a cankerworm that must be eliminated.

“The ministry, under my watch, remains unwavering, resolute and committed towards strengthening the capacity and capabilities of these organs of government to effectively deliver on their mandate.”

On his part, the commandant-general of the corps, Dr. Abubakar Ahmed  Audi  expressed the optimism that  newly acquired vehicles would ease the corps’ mobility, movement of logistics and combat manoeuvres

According to him, in 2021, TETFund disbursed N213 billion to tertiary institutions. This, according to him, included the take-off grants for the establishment of new institutions.