Dangote donates 150 operational vehicles to police

The efforts of the police to provide security received a boost yesterday when renowned businessman, Aliko Dangote, donated 150 operational vehicles to the Nigerian Police Force.

The donation is the largest single donation by any organisation in the country to the police. Dangote, while presenting the vehicles in Abuja, said the gesture was part of his foundation’s commitment to boost the security architecture of the country.

He explained that more vehicles would be donated in the second phase of the donation and assured that other security agencies would be considered in due course. “The Dangote Foundation spends between N10 and N12 billion annually to sectors where we always intervene,” he said. 

The business mogul stated that Dangote Foundation would continue to provide logistics support to the police to enhance their operations, thereby guaranteeing the security of lives and property of citizens. He added that the vehicles were assembled in Nigeria.

“We started by donating 150 vehicles to the police, we have also built a security post for them in Kwara State and we will continue to do more to complement the efforts of the Federal Government in terms of securing life and property.”

He appealed to the police to maintain the vehicles. “We want to ensure that they don’t drive them recklessly, we want to make sure they maintain them. Once we see what happens in the next six months, we will also look at how best we can assist them in other areas.”

In his address, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, said Dangote has assisted the Federal Government in many areas. Osinbajo, who stated that Dangote was not just interested in making profit alone, said his firm is also interested in the socio-economic development of the country.

He said the vehicles would help to boost the efforts of the government in ensuring security in every parts of the country.

In his remarks, the Inspector-General of Police, Idris Ibrahim, said the patrol vehicles would assist the police in the realisation and fulfillment of its constitutional mandate of protection of lives and property.