President Bola Tinubu on Thursday urged state governors to stop building flyovers in areas with low traffic and instead channel their significantly enhanced federal allocations into road networks that would improve living standards and give security agencies better access to remote areas
He noted that states were now receiving four to five times what they used to get from the Federation Account.
Tinubu made the charge when he received a delegation of traditional rulers from Oyo State led by the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, who came to congratulate him on the successful rescue of abducted schoolchildren and teachers from Oriire Local Government Area after 56 days in captivity.
The President, directing his remarks at Ladoja and others who had previously served as governors, said, “The cost of operation is high. But the money that I’m pushing to the states, if you had it during your own time, or during my time, it would have been different.
“They are taking four to five times their money. Nobody is borrowing money to pay salaries now. Pensioners are receiving their pay.
“They should do more instead of building flying over where there is no numeric traffic; build roads and artery networks to really enhance the quality of life and the accessibility of the security agencies to penetrate those areas.”
Also at the meeting, Tinubu said terrorists who abducted school children and teachers in Oriire last May had demanded the release of their jailed members alongside their ransom demand but were flatly refused.
He revealed that his directive to expand the Army from eight to 12 divisions was a direct operational response to the Oriire school abductions crisis, saying the increase was designed to shorten response times and give security forces the numerical and geographic capacity to defeat terrorism and banditry.
Tinubu explained that his administration will neither negotiate with terrorists nor pay ransoms for rescue.
Speaking publicly about the incident for the first time since the rescue of the Oyo abductees on July 10, he said, “We refuse to negotiate for ransom. These criminals wanted us to release from detention members of their criminal gangs that were already arrested, that was one of their conditions, outside of the money they were looking for.
“And we said no deal. We are not going to negotiate with criminals.
“They committed murder, and we were ready to finish with their families, members of their own communities. They grew up somewhere.”
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