- Tinubu urged governors to focus on projects that improve citizens’ lives
- The President said Orire victims were rescued without ransom payment
- Tinubu announced plans to expand military divisions to fight insecurity
President Bola Tinubu has called on state governors to focus on development projects that have direct impact on citizens rather than constructing flyovers in areas where traffic levels and economic benefits do not justify such investments.
Eko Hot Blog gathered that Tinubu made the statement on Thursday when he received the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rasheed Ladoja, and members of the Olubadan-in-Council at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
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The President urged Oba Ladoja, who previously served as governor of Oyo State, to use his experience and influence to advise serving governors on the need to prioritise projects that improve living standards and strengthen security efforts.
Tinubu said governments should pay more attention to infrastructure that benefits communities and helps security agencies access remote areas, instead of spending heavily on flyovers without significant traffic demands.
“You have governed before, you need to help us communicate with these other governors. They need to do more. Instead of building flyovers when there is no numeric traffic, let’s do more to enhance the quality of life and support security agencies to penetrate areas,” the President said.
During the meeting, Tinubu also addressed the recent rescue of schoolchildren and teachers abducted from Orire Local Government Area of Oyo State, stating that no ransom was paid to secure their release.
He explained that security agencies were able to carry out the operation because the location of the victims’ captors in the forest had been identified.
The President disclosed that the Federal Government is increasing the number of military divisions from eight to 12 as part of efforts to improve response time and tackle terrorism and banditry.
“We refused to pay ransom because we have the geography of the forest, we know what it is. From eight divisions, we are now moving to 12 divisions to shorten the response time to defeat terrorism and banditry,” Tinubu said.
He added that the abductors had demanded the release of some arrested members of their criminal network as part of the conditions for freeing the victims, but the government rejected the request.
Tinubu maintained that his administration would not negotiate with criminals responsible for violent crimes, stressing that security agencies would continue efforts to bring perpetrators to justice.
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