The Lagos State Government has taken delivery of 50 new Ford Ranger pickups, 10 Ford Ranger mobile workshop vehicles and 10 armoured patrol carriers (APV) to beef up its security in the state.

At a ceremony to handover the new security vehicles, walkie talkies/batteries, bullet proof jacket and the presentation of newly trained Rapid Response (RRS) drivers to the State Security Trust Fund at Alausa, the Lagos State governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola explained that the provision of the security vehicles and equipment was in line with their promise to the people of the state on security from inception in office.

“Since 2007, we have kept the commitment we made on security. The security vehicles have been on the road for 24 hour all through the years”, he said.

He advised the drivers to handle the vehicles with care bearing in mind that the vehicles were their  offices while cautioning them not to use their new position to brutalise the masses.

Also in a chat with journalists at the occasion, the Group General Manager, Coscharis Motors, suppliers of the vehicles, Mr. Ekpenyong Duke put the value of the vehicles at over N1.5 billion, adding that they were of very high quality. The Ranger pickup rank among the best in its category and it has proved very capable as  a police patrol vehicle on every terrain. He points out that the Ranger vehicles comes standard with 4 Wheel Drive for the police among other features.

He however explained that the APV vehicles is a product of most advance technology in the industry.

“The APC vehicles for instance, are built by a German firm, Streit, using Ford vehicle chassis. This makes it one of the most rugged for the policing job which  they are to be used for,” he said.

The Group General Manager described their business relationship with the Lagos State government as very interesting which has enabled the state government to procure the security vehicles from the company, adding that they had earlier supplied the state government about 100 units of Ford Rangers earlier in the year.

“We have been doing business with the Lagos State government and we believe they have seen consistency and reliability in Cosharris and the Ford brand.”

“We offer good after sales, and the Ford Ranger is of the best quality in its segment,” he added.

In addition to this, the group general manager disclosed that the Lagos State government and  Coscharis are setting up a new facility in the state for the training of the youth in automobile engineering and maintenance and thereby helping to solve the unemployment problems in the state. According to him, the Ford Ranger pickup is very easy to maintain, with availability of parts. It is durable and stable, hence, people who tested it keep coming back for more.