Please non of you should follow this post. I'm an Akwa Ibomite and this is a fat lie....all this is a plot to run his good deeds down. Godswill Akpabio still remains the best Governor Akwa Ibom has ever had. Just because he gave 2Face and Annie 2 Prado jeeps everybody is shouting....why shouldn't he give them jeeps? Abi was he suppose to give them plastic cups as wedding gifts? Nigerians can be very funny.....This van is not in my State, I would've seen it....and the silly pix is virtual reality!
Some of those vans (plus a Mercedes Benz R Class) have been in Lagos for over a year and they are used whenever His Excellency or the First Lady (usually the first lady) is in Lagos.
ba7man: There is no car as armed or as bullet proof as the presidential limo Barak Obama rides in.......and he's not known for corruption.
Quite true. Certain categories of public office holders need extra security because of the work they do. Remember, if he is a good governor, bad people will want to kill him (and bad people have no qualms about killing people) because he would prevent them from carrying out their activities.
We also do not know the source of the funds used to purchase these vehicles, whether they are public or private funds.
Its pitiable that nigerians wld justify d stupendious waste of money apkabio has embarked on. I see some peeps comparing fashola n akpabio. I dare to ask any1 to tell mi wat he/she has seen in akwa-ibom state that's outstanding in terms of dev that affects d lifes of d citizens of the state. With all d resources available to the state, aw many industries do u knw out of akwa-ibom state apart 4rm oil? Or is dev rated by the no of luxury toys available to the gov n his croonies? Akpabio is a failure!
This month we look at the wheels of the most powerful man in the world, The President of The United States, Barrack Hussein Obama.
Cadillac One
The current official car of the President of The United States is a Cadillac. It is the first presidential limousine not to have a specific model name (The previous presidential limousine, used by George W. Bush, was a modified Cadillac D.T.S). It has the call sign, Cadillac One (The presidential plane has the call sign Air-Force One and the presidential helicopter is known as Marine One). It looks so imposing that it has been nicknamed “The Beast” by the Secret Service. It first came into service on January 20th 2009. Like any presidential limousine, the security features are a closely guarded secret, but you can trust us, we’ve been able to unearth them for you.
The New (Obama) Cadillac One (in front) with George Bush’s Presidential Limousines (Behind) on inauguration day.
SECURITY FEATURES
Cadillac One has eight inches thick armour plated doors that are the weight of the cabin door on a Boeing 757. The door handles incorporate a special system, which can only be opened by trained personnel (secret service). The driver’s window can withstand armour piercing bullets. It is the only window that opens, by just 3 inches, so that the driver can pay tolls or talk with secret service agents. The chauffer is trained by the CIA to cope with the most demanding of circumstances. The driver’s compartment contains a standard steering wheel, but the dash board contains a communications centre and GPS tracking system.
The petrol tank in the beast is armour plated and filled with a specially designed foam that prevents it from exploding if hit. Its bodywork consists of a combination of dual hardness steel, aluminium, titanium and even ceramic to break up possible projectiles. A reinforced five inch steel plate runs under the car for protection in the unlikely event of a bomb being placed underneath. The car is built on the platform of a GMC truck. The tyres are reinforced with Kevlar (the material used in bullet-proof vests) and are shred and puncture resistant, with steel rims underneath, enabling the car to escape at speed, even if the tyres are blasted away. The boot holds oxygen supply and a fire-fighting system. The limousine, like the Cadillac DTS, is equipped with night vision cameras, but the location of the cameras have been moved & are a secret. It is also armed with pump-action shotguns and tear gas cannons. Bottles of blood (the president’s blood type) are kept on board, in case he needs an emergency transfusion. The limousine is environmentally sealed against chemical and biological weapons.
FLAGS AND SEALS
When the president is in the limousine, the presidential seal is affixed to its side and it flies two flags; the U.S flag on the right fender and the presidential flag on the left fender, for domestic trips and the U.S flag on the right fender and the flag of the host country on the left fender for trips abroad. The flags are ventilated and illuminated by High Intensity Discharge (H.I.D) directional flood lights, mounted on the hood.
The limousine is maintained by the Secret Service, which, on delivery, took it apart and swept it for bugs. Two dedicated mechanics travel with the limousine wherever it goes.
TRAVELS
When the president travels out of Washington, Cadillac One is transported by U.S Air-Force C-17 Globemaster III or C-5 Galaxy transport planes to wherever the president is going to.
The president never uses foreign “assets” overseas. He either uses Cadillac One, a Secret Service Chevrolet Suburban (Suburban One), or U.S embassy vehicles (indeed, Marine One, the presidential helicopter, is transported abroad by cargo planes anytime the president needs to use a helicopter overseas). This wasn’t always the case in the past. President Jimmy Carter rode in a Nigerian owned Land Rover when he visited Lagos in 1978.
Jimmy Carter and Mohammadu Magoro at Apapa Port.
Another notable exception was when President Richard Nixon visited China for the first time in 1972. The U.S sought permission to fly in their presidential limousine, but Mao Zedong said that there was no need for that, because there were vehicles in China that were good enough to transport Nixon. Nixon agreed, because of the historic nature of the visit. He used Chinese made Red Flag limousines during his trip, though the limousine was taken apart by the U.S secret service and swept for bugs and other dangerous materials. Presidents Kennedy and Clinton used a white U.S embassy Rolls Royce, when they visited Northern Ireland.
Chairman Mao Zedong’s Red Flag Limousine (Why do communists need a limousine? Aren’t they all meant to be equal?)
MOTORCADE
The length of the U.S. president’s motorcade varies, depending on the threat level and nature of his trip. It could vary from ten vehicles to forty vehicles (wonder what the POTUS’ carbon footprint is like). When the president is out of Washington, his motorcade usually consists of about thirty-five vehicles. Approximately the first half of the motorcade is known as the “secure package” and contains the presidential limousines, police cars and essential secret service vehicles. The “secure package” breaks away from the rest of the motorcade in the event of an attack. There are usually 2 or 3 identical limousines in the motorcade, one of these limousines carries the president, while the other acts as backup. The second limousine also serves as a decoy and it flies the two flags and carries the presidential seal, just like the limousine carrying the president. The two limousines usually switch positions several times during a journey.
The two limousines, the radio jamming SUV (with antennas) and the war truck.
The route the president takes is usually cleared of traffic by local police lining the route. About 6 – 10 local policemen on motorcycles ride ahead of the motorcade to ensure that no other cars are on the route (this is very dangerous work and some policemen have been killed in accidents, while performing this duty). A local police car also drives ahead of the convoy to do a bomb sweep (equally very dangerous work). The local police play a very important part in planning the route, because they know the area, control traffic lights and are better able to plan against traffic jams and assist the secret service in planning escape routes and alternative routes.
Some of the main vehicles that travel with the president are: -
(1) Chevrolet Suburban (The War Truck): - Several Chevrolet Suburbans are in the motorcade and some of them carry the Secret Service Counter Assault Team (C.A.T), whose members are mostly ex-marines. They are well trained and well armed. Under U.S law, the secret service can request for the latest training techniques and weapons from any branch of the military and the military must comply with such request.
There was a proposal that some of the SUVs (particularly the SUV behind the President's limo) should carry the Dillon Aero Mini Gun. It is not known if the proposal was accepted. Some secret service agents expressed concern over possible collateral damage. The Dillon Aero Minigun is a gatling gun that fires 3,000 rounds a minute (50 rounds a second). The SUV is known as “The War Truck”. Its roof opens up (much like a sunroof) and a secret service agent, wielding the gatling gun, pops up on a revolving gun turret. The agent is protected on his left and right flank by the doors of the “sunroof”. The Suburbans will surround Cadillac One if there is an attack on it.
2)Frequency Jamming Vehicles: - There is usually a vehicle (sometimes a suburban, sometimes a van) which sends out jamming signals across different frequencies. This is to prevent the detonation of road side bombs using mobile phones, remote controls, garage openers and other devices that emit radio waves. Sometimes, a helicopter, which flies over the motorcade, is used to jam frequencies.
3)Mobile Intensive Care Unit: - An ambulance (Mobile Intensive Care Unit) is always in the motorcade. It is equipped to handle surgeries and carries bottles of the president’s blood type in case an emergency transfusion is required. It is usually a big black armoured truck in the middle of the motorcade, though there are sometimes decoy white ambulances, which are usually full of secret service agents, at the rear of the motorcade.
HISTORY
President William McKinley was the first to ride in an automobile, but it wasn’t until the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt that the first government owned car was used.
The first car specially built for presidential use was the 1939 Lincoln V12 convertible, called the “Sunshine Special”, used by Franklin Roosevelt. The Ford Motor Company leased the car to the office of the President for $500 a year. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, the secret service became concerned about potential assassination attempts. The following day, 8th Dec 1941, a heavily armoured 1928 Cadillac 341A Town Sedan was used to transport the president to the Capitol for the famous “infamy” speech. Originally belonging to Al Capone, the car was confiscated by the treasury department following Capone’s arrest and stored in a government impound lot until its ironic final duty. Roosevelt used the car until his “Sunshine Special” was modified to be bullet-proof.
The Kennedy White House purchased a Lincoln Continental convertible, which was stretched into a limousine for the president by Hess and Eisenhart. It was the car President Kennedy was riding in when he was assassinated. It had a plexi-glass “bubble” top in case of inclement weather, but this was often removed (as was the case on the day Kennedy was assassinated) because the air-conditioner was not strong enough to deal with the heat in the vehicle.
President Kennedy in the Lincoln Continental, minutes before his assassination.
George Bush’s modified Cadillac DTS (Deville Touring Sedan) once broke down in Rome, Italy, when the president was being driven back to the U.S embassy. Surprised Italians could be heard giggling as the driver tried in vain to restart the car. Bush’s embarrassment was compounded when his back up Suburban was too wide to pass through the embassy gates, so he had to walk into the compound.
Delafruita: what a senseless analogy.so a governor should be free to spend government funds recklessly simply because he has "worked".was this expense provided for in the budget of akwa-ibom?
are you from Akwa Ibom? go to Akwa Ibom and see for yourself what the Gov has done! i am from there and am not complaining, we like good things and we have the money.Bleep you
alli@yahoo.com: So upon his holiness is still afraid of bullet and looking for ways to protect him self from stray bullet his is not a real christian he is just making mouth. No mater his artificial protection wil he not die one day, and he should not let god try him or the devil to disgrace him
So upon his holiness is still afraid of bullet and looking for ways to protect him self from stray bullet his is not a real christian he is just making mouth. No mater his artificial protection wil he not die one day, and he should not let god try him or the devil to disgrace him
So upon his holiness is still afraid of bullet and looking for ways to protect him self from stray bullet his is not a real christian he is just making mouth. No mater his artificial protection wil he not die one day, and he should not let god try him or the devil to disgrace him
How does an automobile relate to employment opportunities? Most of you guys are just commenting....have you visited Akwa Ibom lately? Abi your Oga @ the top say make una dey comment anyhow?
No mind them, make I announce ooooooooooo Akpabio don give me job ooooooooooooo. I have just reported for duties for duties.
Me!! Fool!!! Why?!! Do I know you?! Do you know me?! Does Akpabio know you?! Does he owe you?! Was calling me a fool necessary?! Does that make you feel like an intelligent person?! Will your mother be proud to hear you speak this way to someone you have never met before?! Is this how you were raised?! Didnt your parents teach you any respect?! Dont you have any home training?! Dont you have any manners?!
You should be really ashamed of yourself sir..
awwww!!!! This surely brought tears to my eyes,I cannot believe my darling ewu has spoken like a well groomed man.
Am so proud of you ewu gambia am really proud of you,oya chop knuckle.
Akshow: He will perish in this car if he does not stop this brazen Waste of public fund at the expense of the impoverished masses. No be him buy private jet? Dash tuface motor wey e no need?
akinjosh: Its pitiable that nigerians wld justify d stupendious waste of money apkabio has embarked on. I see some peeps comparing fashola n akpabio. I dare to ask any1 to tell mi wat he/she has seen in akwa-ibom state that's outstanding in terms of dev that affects d lifes of d citizens of the state. With all d resources available to the state, aw many industries do u knw out of akwa-ibom state apart 4rm oil? Or is dev rated by the no of luxury toys available to the gov n his croonies? Akpabio is a failure!
and do not know what is wrong with you nigerians must u always be jealous .
Mugu take that Garbage to the Religion Section Man
Black People still talking about god, when they living like utter trash in abject poverty
"God" Must Hate Africans and Black People Then
"God" Must Be a Racist
Keep Praying, You Mindless Drones,
Keep Praying and Keep Losing....While Worshiping Your Fabricated Almighty
Your usernae explains a lot about your stupidity and hopelessness.....U are calling God Fabricated Almighty while u are a customized fool.....Your username should be changed to Royal Dumb ass for insulting your creator Mumu boy.... Satan at work
Whose money did Murtala Muhammad squander before he was assassinated? All politicians, corrupt or not, need good security.
So what do u advise now dear friend, bulletproof houses, clothes, even househelps just to make sure our politicians are safe? Make the skies over their heads bullet proof too. Their kidneys, lungs, livers, colons, prostrate glands also? Where does this amazing waste of mny stop?
Spending what is equal to the per capita income of almost half of Nigeria (at least a million dollars as reported) on *GOOD* PERSONAL SECURITY, (dare I say a security that's not even threatened) when the vast majority of the state and nation remains under-developed is plain senseless and unjustified.
Sometimes, God does work that way if the oppression of the common gets too much u can check history. There's no definitive cap on what God can or cannot do to right wrongs and u'll do well to note this for future purposes before commenting on God like u're a consultant.
the reason might be flawed, but ultimately, the rest might be good for Nigeria...this might help reduce the number of cars in convoys, and a van can carry about 8 people, instead of 6-8 cars...
