The Senate and the
House of Representatives on Saturday said they would go ahead with the purchase
of exotics for its members.
Members of both
chambers of the National Assembly, who spoke to Punch separately, stated that
lawmakers needed the vehicles to function efficiently.
The Senate plans to
procure cars worth about N4.7bn, the House will spend between N3.4bn and N4.2bn
on choice brands for its 360 members.
The Chairman, Senate
Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Sabi Abdullahi, told one of
Punch’s correspondents that the leadership of the upper chamber was expecting
the invitation of President Muhammadu Buhari over the plan to purchase ‘project
vehicles’ for the Buhari had during the last presidential media chat pledged to
initiate a meeting with the leadership of the National Assembly on the issue
but the parley had yet to hold several weeks after.
But the Senate
spokesperson said since the proposed meeting was an initiative of the
President, the leaders of the red chamber would wait until they were invited.
Abdullahi said, “There
is no way we won’t buy the project vehicles for the use of the committees. It
is the consideration of the 2016 budget at both chambers that has delayed it.
The money has to be appropriated for. We are still buying the vehicles”
He added, “There is no
way we can exercise our legislative functions especially in the area of
oversight, using our personal cars.
“We need official
vehicles to move around the country because we do not have to rely on
government agencies under our supervision for such logistics if we really have
to carry out an unbiased exercise.
“Nigerians should also
note that we are not asking for too much by requesting for Sport Utility
Vehicles as official vehicles because there is no senator or members of the
House of Representatives that cannot afford one. To us, it’s not a luxury but a
necessity to do our work better.”
Also, the Chairman,
Senate Committee on Works, Senator Kabiru Gaya, said it was important for the
National Assembly management to buy the project vehicles for lawmakers who
would need them to carry out oversight functions.
He said, “ I don’t know
what people mean by exotic cars because I have personal vehicles that are
better than what the National Assembly is proposing to buy for us.
“You will find out that
a minister uses four cars. They fuel those four cars for any of his trips.
Senators get vehicles once in four years and any vehicle used on Nigerian roads
for four years cannot be handed over to another senator to use. It is not
possible.
“We are asking for only
one car for our official use, to do our oversight, to go round the country. I
don’t see anything wrong with that.”
Also, the Senate
Leader, Senator Ali Ndume, said Buhari was not opposed to the National Assembly
purchasing cars to carry out official assignments.
He said, “There is no
way the executive will expect us to use our personal vehicles to do official
work in the legislature.
“The problem is that
the media is blowing the issue out of proportion. The amount being quoted was a
far cry from what would be needed to purchase the vehicles.”
The Chairman, Senate
Committee on Gas Resources, Senator Bassey Akpan, also said the purchase of
project vehicles was crucial to the success of the parliament, if the nation
was really interested in quality legislative activities.
He stated that a
lawmaker needed more than a vehicle to effectively carry out his or her
oversight functions across the country.
-Punch
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