Senate Justifies SUV Purchase for Senators, Silent on Cost

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Senate on Tuesday justified the purchase of 360 sports utility vehicles (SUVs) for its members.

The red chamber was however silent on the actual cost of each vehicle but explained that the members preferred the imported SUVs to the locally manufactured ones.

Amidst criticisms, the Socio – Economic Rights And Accountability Project (SERAP) had asked a Federal High Court in Lagos to stop the lawmakers from taking delivery of the SUVs pending the hearing and determination of the applications for injunction filed by the organization.

The group’s applications for interim and interlocutory injunction followed reports that the House of Representatives lawmakers are set to procure and take delivery of SUVs valued at N57.6 billion. 

According to reports, each of the SUVs would cost taxpayers at least N160 million.

Reacting to the development at a news conference, the Chairman, Committee on Senate Services, Sunday Karimi, wondered why Nigerians are not talking about the ministers who ride about with four official vehicles.

He said: “Somebody that is a minister has more than three Land Cruisers, Prado and other vehicles and you are not asking them questions, why us?

“These vehicles that you see, go to Nigeria roads today, If I go home once, my senatorial district, I come back spending a lot on my vehicles because our roads are bad. Am I talking to somebody?

“I said the decision that we took on using Land Cruiser is the cost and durability. 

“Before they came up with this. It is not the decisions of the senators alone, we did an analysis before arriving at Land Cruisers.

 “It was based on comparative analysis of cost of technical issues and durability on Nigeria roads, are you getting me?

“We want something that we can maintain for another four years and the issue of buying vehicles from National Assembly, you know it is a reoccurring issue, it occurs every assembly, it will always come up. 

“If you go to state Houses of Assembly today, check out, most of them before they were even inaugurated, the governor would have bought vehicles waiting for them, even local government chairmen. 

“I drove the vehicle my local government chairman uses, so why National Assembly?”

Justifying the high cost of the vehicles, Karimi said it was because the National Assembly owed the suppliers about N16 billion.

He said: “The cost, let me tell you, hello. You know I am the chairman, Senate Service.  When I came into the Senate, when they gave me their liability, they have a liability of over N16 billion that is made up of different  vehicles of 7th assembly 8th and 9th assembly. 

“If you are a business man and you supply vehicles for somebody in 2014 or 2015 or so and up till now they  owed you. 

“I am not trying to defend anybody. If you see them selling Land Cruiser in the market, let’s say it is A cost, you don’t expect somebody that will supply it to supply it at the price they are selling it in the market.

“It has to leave a margin and the civil service for the supply they allowed for 25% margin plus. That and VAT and I think that VAT is 7.5. Out of that 25% margin they will still remove 5% tax from it.

“You are telling someone to supply and he may even not end up making payment for three years and you want him to supply at the price they are selling in the market, it is not possible.”