Senators receive N1.3billion new cars
Premium Times, March 9, 2012
The lawmakers are now proud owners of new cars
For years, both chambers have allocated huge sums for automobiles and office furnishings, in addition to huge illegal allowances and homes.
Nigerian senators have, in the past few days, furtively taken delivery of ownership documents for the latest Toyota Land Cruiser Prado jeeps worth at least N1.2 billion, in a new purchase that has lifted the senate’s renowned lavish automobile spending to a new high.
The deal is said to have been executed by the National Assembly Service Commission, the statutory contract arm of the lawmaking body. It is not certain how much the transaction is worth on paper, but confirmations from Toyota showed the cars sell for $68,920, about N11.027 million per unit.
For 109 senators, the total cost stands at N1.201 billion. The profit margin, according to dealers, should be about $7400 (about N1.2million) each. The total cost is expected to be N1.33billion.
Taken alone, the figure could build a number of standard schools and hospitals, and help initiate key programs that could tackle unemployment and health challenges such as Lassa Fever and polio. Still, more than triple that sum will most likely be incurred by the House of Representatives for the acquisition of exotic cars for its members.
For years, both chambers have allocated huge sums for automobiles and office furnishings, in addition to huge illegal allowances and homes.
In the last legislative session, the senators purchased Toyota Camry at a unit cost of N9 million, while the House members bought Peugeot cars for huge sums for legislators coming already with fleets of cars. The cars are usually sold for pittance to lawmakers at the end of their tenures.
After similar expenditures in the past sparked fierce condemnations from Nigerians, most of whom lived on less than a dollar per day, the lawmakers realised they needed to be extremely careful in the way they acquire and take possession of their new cars.
So the contract deal, wrapped in utmost secrecy in the first place, had to be delivered in stealth, our sources say.
Several batches of 2012 Toyota prado jeeps, jumbled with a large number of imported government transport scheme buses, have in the past days, running into weeks, been delivered through a dealer at Gimbiya Street, Garki, Abuja.
As the consignments arrive in relatively fewer numbers, the lawmakers take delivery of them, while those yet to be served await further shipments. The automobiles are then re-coloured in random shades, both efforts deliberately aimed at minimizing public attention on the cars when used by the lawmakers, the sources said.
On Thursday, when Premium Times visited the company supplying the cars, a few number of cars remained with the buses, while a larger number were sighted at the senate car park later that afternoon.
Officially, senators have refused to comment on the purchase. The spokesperson, Enyinnya Abaribe, did not respond to repeated telephone calls seeking his comments for this story.
But unofficially, the lawmakers have claimed the purchases are meant for committee operations, the same reason cited for acquiring exotic automobiles in the past.
Some government officials however told Premium Times that the acquisition of the cars was a violation of the monetisation policy of the federal government.
Under the policy, no new vehicles should be purchased by any agencies of government for use by officials.
Rather, public officers and political office holders are to receive 350 per cent of their annual basic salary as motor vehicle loan payable in six years at an interest rate of four per cent.
Our sources at the National Assembly said the Senators got these loans before also proceeding to acquire the Prado Jeeps in violation of established regulations.
March 11, 2012 at 7:05 pm
I want to shout this word from the top of my voice REEVOOLUUTION. The e’s,o’s and u’s can be prolonged as one can do it. It’s only when we have a revolution (whether bloody or peaceful) in this country that we shall be able to have medicine for the migrane we have, especially the masses.
I want us to note that it’s not until there os a coup that we shall have a revolution. What is going on across the Arab world is a revolution and masses are undaunted by the possibility of getting killed. But those who will go for it in Nigeria are these cheating and shameless politicians are the corrupt civil servants. It would be spontaneous like Darwin’s Evolution Theory.
At every term of the senate and the house of reps since 1999, we always hear about these fatty car-furniture-wardrobe-and-what-have-you loans. I have never heard of these types of loans in the UK here since 2004 when I relocated and I have participated in about six to eight elections. Come to think of it, Mark had been in the senate since 1999. How much loans has he taken for cars and the rest of it? Is he going to ride cars to when he dies? He is going to sleep in a six by three by four and six feet grave like anyone else. Those who were stinkingly rich in the past, where are they today? Below the ground where we, whether rich or poor ,shall all be tomorrow.
The names we will all leave behind is the most important.
The Muslims do have burial grounds these days like the Christians and I do not think people are buried in these grounds according to their social status. Even if we create rich and poor classes to bury our dead at these burial grounds, we shall all line up together before our Creator on the day of judgement without class distinctions. Haa, this world is vanity. I am going to add a Yoruba saying, ”oju ti olowo to k’ole ti ile seku” (a rich man cannot build his edifice to occupy all the lands on earth). It’s all shallow thinking.
But I am sure one day the masses shall triumph only that ”ki ile to pa osika, ohun rere a ti baje” meaning a lot of damage would have occurred before the evil ones are brought to book. Let’s wait and see. God is just giving them time to repent otherwise it won’t take Him a second to destroy them and their properties.
March 12, 2012 at 5:27 am
Fatai, thanks for this.
What else can I add to this than to say that God who has created us – rich and poor – has given us the capacity to think and it is by doing this that we can free ourselves. Where Nigeria ends eventually is in the collective hands of us all. We just must be ready that when the next chance comes to protest, no negotiations are left in the hands of cowboy/big time-trading so-called “trade unionists”. A sit-at-home of a couple of weeks – to avoid blood bath which Nigerian rulers are always ready to administer – would bring order to disorder. If it has to go further, it must and it would have to involve everybody: teachers, students, workers, etcetera. I was impressed at the weekend-for-food-shopping last January thinking it would be sustained: the working days at home and weekend food item shopping.
Nobody GIVES another person freedom; it has to be TAKEN as I once pointed out from the Yoruba translation GBA ominira means to TAKE your independence/freedom.
Regards,
TOLA.
March 11, 2012 at 10:04 am
To those civil servants who junketed around the world for the purpose of “verifying” pensioners’ claim – Lord have mercy on poor Nigerians. I can only sing the song we used to sing whenever thieves are caught when I was young for these evil servants – “oju ole re, ole.”
March 11, 2012 at 12:20 pm
Thanks, Mr. Ajipeya. My Yoruba is never up to the mark you set when you interject yr postings with all the Yoruba sayings, proverbs, etcetera but each time, I try my best. Anybody older than 50, I’m sure, remembers the oju ole song: “this is the way a thief’s face looks when caught” but unfortunately, the Nigerian law-maker” variety and others have no shame and hence, the song may only be for our pleasure, if one could call it that. But these are big-time looters who care nothing for the well-being of the country or the masses who die by the thousands daily for lack of simple medication.
Of course government cannot be expected to provide free drugs to citizens but the enabling environment to help people make decent living has been taken from the citizens and tons of money that would go into infrastructure and other development are being stolen. A man just died from asthma as he had to rely on agbo , the Yoruba boiled herbal leaves which, if our universities are not glorified high schools, should by now have research facilities that can analyze which of these no-measurement herbs are good and what their contents are.
A couple of days before the man died, I had told him asthma is controllable as there are athletes [I did not mention Jackie Joyner-Kersee as he would not know] in other parts of the world who race in spite of this disease that should not be deadly. In Nigeria, hundreds of thousands die yearly of lesser ailments: a small cut, diahrrea, etcetera.
Regards,
TOLA.
March 11, 2012 at 9:54 am
Please can somebody help me find out if the USA Presidential system we are aping is this wasteful and whether it lacks accountability such as this?
I can say God bless the USA, but I am not too sure I can say this for Nigeria as far as these callous law makers are concerned.
O ma se o!!!
March 11, 2012 at 12:48 pm
Thank you, Mr. Ajipeya. I think most of us – especially readers of this blog – are educated enough to agree with you that ‘aping’ is the correct word for Nigeria’s supposed American presidential system. A huge chunk of our annual budgets go to make our rulers and lords the wealthiest salaried people in the world: wealthiest top civil servants, highest-paid “lawmakers” and, of course, wealthiest politicians.
By the double-crossing of union leaders during the post-subsidy removal strike, we lost the golden opportunity to change the direction the few at the top are intent on taking the country. I’m sure another chance is coming soon because come April, gas prices will be jacked up as fuel stations seem already in rehearsal for that: intermittent shutting of filling stations due to “no supply” since early March. The trick is always to hold supplies till Nigerians start begging for fuel and the union leaders make a show of leading workers out till they get what they want.
We’ve just read this past week how these so-called “lawmakers” took US-dollar denominated bribes to support the removal. None fights for the Nigerian masses which is why everybody – market women, artisans, students … must be in the fight for freedom from our feudal masters for the long haul next time.
By the way, Mr. Ajipeya, since we do not hear from you all the time except once in a while when you comment a whole lot and then stay away, I’m sending your own invitation through this public means so that you cannot refuse: to mark this blog’s 1st anniversary which comes up March 30, I’m asking four others to contribute an essay on ANY topic to be used between March 26 and 31.
Please do NOT say ‘no’, and do not write it in Yoruba!
Regards,
TOLA.