The Senate has approved the purchase of 360 sports utility vehicles (SUVs) for its members. The Senate did not comment on the exact cost of each vehicle, but said that members preferred imported SUVs over locally made ones.
According to reports, House of Representatives members are set to purchase and take delivery of 360 SUVs with each worth about ₦160,000,000
On Tuesday, the Socio Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) filed an application for a Federal High Court injunction against the lawmakers, asking the court to stay the delivery of the vehicles pending the outcome of the applications for injunctions filed by the group.
The request for an injunction followed reports that House of Representatives members were set to purchase ₦57.6 billion worth of SUVs.
Speaking at a news conference, Sunday Karimi said that Nigerians were targeting lawmakers, but not ministers, who have about four official vehicles each. He said, “If a minister has over three Land Cruisers or Prado, and you are not questioning them, why us?”
News.ng gathered that Senator Karimi announced that the decision to use Land Cruisers was made based on a cost-benefit analysis of the technical and durability of the roads in Nigeria. He further noted that even at state level, members of the Assembly were able to access official vehicles, and that most of them had purchased vehicles prior to their inauguration.
If you’re a business owner and you’ve been supplying someone with cars since 2014 or 2015 and they haven’t paid you back, you can’t expect them to deliver at the price they’re selling in the market. The civil service for supply allows for a 25% margin, minus VAT, which is usually 7.5%. Even with that, they still have to take 5% tax off. So additional costs exists.
