Why We Opt For SUV Vehicles – Senate
The Senate on Tuesday justified the purchase of 360 Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) for its members, hinging the choice of lawmakers on the durability of the brand.
This was as the apex legislative Assembly, refused to give out information on the actual cost of each vehicle but explained that the members preferred the imported SUVs to the locally manufactured ones.
The Socio-Economic Rights And Accountability Project (SERAP), had asked the Federal High Court in Lagos to stop the lawmakers from taking delivery of 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.
However, reacting to the matter during a press briefing at the National Assembly, the Chairman, Committee on Senate Services, Sunday Karimi, wondered why Nigerians were not talking about the Ministers who were given about four official vehicles.
His words: “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 to 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 a comparative analysis of the cost of technical issues and durability on Nigerian roads, are you getting me?
“We want something that we can maintain for another four years and the issue of buying vehicles from the national assembly, you know it is a reoccurring issue, it occurs every assembly, it will always come up.
“If you got 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 know the vehicle my local government Chairman uses, so why the National Assembly?
Justifying the high cost of the vehicles, Karimi said it was because the National Assembly owed the suppliers, about N16bn.
He said, “The cost, let me tell you, hello, listen to me, you know I am the chairman of senate service. When I came into the senate, when they gave me their liability, they had a liability of over 16 billion that is made up of different vehicles of the 7th assembly 8th and 9th Assembly.
“If you are a businessman 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, but if you see them selling land cruisers 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 supply 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.”
