Nigeria gov’t spend about N58 billion to purchase SUVs for Federal lawmakers
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The African Action Congress (AAC) has lambasted the President Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian government for earmarking about N58billion public funds to purchase luxurious cars for the country’s lawmakers amid the socioeconomic challenges the administration subjected the citizens.
The political party made this known in a Twitter post on Monday, while analysing how the allocated fund should have been used to better the lives of common men in the country.
The party mentioned that if the money was used judiciously, it would pay 48,000 workers’ 12 months salaries if placed on N100,000 and would pay no fewer than 290,000 students’ cost of study allowance if they are to pay N200,000 per session.
The party’s post read, “Allocating 58 billion Naira to buy SUVs for lawmakers is not only condemnable as a very wasteful way to spend tax payers’ money, but also another confirmation of our long-held position that our problem as a country has very little to do with wealth creation. It is the problem of wealth distribution.
“Worthy of note is that the 58 billion Naira which is wastefully allocated to purchase SUVs for lawmakers would pay forty eight thousand workers for a year if they were to be placed on a minimum wage of one hundred thousand naira.
“The money will pay two hundred and ninety thousand students if they were to be placed on a Cost of Study Allowance of two hundred thousand naira per session.
“The Tinubu government, @OfficialAPCNg, including law makers( @NGRSenate and @HouseNGR from the @OfficialPDPNig , and @NgLabour continue to feed fat from tax payers’ money but demand that the rest of us tighten our belts, and cope with the unbearable hardship.
“We demand forthwith that the parasitic allocation be cancelled immediately and for Nigerians to rise against these many wasteful spendings once and for all.”
The House of Representatives through its Chairman House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon Akin Rotimi, confirmed the distribution of SUV’s Prado Jeeps worth N130million to the lawmakers.
He had said the vehicles were utility operational 2023 model Prado jeeps vehicles and were tied to their oversight functions in the discharge of their duties in the standing committees but not personal vehicles.
He added that the vehicles would remain the property of the National Assembly at the expiration of the tenure of the 10th Assembly in 2027, should the extant assets deboarding policy of government still be in place.
He said members had the option of making payment for the outstanding value of the vehicles to government coffers before they could claim ownership.
Rotimi had stated this in a release on Sunday in Abuja while reacting to the media reports that trailed the controversial Prado Jeeps.
