Reps confirm plan to buy vehicles for 360 members
The House of Representatives has confirmed its plan to buy official vehicles for its 360 members. It however denied each of the vehicle would cost N200 million.
Akin Rotimi (APC, Ekiti), spokesperson for the house, said this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.
He said, “We can confirm that the National Assembly bureaucracy is in the phased process of procuring and distributing operational vehicles to honourable members over the coming weeks and months.”
He justified the planned purchase despite Nigeria’s current cash crunch and repeated call to reduce governance cost.
He said, “This development is in accordance with extant procurement laws and has been the practice in previous assemblies.
“It is also not peculiar to the Legislature, as unelected government officials in the Executive arm of government from the Assistant Director level and above, in most cases, have official vehicles attached to their office.”
“It is important to make a few clarifications. The vehicles to be allocated to the offices of honourable members are utility operational vehicles tied to their oversight functions in the discharge of their duties in the standing committees. They are not personal vehicles gifted to honourable members.
