When Gbenga Ashafa, a senator representing Lagos East came on air last Monday to justify the almost indefensible purchase of controversial 120 new vehicles for the 109 senators of the Federal Republic, it was met with stiff resistance by concerned members of the public as many saw the development as the height of insensitivity by the lawmakers.
According to the Chairman, Senate Committee on Land Transport, the 109 Sport Utility Vehicles that the Senate plans to buy would help committee members to carry out ‘oversight functions’ and would also help to curb corruption.
He, however, said he did not know if the money allocated for the vehicles was N4.7bn as reported.
Ashafa said if the Senate did not have the vehicles, senators would be at the mercy of Ministries, Departments and Agencies which the Senate is supposed to be probing.
The senator’s claim came on the heels of President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent condemnation of the move.
The President had, in his maiden Presidential Media Chat last week, expressed reservation over the N47.5bn reportedly proposed for National Assembly members’ cars.
He had said he would hold a closed-door meeting with the National Assembly members because of the plan.
Buhari said if he could reject N400m bill for his personal cars as a President, the lawmakers should do the same thing.
His words: “N47.5bn for vehicles for the National Assembly members? I think I will explore the possibility of that power. If I can turn down N400m for vehicles in the Presidency, I think we don’t need new cars; we can manage the old ones because of the economy.”
He noted that the lawmakers had collected N100bn as allowances for the purchase of cars. It was not clear whether the President meant N4.7bn when he made reference to N47bn during the media chat.
It is on record that members of the two chambers of the national assembly are renown for their taste for exotic vehicles even after receiving monetary pay in lieu of official vehicles based on the provisions of the law.
For instance, the Senate had in the last legislative session, bought Toyota Prado Jeeps for each Senator at the cost of over N1.3 billion, coming after both chambers had also bought Toyota Camry, for Senators and Peugeot vehicles for members of the House of Representatives.
Also the Nigerian National Assembly is believed to be the highest paid public servants in the whole world, a development which fell in the face of logic in a country where state governors cannot paid the N18,000 minimum wage.
The procurement is also happening at a time millions of Nigerians are enduring long and humiliating fuel queues across the country because the federal government is too broke to pay importers of petrol several billions in subsidy claims.
But whether the economy can sustain the humongous drain on the national lean resources at a time the crude was selling at an all time low of 38US Dollars remains the pertinent question.
However, the thinking among the upper legislative arm appears to be at variance with the mood of the nation as Senator Ashafa clearly indicated that there was no going back on the cars’ purchase saying the cars would help committee members in their oversight functions.
He said, “If you are looking for a National Assembly that will do a very serious oversight, there are some minor things that must be provided. Let me give you an example. Let us say we are going to a ministry in Abuja and it is not within a walking distance, and we decide to take our vehicles and we find out that there are no vehicles in the pool dedicated for such an assignment, there are two options.
“It is either you go with your (personal) vehicle or you call on the ministry, which has been the practice in the past, to provide you with the vehicles. If you use buses provided by the ministries, you will be seen to have compromised.”
On the question why the Senate did not expose the allegations of fraud and corruption in the last government during its oversight exercises despite the provision of the vehicles, Ashafa said, it was not enough to prevent the Senate from getting new vehicles.
“A situation whereby you are in a position that you can be compromised should not be tolerated. The oversight function still has to be worked on but we must operate within an environment that will not make room for excuses,” he added.
He however admitted that the Senate had a bad reputation, but the 8th Senate would do everything to impress Nigerians.
The Senator did not hide the profligacy in government in reaction to a question why the senators could not use their old vehicles to carry out oversight functions,
He said most of the vehicles had been sold off, adding that every inaugurated Senate is seen as a new entity in the eyes of the law, noting that the perks of the 8th Senate cannot be tied to the 7th Senate.
When asked why the Senate could not make sacrifices for Nigerians in light of the economic crunch facing the country, Ashafa said other arms of government should also be able to make sacrifices, adding that the Senate had even cut down its budget.
Already, the management of the National Assembly has invited bids from contractors interested in supplying the vehicles.
In an advertisement published in some newspapers, of November 20, 2015, the authorities asked the companies to tender for “Lot 1S, Supply of Utility Vehicles”.
In what appears a deliberate ploy to conceal details, the adverts failed to indicate the number, type and specification of vehicles being bought.
However, a popular online media, Premium Times, has obtained detailed copies of tender documents being discreetly issued to prospective contractors.
In one of the documents, the Senate indicated it was buying 120 units of Toyota Land Cruiser, 2016 model.
Other details of the vehicles included that they must be “American Brand, V8, VXR, 5.7, Auto Engine WITH INTELLIGENCE”.
The senators also want the vehicles to come with integrated navigator cruise control, QICompatible wireless charging and Kinetic dynamic suspension system, as well as being “full option”.
Also on November 21, the Senate also put up another advert it labelled “addendum”.
The latest advert under Lot 2S, which was phrased to look like an oversight in the first advert, was for the purchase of vehicles for the use of the senate president’s convoy.
Under Lot 2S and based on the tender document, the national assembly is seeking to purchase a 2016 model Mercedes Benz S550 for the Senate President, Bukola Saraki.
Other vehicles being procured for Saraki include four 2016 Toyota Prado jeeps, four 2016 Toyota Hilux SS (Auto) as well as a 2016 model Toyota Hiace Bus.
However, from all indications, it appears the president may be on a collision course with the National Assembly as Buhari had declared during the media chat that he was having problems with the National Assembly because they were refusing to subject themselves to the new policy of a Treasury Single Account, TSA, and were planning plan to buy new vehicles.
Buhari was quoted to have said, “As for the National Assembly, we are having problems with them. I think everybody has to subject themselves to TSA as far as federal money is involved,”
When reminded that as the president, he might have the power to try to stop the purchase, Mr. Buhari said “I will explore that power to stop the expenditure of N50 billion for cars by the National Assembly.
But in a swift reaction, the Senate President last Thursday, stated that the National Assembly will not spend what he called an ‘outrageous’ amount of money on the purchase of new cars for federal lawmakers.
“Please wait for the breakdown of the 2016 budget. Not in my time will NASS spend such outrageous amount on vehicles.
“I still maintain we will provide breakdown of NASS Budget and the one submitted by executive. You will be carried along.
“Will follow due process all the time and ensure things are done according to the law and will carry Nigerians along,” Saraki said on his official Twitter handle.
While Buhari has said he would hold a meeting with the leadership of the National Assembly on the matter, the Senate had already undertaken a bid opening exercise for the purchase of the cars on December 17, a day before it adjourned for the Christmas and New Year break to resume on January 16.
It is expected that the cars would have been delivered by the time the National Assembly resume from their break.
But can the President stop the purchase of the cars without necessarily impinge on the fundamental principle of separation of powers? Senator Ashafa gave hint that the move may be revised.
He said, “We are waiting for the closeddoor session with the President and it will be transparent. If the consensus is that these vehicles should be jettisoned, so be it. We are willing to make sacrifices for the sake of moving this country ahead.”
