The Senate has denied media reports that it purchased 108 brand new Toyota Land Cruiser Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) at an ‘over-inflated’ price of N36.5 million per unit, saying it only purchased 36 of such vehicles.
Reacting to the report, the Chairman, Senate Services Committee, Ibrahim Gobir (APC, Sokoto East) yesterday said the upper legislative chamber was hit by cash crunch and could only afford 36 SUVs.
Gobir, whose committee is responsible for purchasing the vehicles said: “The issue that we bought 108 cars is not correct. We bought 36 cars, one car per state and they are utility vehicles”.
In response to questions of the source of the fund to purchase the vehicles since the 2016 budget has not been signed into law, the senator said the expenditure was captured in the 2015 budget and denied reports that they collected car loans last year.
“We are supposed to buy 109 cars but because of our sensitivity to the lack of funds, we bought 36. There is no minister that hasn’t got three cars; there is no director that hasn’t got a Land Cruiser and there is no permanent secretary that hasn’t cars”, he said.
Asked on when they would purchase the remaining 72 cars, he said, “Currently, we have money for 36 cars and we have paid for them”.
What a pity! The CRIMES that the Senate has committed against the people of Nigeria is not ONLY limited to purchase of over-inflated cars.