*Civil Society Organisations kick
The increasing public spending on the acquisition of exotic cars for federal lawmakers has raised some concern after it emerged that the National Assembly has spent a whopping sum of N53.7 billion on cars for elected lawmakers in the last 12 years.
LEADERSHIP reports that from 2011 to 2023, a total sum of N53.7 billion would have been spent on purchase of vehicles for federal lawmakers alone.
This came as some of Nigeria’s major civil society organisations (CSOs) have kicked against such spending, arguing that it is not “justifiable and sustainable.”
It was gathered that the lawmakers, both senators and members of the House of Representatives, get exotic cars every four years, running into billions of car in cost.
From the 7th Assembly starting from 2011 to the 10th Assembly starting in 2023, the sum of N53.7 billion would be spent on cars.
It was learnt that in the 7th Assembly (2011 -2015), a total of N3.5 billion was spent on cars for only serving lawmakers. The figure rose to N4.7 billion in the 8th Assembly (2015 -2019).During the 9th Assembly (2019 – 2023), the amount spent for lawmakers’ exotic cars was N5.5 billion, about N800 million increment from the preceding year.
The figure would record a gargantuan jump in the 10th Assembly (June 2023 – June 2027) with a whopping N40 billion proposed for the purchase of vehicles for the lawmakers.
Even though the N5.5 billion spent for the purchase of cars for the members of the 9th Assembly was justified by the then Senate Leader, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, there were several criticisms.
Abdullahi insisted that the N5.5 billion voted for the official vehicles for members was part of the N125 billion National Assembly budget passed for the year.
He said, “The N5.5 billion is from the National Assembly fund and not money being sought from any other source. Besides, the scheme, as it has always been with previous assemblies, is a monetised one, requiring each of the lawmakers to pay back the cost of whatever vehicle is given to them.”
As the 10th Assembly proposes N40 billion for the purchase of cars, a matter still in contention, civil society organisations have kicked against it, insisting that such spending is not sustainable.
A civil society organisation, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has urged the National Assembly to drop what it termed a scandalous plan to spend N40 billion on 465 exotic and bulletproof cars for members.
Transparency International (TI), the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), and the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) have also said that Nigeria cannot continue such justifiable and unsustainable spending.
Speaking through their leader, Awwal Musa Rafsanjani, the CSOs said Nigeria cannot continue that way and called for a national dialogue that will allow Nigerians decide how their democracy should be run.
“We can’t continue this way. We can’t support that kind of sending on vehicles. That is not what democracy is all about. Democracy is about proper utilisation of public funds. Democracy is about ensuring fairness, equity and justice. These spending on cars are not sustainable and not justifiable.
“Every year, you go to the budget, you see the same items like laptops and cars. We can’t continue like that. There is diversion and stealing of public funds in the name of buying cars. Democracy in Nigeria is about looting. Some of us did not fight for democracy for people to come and loot.”
He added that his organisation was not in support of the looting of public funds and rigging of elections.
He went on: “The National Assembly should know that Nigerians are watching them because, with the underdevelopment, poor infrastructure, we can’t continue to spend this kind of money on cars.
“There must be a national dialogue and consensus on the kind of democracy we should operate. If we don’t do that, the politicians will continue to loot to the detriment of the masses,” Rafsanjani said.
