We Approved Prado SUV For Lawmakers Due To Cost, Bad Roads – Nigerian Senate

The Chairman, of the Senate Services Committee, Sunday Karimi has dismissed the public outcry over the purchase of Prado Landcruiser SUVs for 469 federal lawmakers as misplaced.

The Kogi APC lawmaker stated this during an interview with a journalist after the Senate plenary in Abuja yesterday explaining considerations of cost-effectiveness, durability, and the poor condition of Nigerian roads.

Karimi expressed disappointment over the media frenzy, which followed the exposure of details of the vehicle purchase deal which has become a quadrennial ritual.

He argued that the focus on lawmakers’ vehicles was unjust when compared to unelected ministers who traveled in similar convoys without public scrutiny.

He also criticized the public’s focus on lawmakers’ utility vehicles as unfair, pointing out that unelected ministers had multiple Land Cruisers and Prado vehicles without facing public scrutiny.

Karimi said: “Somebody that is a minister has more than three land cruisers, Prado, and other vehicles and you are not asking them questions, why us?

“If I go to my senatorial district, I come back spending a lot on my vehicles because our roads are bad.

“Am I talking to somebody?“I said the decision that we took on using land cruiser is … you know they have exchanged the price analysis and other sections, including cost and durability, are you getting me, before they came up with this?

“It is not the decisions of the senators alone, we analyzed arriving at the land cruiser. It was based on a comparative analysis of the cost of technical issues and durability on Nigerian roads, are you getting me?

“We want something we can maintain for another four years and the issue of buying vehicles from the national assembly, you know is a recurring issue, it occurs in every assembly, and it will always come up.

“If you go to state houses of assembly today, check out, most of them, before they were even inaugurated, the governor would have bought vehicles waiting for them, even local government chairmen.

“I drove the vehicle my local government chairman uses. So, why single out the National Assembly?

On the cost of the vehicles, he said: “Let me tell you, hello, listen to me, you know I am the chairman service, when I came into the Senate, they gave me a liability of over N16 billion, made up of different things, including vehicles of 7th assembly, 8th and 9th assemblies.”

Kanyi Daily recalls that Former Education Minister, Oby Ezekwesili had strongly criticized the leadership of the Nigeria National Assembly.