The N60 billion SUV allotment for federal MPs has drawn criticism from Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, who said the money ought to have gone for the health care system.
The allotment, according to Obi, is a component of the financial mismanagement that is currently the national trend. Obi made this declaration on Thursday on his X Twitter.
In addition, the former governor of Anambra stated that the lawmakers need to have chosen a car that was produced in Nigeria, like Innoson or Nord, to encourage homegrown manufacturing.
“The recent expenditure of N60 billion for the purchase of SUV vehicles for about 400 legislators is a continuation of the troubling trend in our nation today.
We have continued to abandon the critical areas of development measurement while expending scarce resources on needless luxury and creating comforts for those elected to serve the people.
Our primary healthcare, which is the foundation of health, a critical development index measure, has collapsed, leading to our surpassing India, a country 7 times our population, in infant mortality, a very saddening situation.
“To allocate such a huge amount, which is more than what we allocated to our primary health care, is nothing but troubling.
One-third of that amount, with proper negotiation, would have given them locally manufactured SUV vehicles from Innoson Motors, PAN, or any local auto assembly plant, to help boost our economy and create and retain jobs,” he said.
Obi said that, in order to cut costs, the federal government should follow his example as governor of Anambra, which was to buy only less expensive cars for his cabinet members.
“Upon my being sworn in as the then Governor of Anambra State, I observed that our State High Court Judges, State Government Permanent Secretaries, and newly appointed State Commissioners had no vehicles.
“Anambra State Government had then ordered two bulletproof SUV vehicles for my use. I cancelled the order and used the same money to negotiate concessionary pricing with Peugeot Automobiles to supply us Sixty 406 vehicles, which was enough for all the cabinet members including myself and my deputy governor.
We used the vehicles for our first tenure and were able to commence the work of doing more in the areas of health, education, and lifting people out of poverty.
“Nobody would contemplate this kind of expenditure under my administration,” Obi added.
The leadership of the National Assembly announced in October that each politician would receive an exotic Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) valued at N160 million, and that principal officers would receive bulletproof cars.
The estimated cost of the SUVs for each of the 360 members of the House of Representatives and the 109 senators is N57.6 billion.
Because of this, and in light of the nation’s economic crisis, the National Assembly’s allocation of N160 million for the purchase of SUVs for 469 legislators has drawn severe public criticism.
The recent expenditure of N60 billion for the purchase of SUV vehicles for about 400 legislators is a continuation of the troubling trend in our nation today. We have continued to abandon the critical areas of development measurement while expending scarce resources on needless
— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) November 9, 2023
