We bought only 36 cars not 108 -Senate
Written by: Taiwo Adisa and Ayodele Adesanmi -Abuja
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
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We bought only 36 [exotic] cars not 108 -Senate
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THE Senate, on Tuesday, clarified reports about the purchase of its project vehicles, saying that the upper chamber only bought 36 cars, not 108.
Chairman, Senate Services Committee, Senator Ibrahim Gobir, who stated this in an interview with newsmen, said the chamber had earlier taken a decision to purchase cars for one senator per state.
Senator Gobir said the public was apparently misinformed about the purchase of the cars, saying that each of the Toyota Land Cruiser VXR V8 cost the Senate $90,000.
The senator said that the vehicles eventually cost Senate the sum of N36.5 million each, after tax was added, adding that the Senate did not obtain any loan to buy the cars.
"A lot has been happening within the last two days concerning the issue of cars vis-a-vis car loan and cost of the car and we feel it is necessary to come out and inform the public about what it is, so that people can have a better understanding of the whole thing.
"First, I would like to say that the issue that we bought 108 cars is totally wrong. It is not correct. We bought 36 cars. Yes, 36 cars because each senator in each state is either a chairman or a vice chairman and we gave one car to each state.
"We don't have money to buy 108 cars. On the issue of buying cars without appropriation, this is totally wrong, because this has been appropriated for in the 2015 budget.
"So we used what we have in the 2015 budget to buy the 36 cars, so that it can go round each state.
"On the issue of the cost of the car, the showroom price is N36.5 million and we are surprised. The car we bought is Land Cruiser VXR V8 not V6. Therefore the showroom price is about N31 million minimum and when you put 10 per cent tax, it becomes 36.5 million.
"In fact, you can go to the internet and download it. It is very simple. We can give you the website, we have several items we downloaded from the internet, you can see them. This particular car costs about $90,000.
"By the time you multiply that, you will have about N28.8 million so when you add tax, you will end up with about N37 million.
"So I think what we have purchased the car for is very reasonable and we are sensitive to economic challenge.
"We are supposed to buy 109 cars, but because of the paucity of funds, we bought only 36 to go round per state.
"There is no minister that hasn't got about three or four cars. One Land Cruiser, maybe a backup and two Hilux pick-ups. There is no director in the civil service that hasn't got a car, there is no permanent secretary that hasn't got a Land Cruiser.
"In fact, every House of Assembly member has either a Prado or a Land Cruiser and here is a senator you say he cannot have one Land Cruiser," he said.
Speaking on the issue of car loan, he said no senator was given car loan.
"Currently, we have money for 36 vehicles and we procured only 36. We had a close session and we all agreed that we should give one car per state. We sat down and agreed on who needs the car most and that was what happened," he said.
