The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said Nigerians are right to condemn the decision by the National Assembly members to purchase Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) for themselves.
Recall that the National Assembly leadership had declared the purchase of exotic vehicles worth N160 million each for a lawmaker and bulletproof vehicles for principal officers.
The SUVs for each of the 109 Senators and 360 members of the House of Representatives are estimated at N57.6 billion.
Justifying the move, Senate Spokesman, Sunday Karimi, said the decision to buy SUVs for lawmakers was based on considerations of “durability and maintenance” over a four-year period.
In a recent interview on Arise News, APC spokesman, Felix Morka, said the criticisms which trailed the decision of the lawmakers to buy exotic vehicles are valid.
He said though the National Assembly will make its own decisions and follow its own rules, they should understand that Nigerians have concerns, which need to be taken into account while making decisions for themselves.
Morka added that cutting the cost of governance in the executive arm of the federal government is important and should be understood based on the performance of the cabinet.
He said, “Cutting the cost of governance is important, but it has to be relative. It is not an absolute proposition. It has to be relative to the output.
“The president has the prerogative to put up his cabinet hoping that they will perform optimally as he wishes. If that’s done, I think we should take these things in context.
“We should measure whether, at the end of the day, the expectations of the cabinet exceed the expenditure. I am certain that at the end of the day, the value we will get outweighs some of the costs.
“But I also agree that the issue of SUVs for the members of the National Assembly is controversial. Nigerians are right to criticise some of these things. But let’s also look at the fact that some of the legislators are new in the block.
“I’ve heard people saying they could’ve bought these cars themselves or that they should have used Nigeria-made cars, and all of these ideas are valid.
“But the National Assembly will make its own decisions and follow its own rules, and hopefully, they will understand that Nigerians have concerns, and these concerns need to be taken into account while making decisions for themselves.”
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