The Nigerian Senate came under severe criticisms
by members of the public on Saturday for defying Nigerians, including
President Muhammadu Buhari on the purchase of exotic vehicles.
Eminent Nigerians including the Chairman
of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof. Itse
Sagay (SAN), Senator Femi Okurounmu and Dr. Junaid Mohammed, condemned
the Senate for going ahead to purchase the vehicles.
The contractor in charge of delivering the vehicles confirmed that it had delivered “a lot of vehicles to the Senate. The Senate had taken delivery of the exotic vehicles and the deliveries were done from Lagos and Abuja. The Group Executive Director, Lanre Shittu Motors, Mr. Taiwo Shittu, stated that a lot of
deliveries had been made to the Senate.
In his reaction, prominent Yoruba leader, Okurounmu, on Saturday described the purchase of the vehicles as disgraceful. Okurounmu, who represented Ogun-Central
senatorial district between 1999 and 2003, said the purchase of vehicles
at a time when over 20 states could not pay salaries was callous.
He opined that “If this is true, the action of
the Senate is completely unpatriotic, callous and shows that they don’t
care about the welfare of the Nigerians that they are supposed to be
representing and they are only there to look after their own interests.
They are selfish."
Also commenting on the development, Prof. Sagay described the senators as a group of “shameless people” who are unfit to occupy public office. He further stated that their profligate lifestyle may be capable of causing poor Nigerians to revolt against the government.
In his exact words: “It shows that we are dealing
with a group of people that are totally incorrigible in their love for
material things at the expense of Nigerians. They have no limit and have
no sense of shame or restraint. They will go all out and continue to
live in luxury and obscenity until they can ground Nigeria
“These people are unfit to hold public
office. They are a disgrace to this country and somehow, if it was
possible, I would want them to be shamed out of the National Assembly.
They are unfit for that position and a disgrace to any civilised
community.”
Lending his voice to the controversial
acquisition of vehicles, a former Governor of Kaduna State, Balarabe
Musa, wondered where the Senate got the funds to purchase the vehicles
since the 2016 budget had not yet been passed.
Describing the incident as ‘mindlessness’, the former governor said the matter must be investigated by the relevant authorities.
He said, “Who authorised the purchase of
the vehicles? The budget has not yet been approved so where did they
get the money to buy the vehicles? Are they using the law which
authorises the President to spend the equivalent of what was spent last
year to buy the vehicles?
“Besides the mindlessness of such an act
in the face of the economic crisis, why should lawmakers use their
position to enrich themselves? Has the National Assembly allowed itself
to be involved in illegality?”
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