•Our lawmakers should make sacrifices like the poor, suffering masses
By Funke Busari, Scholastica Onyeka, Stanley Uzoaru, Tony Osauzo and Ighomuaye Lucky
The National Assembly is planning to spend about N40 billion to buy Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV) and cars for Senators and House of Representatives members.
This is coming after the removal of subsidy on premium motor spirit (petrol) in the country and the rising cost of living, developments that have brought excruciating pains on Nigerians.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has also appealed to Nigerians to make sacrifices by enduring the hardship.
Some Nigerians have been pouring out their minds on the issue.
It’s scandalous – Odiana Eriata, lawyer
The N40 billion for SUVs and personal cars for National Assembly members is very unfair to the generality of the Nigerian citizens considering the economic realities of today in Nigeria. We have just 109 Senators and 360 members of the House of Representative at the National Assembly. I think the N40 billion budget is on the high side.
Agreed, we do not expect the legislators to walk to their offices on official assignments or travel back to their constituencies on bicycle, but the sum is really scandalous. It is high time, we began to look at options of a unicameral legislature possibly to reduce the number of members in the National Assembly as against the bicameral system we are operating.
The Federal Government also has the opportunity of patronising our local auto manufacturers in order to reduce this humongous amount being proposed to import the vehicles for the National Assembly members.
They are not concerned with the plight of Nigerians – Foster Amadin, -ex student union leader
The National Assembly’s proposal to spend N40 billion on SUV cars is outrageous. At this moment of great economic hardship in Nigeria, patriotic Nigerians such as members of our Federal bicameral legislature should be concerned with how to revamp the economy, encouraging equitable distribution of resources. Furthermore, The recent removal of fuel subsidy has aggravated our plights in this country.
There is additional 25 per cent increase in fuel now, when the poor masses are yet to see the benefits of the first increase. To think that there is a proposal for our able legislators to buy exotic cars in the face of this hardship shows they are less concerned with the plights of ordinary Nigerians.
It’s one of the reasons people are desperate to go there – Bright Oniovokukor, medical doctor.
The fact that the National Assembly is proposing to spend N40 billion on cars for its members is exactly one of the reasons that people are desperate to get political positions in Nigeria. Indeed they feel they have invested and it is time to reap. It is not new, sometime ago, it was wardrobe allowance, now it is multimillion naira cars.
The financial attraction on those seats is the greatest distraction to them serving the people. The whole system needs to be overhauled. We must see to how to reduce the cost of governance in Nigeria.
They shouldn’t feed fat on the misfortune of Nigerians – Mr Mark Ibyem, lawyer.
The truth is, all National Assembly members are entitled to cars and we are talking now of over 400 vehicles. But while these guys are telling us that the economy is not good and we need to prune down on certain things, they are not doing the same for themselves. That is where I have a problem. If the economy is robust and everybody is living well like they are also living, well then there will be no problem. As we speak, one person may be getting cars worth between 30 and 40 million naira and may not be just one. The convoy of the Senate president has over 20 vehicles and really exotic vehicles. If you’re telling us the economy is hard and everybody should make adjustments, everybody should do the same. It shouldn’t be only the masses. They should also be ready to make the same sacrifices to move this country forward. After all, there’s hardly anybody in the National Assembly that can be termed a poor man. The cost of nomination form alone was N50 million, then the cost of campaigns; so they should not feed fatter on the misfortunes of the masses.
It may lead to anarchy – Hon. David Mzer, politician.
It is clear that the current National Assembly is disconnected from the reality in the country. I am of the view that National Assembly and other public office holders deserve good care, but spending up to N125 million (cost of a 2023 model of Toyota Land Cruiser) to buy a vehicle for one legislator is insensitive at this point in time. May that proposal never see the light of the day as it may lead to anarchy and bad blood between Nigerians and the lawmakers.
It is insensitive – Gabriel Uduafi – Lawyer
The proposed N40 billion expenditure for car purchase by the National Assembly is quite perplexing, particularly at this time of escalating economic hardship that Nigerians are currently going through. The expectation rather is that the cost of governance be drastically cut down as part of the economic reforms being implemented by the current administration in Nigeria. The proposed N40 billion appears to be insensitive to the present economic realities.
People may revolt – Elder Sunday Ogunyonbo – Trader
The proposed N40 billion for buying SUVs and cars for each member of the National Assembly is not what we need at this moment. Already, the removal of fuel subsidy is taking meaningful lives out of the reach of people. It is very insensitive for the lawmakers to be proposing this when the common men cannot even use their cars because of high cost of petrol. So, it is self serving and very insensitive to the plight of the masses. The lawmakers are not interested in the people. They should patronise the local manufacturers of cars and they can get it cheaper.
This will not go down well with the people and they may revolt soon.
It’s a misplaced priority – Ikechukwu Mbajunwa, public servant
The N40 billion naira proposed to buy vehicles for the National Assembly members to me is a misplaced priority when Nigerians are hungry. The money could be added to money saved from oil subsidy removal to ameliorate the sufferings of the poor masses.