SENATORS may, this week,
take delivery of their
official Toyota Land Cruiser
jeeps, The Nation on
Sunday can reveal.
The cost per unit of the
2011 model of the jeep
obtained from the
manufacturer's website is
$100,724 - about N16,115,
840.
The total cost of the
vehicles for the 109
senators is put at over
N1.7 billion.
A competent source in the
National Assembly told
our correspondents
yesterday that the
senators opted for the
Land Cruiser jeep because
of its unique features.
In the sixth Senate,
senators settled for Toyota
Camry at a unit cost of N9
million.
Some of the features of
the Land Cruiser obtained
online include:
Displacement cc - 4500;
Transmission - Automatic;
and Fuel Type - Diesel.
Sources said "no
contractor" was used in
purchasing the vehicles.
The National Assembly
Service Commission
reportedly handled the
purchase transaction.
The Commission, sources
said, might have opted to
buy directly from the
manufacturer to reduce
cost.
Sources said the delivery
of the vehicles will be in
batches while vehicle
documents would be
handed over to individual
senators in their offices
after delivery.
It was also gathered that
furnishing of offices of
senators would commence
this week as contracts for
the supply of refrigerators,
computers and other
office equipment have
been sealed.
Efforts to speak with the
Chairman, Senate
Committee on
Information, Media and
Public Affairs, Senator
Enyinnaya Abaribe, on the
supply of the jeeps and
other office items were
unsuccessful as he did not
answer calls put across to
him yesterday.
But a senator who spoke
to one of our
correspondents on
condition of anonymity
simply said "we have been
on this issue for some
time."
He added "I cannot
confirm anything because
I have not seen any
vehicle but we have been
on this issue for some
time. But I think they are
not buying vehicles for
senators as such. What I
know is that they want to
procure vehicles to
facilitate the work of
committees."
www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/36544-n1-8bn-jeeps-for-senators.html

This legislator job should be gratis. There are many Nigerians ready to do a good job for free. The more money that gets into any endeavour, the more scoundrels it would attract. This should be a deliberate policy in a country like Nigeria given our antecedents. But the opposite is the case. I'm saying all this and hoping to get people of like mind to see if we can start something because I'm trapped in this country. I'd given up on her long ago because the people do not seem to want to make progress in life when it is so easy to do so.