Nigerian Lawmakers Set to Spend Over N40 Billion on Bulletproof Vehicle Purchases

Lawmakers from the Nigerian Senate and the House of Representatives have unveiled plans to allocate more than N40 billion for the acquisition of vehicles.

According to reports from Saturday Sun, the proposal entails procuring 107 units of the 2023 Toyota Land Cruiser model and 358 units of the 2023 Toyota Prado model for the Senate and House members respectively.

Separate vehicle purchases will be made for the four top officials of the National Assembly.

Freshreporters gathered that this group includes the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio; the Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abass; the Deputy President of the Senate, Jibrin Barau; and the Deputy Speaker of the House, Benjamin Kalu.

The responsibility of purchasing these vehicles falls to the Senate Committee on Services.

The committee, chaired by Senator Sunday Karimi of Kogi West, was established earlier this week under the direction of Senate President Akpabio.

The 2023 model Toyota Land Cruiser carries a price tag of at least N125 million, with the full-option model reaching up to N135 million.

This amount represents a significant increase compared to the N50 million spent on each vehicle in 2019, primarily due to the rise in the dollar-to-naira exchange rate.

A car dealer, interviewed by the platform, elaborated on the new features of the 2023 model, such as Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, a 10-speaker audio system, heated and ventilated front seats, and wireless charging.

Additionally, the vehicle offers enhanced on-road quality and various off-road capabilities like four-wheel drive, centre locking, and terrain camera view.

The House of Representatives also intends to upgrade their official vehicles. However, the decision to purchase Toyota Prado models instead of the usual Camry is still under consideration by the management of the National Assembly.

The proposal has not yet received final approval from the leadership.

While some argue in favor of the Prado upgrade, pointing out that heads of agencies also utilize Toyota Land Cruisers, there is no consensus among members of the House regarding this matter. It remains a proposal subject to further discussion and approval.

Newly appointed Senate spokesman, Yemi Adaramodu, clarified that the cost of the vehicles would be repaid by lawmakers over the course of their term in office.

Adaramodu justified the expenditure, emphasizing that government ministers and appointees also have official vehicles, and lawmakers require suitable vehicles to fulfill their responsibilities.

He further explained that the vehicle purchases would be made through loans, which lawmakers are expected to repay within the four-year period.