Senate Divided over Distribution of Over Priced Vehicles

Reports have indicated many Senators are unhappy about how the first batch of the brand new 108 Sport Utility Vehicles ordered by the upper chambers was secretly distributed among 36 senators last Thursday.

The Senate earlier this year had ordered the luxury SUVs as the official vehicles for senators, amid widespread condemnation by Nigerians.

But the Punch newspaper is reporting that some senators are questioning the criteria used in secretly distributing the first batch of the Toyota Land Cruiser SUV vehicles to 36 senators.

The newspaper claimed that an unnamed Senator revealed that only pro-Saraki senators were considered in the distribution of the first batch.

According to the unnamed senator, supporters of Saraki in the South -West zone have already been handed the keys to their vehicles.

“Those who collected their keys to the vehicles were identified Saraki supporters who had been following him to the courts since his corruption case started. So, they were being rewarded for their loyalty.

“The beneficiaries from Ondo, Oyo, Ogun were die-hard loyalists of Saraki but the beneficiaries from Lagos and Osun states were not members of the Like Minds. The senators who collected from Lagos and Osun,  had the consent of their two other colleagues.

“I know they would push some of us to the last batch but we are not bothered. They met with us seeking our cooperation to move the Senate forward being members of the same party but see the type of injustice they are perpetrating now?”

The senator however denied the campaign by the Saraki loyalists that members of the SUF wanted to sell their own jeeps to create an impression before their constituents that they rejected them.

He said, “There is no way anybody could have sold the vehicles because they are properties of the National Assembly. They were purchased by the management and they remained the National Assembly properties until  we decide to buy them after the end of our tenure.”

The Senate spokesperson, Sabi Abdullahi, refused to make any comment on the issue when contacted by a Punch correspondent on Sunday.

Abdullahi said, “I don’t want to make any comment on the issue either relating to the distribution or the process of procurement.”

The senate has remained a divided house since the emergence of Bukola Saraki as senate president under controversial circumstances in June 2015.

Source: The Punch