469 Cars: ”Not in my Time” – Saraki To Stop Senators From Spending N47bn On Cars

 The Senate President of Nigeria, Bukola Saraki has denied that the senators had planned to buy cars in the region quoted by the President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to Saraki, he would not allow the upper legislative chamber spend N4.7bn, N47bn or N50bn on official cars under his leadership.

READ ALSO: Nigerian Senate Set to Buy ₦4.7 Billion Worth of Exotic Cars for Saraki, Others

He added that all the details of the 2016 budget would be made available for public debate and scrutiny.
The Senate President stated this via a tweet on his Twitter handle @bukolasaraki on Thursday, December 31, 2015.

He tweeted, “Not in my time will @NGRSenate spend N50bn or N47bn or N4.7bn on cars for Senators. Not in my time will Senate spend N47bn on cars. (The) details of (the) #2016Budget will be made available and open for public debate and scrutiny.’’

It would be recalled, President Buhari had, in his maiden Presidential Media Chat on Wednesday, December 30, expressed reservation over the N47.5bn reportedly proposed for National Assembly members’ cars.

READ ALSO: I Don’t Need Them: Pres. Buhari Rejects N400m Armoured Cars For State House

Buhari Urged Nigerians to take the issue to court, adding that if he could reject N400m bill for his personal cars as a President, the lawmakers should do the same thing.

He had said, “N47.5bn for vehicles for the National Assembly members? I think I will explore the possibility of that power. If I can turn down N400m for vehicles in the Presidency, I think we don’t need new cars; we can manage the old ones because of the economy.”

It was not clear whether the President meant N4.7bn when he made reference to N47bn on Wednesday night.
However, controversy has surrounded the purchase of committee cars by successive sets of legislators in the National Assembly in spite of the Federal Government’s monetisation policy.