108 exotic jeeps for Senators

The Senate’s decision to purchase 108 top end luxury jeeps, ostensibly for the use of its “Committee Chairmen” has caused outrage across Nigerian society. The delivery which is coming in spite of controversy surrounding the supply, raises issues of ethics as well as the custody, use, purchase and disposal of government property. Ethically the decision […]

The Senate’s decision to purchase 108 top end luxury jeeps, ostensibly for the use of its “Committee Chairmen” has caused outrage across Nigerian society. The delivery which is coming in spite of controversy surrounding the supply, raises issues of ethics as well as the custody, use, purchase and disposal of government property. Ethically the decision is suspect. Although the Senate is barred from purchasing personal vehicles for its members, it found a way through which each Senator will end up with a luxury vehicle because every senator is a Committee chairman or vice chairman.
In attempting to justify allocating top-end luxury jeeps for oversight functions rather than standard saloon cars or indeed buses, Senate spokesman Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi said the Jeeps were “a necessity and not a luxury.” He added rather comically that “if Special Advisers can use cars like this as official vehicles, then why all the noise about ours?” Bearing in mind the precarious financial situation of the nation and the fact that we are borrowing to finance our budget, this self-given right of political office holders to live in luxury at public expense is unjustifiable. Expressing disappointment that Senators are unaware of the public perception of them, Barrister Audu Bulama Bukarti of the Bayero University, Kano said the decision to purchase top of the range exotic jeeps at this time is “unpatriotic, selfish, contemptuous, callous and ill timed”. Trades Union Congress [TUC] President Bobbi Bala Kaigama was quoted as saying, “Where lies the conscience of the Senate?”
It’s increasingly evident that our Senators couldn’t care less about public perception of them as constituting an unwarranted drain on our national resources. Greed and bloated egos appear to have blurred the sense of restraint that they should be showing. As for the cost of the vehicles, many commentators claim they are overpriced. This should come as no surprise. Economic experts have identified procurement as the area most prone to corruption in all sectors of the economy. Indeed it is claimed that corruption in procurement accounts for over 70% of government’s total budget, consequently restricting opportunities to improve the quality of citizen’s lives.
The Public Procurement Act (PPA) was signed into law by President Umaru Yar’adua on June 4th 2007.  Its main function is to ensure probity, accountability and transparency in the procurement process and the disposal of public assets. The Senate would do well to establish a Committee on Procurement to ensure that they comply with the provisions of the PPA and remove responsibility from the Finance and Establishment committees that are not directly involved in procurement affairs.
In addition to questions of ethics and cost there is also the issue of custody and disposal of the vehicles. It has become the norm that vehicles assigned to political office holders most often end up as their personal property. Senate spokespersons claim that the vehicles are not personal but simply “assigned to officers and kept in their care”! Many Nigerians recall the days when government vehicles were all parked in government premises when official duties were over. Even when this became less practicable and vehicles were left in the care of the office holder, it was an offence for such vehicles to be on the road at weekends or at night.
These days it is common to see government vehicles supposedly purchased for official duties at social functions, beer parlours and entertainment venues. Indeed everyone expects that these jeeps meant for “oversight functions” will be used to ostentatiously attend social functions. The disposal of such vehicles is also a contentious issue. Similar to government guest houses and official residences, they are routinely sold cheaply to the custodian at ridiculous prices. It is vital that the National Assembly obtains a “Certificate of No Objection” from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) before any disposal of government vehicles. Furthermore such disposal should be done by public auction not surreptitious purchase.