SERAP gives NASS seven days to stop N110bn exotic cars, palliative package

SERAP gives NASS seven days to stop N110bn exotic cars, palliative package

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has threatened a legal action against members of the National Assembly over their approval of N110bn for themselves.

The group gave the National Assembly seven days to stop the package.

While N40bn is reportedly meant to buy exotic bulletproof cars, N70bn is a palliative package for NASS members.

SERAP in separate letters to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker of House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, asked the lawmakers to drop their plan to spend N40bn on 465 exotic cars and dole out N70bn ‘palliative’ package for members.

The letter read in part, “It is a grave violation of the public trust and constitutional oath of office for members of the National Assembly to unjustifiably increase their own budget at a time when over 137 million poor Nigerians are living in extreme poverty exacerbated by the removal of fuel subsidy.”

SERAP asked them to “repeal the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act to reduce the budget for the National Assembly by N110bn, reflect the current economic realities in the country and address the impact of the removal of fuel subsidy on the over 137 million poor Nigerians.”
SERAP also urged the lawmakers to “request President Bola Tinubu to present a fresh supplementary appropriation bill, to redirect the N110 billion to address the situation of the over 20 million out-of-school children in Nigeria, for the approval of the National Assembly.”

In the letter dated 15 July, 2023 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said, “This travesty, and apparent conflicts of interest and self-dealing by members of the National Assembly must stop.”

SERAP also said, “It is a fundamental breach of their fiduciary duties for members of the National Assembly to arbitrarily increase their own budget and to use the budget as a tool to satisfy the lifestyle of lawmakers.”

It said no fewer than 107 units of the 2023 model of the Toyota Landcruiser and 358 units of the 2023 model of Toyota Prado would be bought for the use of members of the Senate and the House of Representatives respectively.
“The planned purchase is different from the official bulletproof vehicles expected to be purchased for the four presiding officers of the National Assembly,” it stated.