Did the House of Representatives spend a whopping N335million to purchase official vehicles for principal officers, including its Speaker, Dimeji Bankole and his deputy, Alhaji Usman Bayero Nafada?
And if yes, did the contract pass the new anti-corruption posture of the current leadership, which it assumed after it sacked the former Speaker, Mrs. Patricia Olubunmi Etteh?
These are the answers the leadership might be providing soon, if the picture being presented in another round of records relating to some recent dealings at that quarter begins to catch the anticipated national interest.
According to a document made available to Sunday Independent, at the weekend, the vehicles include three units of Mercedes Benz (treated) S-600 series at N52.8million which came to N158.4million for the Speaker and his deputy, and another two units of Range Rover (treated) at N57.2million, totaling N11.4million for the same officers.
The car purchase also included another Range Rover (Special) valued at N30million and yet another Range Rover V8 valued at N27million for the House Leader.
The acquisition of the vehicles, and the budget for N33.5million, were said to have been approved by a meeting of the Body of Principal Officers of the House, which held on May 28 this year, while the contract for the purchase was awarded through the National Assembly Management on June 30 through a Kano-based company without competitive bidding.
The document, also claimed that already N83.875million being 25 per cent of the cost had been paid through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The House leadership, the document further stated, on May 28, equally ratified the purchase of a Toyota Lexus GX for the Chief Whip at the cost of N13.75million, which it again awarded on June 25, even though the vehicle was supplied to the Whip since December 16 last year.
Again, the document alleged that the supplier to which N13.75million was paid, including five per cent tax and five per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) did not exist in the records of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), while N1.375million paid to the company, was again paid to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
The same body was also said to have approved at the same meeting the purchase of various office equipment out of the N1.5billion earlier vired from the National Assembly budget, with which the House purchased television sets, computers and office equipment inflated, most times at twice the price through companies that were allegedly not registered with CAC.
But the House has dismissed the document as yet another antic of those chasing shadows where there were none. According to the House, it is also another attempt to taint the records of its leadership.
Its spokesman, Eseme Eyibo, told Sunday Independent that those making the claims should substantiate it. “It is trite in law that he who alleges must prove. Did they show you the cars? That is the first thing you should ask them, where are the cars. It will surprise you that the Speaker is still using the car he inherited from his predecessor. So, let them show you the car.”
However, Kayode Akinmade, the Speaker’s spokesman, who failed to confirm whether such vehicles were purchased, saying such information could be better obtained from the House, argued that the first thing Nigerians should do was to look at this year’s budget to confirm if the purchase of such vehicles were contained in it.
“I can’t confirm because I don’t speak for the House. But all I would want you to do is to find out whether the funds for it are contained in the budget. Again, we should also try to look at the office of the Speaker of House of Representatives and what should be attached to it. Are those vehicles supposed to be part of his convoy? Are the cars supposed to be bulletproof, with all the gadgets they are supposed to have in line with the office and not the person and if all these features are their, would it still be at the same cost as the ordinary cars you and I buy? These are the questions Nigerians should ask,” he said.