N’Assembly leaders blow billions on exotic cars, citizens battle hunger

Leaders of the Senate and House of Assembly are using exotic cars worth billions of taxpayers money at a time when ordinary Nigerians are enduring the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.

A report by Premium Times revealed that both Godswill Akpabio, senate president and Tajudeen Abass, speaker of the House of Assembly and their deputies, Barau Jibrin and Benjamin Kalu, enjoy extravagant privileges, particularly in transportation, at taxpayers’ expense.

“The Senate President and House Speaker operate 11-vehicle fleets, and their convoys alone cost Nigerian taxpayers an estimated N4 billion,” the report indicated.

This spree comes amid economic hardship that’s shrinking the wallet of ordinary Nigerians who are reeling from an inflationary pressured economy and a weakened naira.

The report found that Akpabio who was a two-time governor of Akwa-Ibom state has an 11-vehicle fleet, including two bulletproof 2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class models, five Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, two Toyota Hilux, one Hilux branded with the logo of ADBN TV, one ambulance and three police power bikes.

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Online searches revealed that some of the vehicles are valued at over a hundred million naira each.

Abass has the same number of vehicles in his convoy as his counterpart at the Senate. He uses one bulletproof 2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class model, four Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, four Hilux, one Lexus SUV, one ambulance and two police power bikes.

Their deputies operate nine-vehicle fleets featuring similarly luxurious automobiles and two police power bikes each.
But the financial cost of these convoys are enormous for a country that houses 129 million poor people.

An online search by Premium Times showed that a brand new bulletproof 2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class costs about N306 million per unit, a Toyota Land Cruiser N375 million, and a Lexus SUV N40 million each. The police power bikes are estimated at N30 million each.

The convoys of the Senate President and House Speaker alone cost an estimated N4 billion, and with those of their deputies, it costs more than N7 billion. This extravagant expenditure is an aspect of their official transportation alone. They also use aircraft from the presidential fleet or charter airlines when they travel outside Abuja.

This brazen show of opulence grossly contradicts the preachings of President Bola Tinubu who has always urged citizens to “tighten their belts” as his unpopular reforms sparked an economic crisis.

While citizens continue to grapple with severe hunger crisis, their elected leaders continue to live extravagant lifestyles, fanning concerns over the country’s fiscal sustainability.