The office of the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, has issued the
statement below to respond to an exclusive story by PREMIUM TIMES, that
Mr Saraki has taken delivery of new cars, worth over N300million.
Read full statement below.
“Senate
President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki has said only his official
vehicle, a MercedezBenz, was changed and that the spare car in the
convoy is the old one he inherited and has been using since he assumed
office June last year.
“Reacting to the claim by Premium Times
that the Senate President has taken delivery of vehicles worth N330m,
Yusuph Olaniyonu, the Special Adviser, stated that it was wrong for
Premium Times to classify vehicles provided for security agencies like
the police and State Security Service by the National Assembly
management for their operations as vehicles bought for the Senate
President.
“It is an obvious fact that the official and spare
cars that the Senate President inherited and has been using are old and
have been malfunctioning. There are instances like the day Dr. Saraki
visited Keffi for the marriage of the daughter of Senator Abdullahi
Adamu and another day at the Presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe
International Airport that the spare vehicle broke down. In both
instances, the spare vehicle did not return home with the convoy. The
same vehicle had malfunctioned at the Presidential Villa and National
Mosque on different occasions. It is for this reason that the Senate
President approved that instead of providing two vehicles for him as he
is entitled, only one should be bought to replace the official vehicle
while the old official car should be converted to spare car.
“Also,
if the National Assembly Management chose to provide operational
vehicles for Security Agencies, should that be presented as if they are
personal or official vehicles meant for the use of Dr. Saraki? These are
vehicles that cannot be used for other purposes and by other people.
The Senate President also have no control over the security vehicles.
“it
is also surprising that despite the fact that Premium Times in the same
story reported that the order for the vehicle was made in December, it
chose to calculate the value of the vehicles based on current exchange
rate of the Naira to the dollar. This is obviously a mischief aimed at
making the figure look huge and justify the screaming headline.
“The
press should avoid deliberately inciting members of the public against
public officials. The Senate President and his colleagues are conscious
of the economic situation in the country and will continue to act
responsibly and responsively.
“Just last week, Dr. Saraki was
informed that the Ministry of FCT in its 2016 budget proposed a N6
billion estimate for the construction of the official residence of the
Senate President. He outrightly rejected the proposal and directed
Senator Dino Melaye, Chairman, Senate Committee on FCT to bring down the
cost to one billion Naira. He said that it should be made known to the
Ministry that if it cannot construct the building with N1 billion then
they should leave out the project entirely till after his tenure. He
said he will rather stay in his present abode. Senator Melaye had
already acted as instructed as indicated in the report his committee
presented to the Appropriation Committee.
“It should therefore be
noted that if Dr. Saraki can demonstrate frugality and responsible
leadership in a matter that saved the country so much money, how can it
then be presented as if purchase of cars is a big issue that he cares so
much about? Those who know the antecedent of the Senate President know
that there is no type of vehicle that can excite him at this stage in
his life”, Olaniyonu stated.
Signed
Yusuph Olaniyonu
Special Adviser (Media and Publicity) to the Senate President
http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/199170-convoy-deserves-new-cars-saraki.html
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