Criticisms heightened at the weekend against the purchase of very expensive 2023 model of the Toyota Landcruiser and Toyota Prado being procured for the use of the 469 members of the National Assembly.

The leadership of the Senate and that of the House of Representatives, in active collaboration with the management of the National Assembly have already given out seperate contracts for the vehicles .

The Senate will in the next few days take delivery of 107 Toyota Prado (2023 model) at the contract price of about N160 million for each senator in addition to the bullet proof vehicles being purchased for the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio and his deputy, Barau Jibrin at the cost of N320 million each.

The House of Representatives is also on the verge of distributing a total of 358 units of the 2023 model of Toyota Land Cruiser in addition to two bullet proof vehicles for the Speaker and the deputy speaker.

The market price of a 2023 model of Toyota Land Cruiser is between N135 million and N145 million.

The development has attracted outpouring of condemnation of what critics called “arrogant display of insensitivity to people’s feelings in times of biting and harsh economic situations”

A coalition of civil society organisations may engage in civil protest against the National Assembly as anger rises, The Guardian has been reliably informed.

While the House of Representatives has since admitted that it had actually placed orders for such vehicles for the official use of its members, the Senate has continued to keep mum even when information is ripe that contractors handling the procurement are demanding upward review of the contract sums of the vehicles because of the serious devaluation suffered by the naira after the contract.

Spokesman of the Senate, Yemi Adaramodu, who was reached on phone via calls and WhatsApp messages, only promised to call back. But he never did.

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, who was also reached on phone through his special adviser on media affairs, Eseme Eyiboh, completely ignored our correspondents calls and messages.

However, House of Representatives’ spokesman, Akin Rotimi, who tried to provide clarification on the matter, had said that “The vehicles to be allocated to the offices of members are utility operational vehicles tied to their oversight functions in the discharge of their duties in the standing committees. They are not personal vehicles gifted to honourable members.”

According to him, “For the duration of the 10th assembly (2023 to 2027), the vehicles shall remain the property of the National Assembly. At the expiration of the tenure of the 10th Assembly in 2027, should the extant assets deboarding policy of government still be in place, members may have the option of making payment for the outstanding value of the vehicles to government coffers before they can become theirs, otherwise it remains the property of the National Assembly”

A source of concern to those opposed to the purchase of the vehicles is the sharp difference in the amount spent to provide the vehicles in 2019 and the current price.

In 2019, the Senate spent N50 million on each vehicle, which is a farcry to the over N160 million being spent at the moment on each lawmaker.

Findings on the specific make of the vehicles revealed that each has a four-wheel drive mechanism, centre locking, terrain camera view, and many other off-road features.

Other features include Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, 10-speaker audio system, 10-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, 8-way power-adjustable passenger seat, Heated and Ventilated front seats, Quad-zone climate control, Wireless Charging and Head-up display,” the car dealer told our correspondent.

Meanwhile, the huge figures involved in the procurement as well as the seeming secrecy of the process has attracted condemnation from members of the public as well as civil society organisations.

Former minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, was among dozens of critics who decried the purchase of expensive vehicles for lawmakers.

She expressed shock that no lawmaker spoke against the procurement which she said was done at a time the harsh economy was taking its toll on Nigerians.

“You all had the audacity to spend scarce public resources on luxury cars at a time majority of your citizens cannot feed, transport themselves, pay school fees and hospital bills due to cost of living crisis?,” she wrote via her Twitter page.

“At this stage, it is evident you want to continue with your serial bad behavior. Since not even 1 of you fellows @nassnigeria @HouseNGR @NGRSenate saw the heartlessness of that decision to buy 360 new Toyota SUVs for yourselves at this time of severe economic distress of the citizens and country, please know that you all are the biggest threat to our Democracy.” she added.

Also, the Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA) called on Nigerians to stage peaceful protest against the National Assembly for demonstrating high level of insensitivity, adding that it is very unreasonable to spend the country’s hard earned resources on luxury of lawmakers.

“It is provocative that at a time that most families can barely feed their members three square meals per day, and hospitals and roads are collapsing rapidly all across the Country, that the members of the National Assembly in Abuja are busy sharing multimillion dollars worth exotic cars.” It stated.

President of the association, comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, lamented that “the country generates billions of dollars from export of crude oil, from tariffs and other customs taxation; from the billion of Naira made locally from internally generated sources including that of immigration and federal inland Revenue services; then to notice that the National Assembly which is an arm of government is gifting the over 469 members special utility vehicles each worth over N160 million in this austerity period, is indeed a sad development ”

He further noted that “This ostentatious lifestyle of the members of the National Assembly will heighten insecurity, increase sophisticated crimes of kidnappings, armed robberies and targeted assassination because there are over 50 million unemployed youngsters who are out of school without any hope of finding anything productive to do.”