The cars are being purchased four months after the senators were given N8m car loans each in August this year.
During the 7th Senate, the senators used Prado jeeps but this time around, they have opted for more expensive cars.
Senate spokesperson, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi said the cars are for committee use. However, it was exclusive gathered that the senators will get a car each.
Our correspondent reports that the headship of the  65 standing committees are appointed  in such a way that each senator will chair a committee or serve as vice chairman.
It was gathered that during the 7th Senate, the cars acquired for the committees were sold to the senators at N1m.
“To the best of my knowledge the cars we used at the 7th Senate were monetised to us, I think, at N1m each and the money was deducted from our severance package,” a senator who benefitted said.
He also confirmed receipt of the vehicle loan in August, saying, “we were given three allowances in August and they are car loan, housing and furniture allowances, all amounting to N18m”.
At the House of Representatives, a source told Daily Trust that in line with the tradition of the House, vehicles would be bought for members to use for committee assignments.
Even during the immediate past 7th House, the 360 lawmakers got a Camry XL car each, which our source said was bought at the sum of about N12 million, including insurance.
Our source said:  “yes, we learnt they want to do the same thing that was done during the last Assembly, where each member got a car, but they said it was for committee activities.”
The source said the Camry XL cars purchased for members during the last Assembly were monetized at the end of their tenure in June and the money was deducted from their severance packages, while few members opted not to buy the cars.
“Initially, they valued the cars at N1.750 million, but members protested, because most of the cars were not in good shape. In the end, they settled at N900, 000, so those of us who wanted to go with our own applied, and they deducted it from our severance, while a few members returned their own,” the source said.
But House spokesman Rep Abdulrazak Namdas (APC, Adamawa) said although leadership of the lower chamber plans to purchase cars to aid members during committees’ oversights, they were yet to reach a decision on the number and the brand of cars to buy.
“There’s no doubt that we’ll buy cars, but they will be for committee use. We haven’t decided on any brand or units to buy yet until we see our 2016 budget. We don’t want to do anything that cannot be realised at the end of the day,” he said.
Namdas said already, management of the National Assembly had advertised that it would purchase television sets, computers and photocopiers for lawmakers’ use.
“We want to have a transparent process based on the Procurement Act,” he said, adding that all the principal officers were completely excluded from the deal in order for the management staff to do their work”.
Asked if there is any plan to purchase new vehicles for Speaker Yakubu Dogara and his deputy Yussuf Suleimon Lasun, the House spokesman said he was not aware of any such thing.
It’s a fraud - CISLAC
Speaking to Daily Trust on the purchase of vehicles for individual lawmakers for committee work, Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) Auwal Musa Rafsanjani said as far as he was concerned, the vehicles were being bought for fun and not for any committee work.
He said for them, it is part of the process of “sharing national cake” that Nigerian politicians are known for, saying “it is all largess,” describing it as a fraud.
“Agreed there should be a car for every committee, but to buy a vehicle for every member out of the 360 legislators in the name of committee work is wrong.  It’s all as a result of lack of transparency and accountability in the management of public funds,” he said.
Rafsanjani said so long as committees would be encouraged to do their work diligently and be provided with relevant facilities to aid oversight, individual lawmakers should only be given car loans, which they would repay before the end of their tenure.
“In other parliaments that I personally visited around the world, there’s nothing like vehicles for individual legislators to go for committee work. They only provide them with facilities where necessary, why should our own be different?” he said.
On auctioning the vehicles to the lawmakers at the end of their 4-year tenure, Rafsanjani insisted “it is a fraud” since they were given car loans from the beginning of their tenure.
The CISLAC director also said that even the oversight being carried out by lawmakers was just to “intimidate and harass government agencies” into succumbing to the demands of the legislators.
“Oversight is supposed to be for corrective measures, but that is not what they do. They only use it to intimidate and harass agencies, although I’m sure there won’t be any loose fund for agencies to be giving them under this administration.
“Most of the legislators don’t even understand what oversight is because they’re new. The committees themselves are not independent, so how do you expect them to perform their functions effective. So, for me, there should be a complete overhaul of the legislative work in Nigeria so that the legislators will understand what they are elected to do,” he said.

source:http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/after-collecting-car-loans-senators-reps-to-get-496-cars/126682.html

I just love my county,keeps getting better by the day

The National assembly should be abolished.

period!

When you have a thief like saraki at the top of this assembly don't expect common sense to prevail. So this people want to bleed our economy till it makes no sense at all before they actually realise how wasteful and senseless their excuses are.
Saraki will not talk because all the things he puts his hand on he destroys.

When a Nigerian senator earns more than the American president.

How country wan take move forward?

Hmm.

Am waiting to see how Buhari will be blamed for this

k

don't take life serious.
Reading news from naija can give you heart attack..
save the rants and smile a bit..

Make we just die for this country

This National Assembly follow for people wey dey kill dis country.. Yeye people!!

I will be come a senator oneday

Very good

chop the money crew...



Cheapest deal ever!!!


https://www.nairaland.com/2766054/cheap-toks-golf-4...550k

Hmmm

.while Nigerians die in poverty

And the economy keeps dwindling

I must contest for senate in 2023

And we want this country to move forward

Small tym one idiot go stand for tele dey tell us say the economy is hard ,na god go punish all of them ooooo!!!!

Ayt27:
When a Nigerian senator earns more than the American president.

How country wan take move forward?

I tire o

rogues

It is their turn!

Legend of thieves... Anini or osisikanku stand a beta chance of making heaven than this looters...

May Obatala, Sango, Amadioha, Thor and all the unforgiving gods of old combine together to punish every one of them. Bunch of rogues

Bunch of thieves.

I'm expecting Ben Bruce to take to twitter as usual to reject and condemn this...

Hmm na wa o. For this economic challenge wen we dey face so these people are still talking about cars

Someone said Nigeria is practicing pseudo-democracy and not democracy.

Another person called it democrazy!

We are possibly not ripe for true democracy...Decent people have no access to political offices, except in few instances and as long as we have these strange characters there, there may not be any end to scandalous behaviour.

Sad.