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The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, has said that lawmakers are not responsible for procuring official vehicles for members of the National Assembly.
Adaramodu explained that the acquisition of official vehicles is handled exclusively by the National Assembly, which is responsible for determining, purchasing and assigning vehicles for legislative and committee-related duties.
“The bureaucracy determines and provides official vehicles for committee work and legislative assignments. No vehicle is registered in the name of any senator,” he said.
According to him, the vehicles remain government property throughout a senator’s tenure and are used solely to facilitate official legislative responsibilities.
He added that lawmakers can acquire such vehicles only at the end of their tenure, through established government procedures and approved payment arrangements.
“The vehicles remain government assets while senators are in office. Any transfer of ownership can only occur after the tenure of a lawmaker and in accordance with laid-down procedures,” he said.
His remarks follow a recent court judgment on the National Assembly’s N110 billion vehicle procurement and allowance scheme.
The suit, filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), challenged the legality of the expenditure.
In a judgment delivered on May 6, Justice Bogoro ruled that the spending violated procurement laws, constitutional provisions and the public trust.
The court also directed the leadership of the National Assembly to ensure that future procurement processes and public expenditure strictly comply with due process and are guided by transparency, accountability, and value for money.
“The beneficiaries of the expenditure are the very officials approving it, and the expenditure confers direct pecuniary and material benefits. This, to my mind, constitutes a case of self-dealing and conflict of interest,” the judge held.
“I have taken judicial notice of the economic realities in Nigeria and the widespread financial hardship affecting Nigerian citizens. In this context, the allocation of N110 billion for the benefit of lawmakers demonstrates a failure to prioritise national interest,” he added.
