A former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido has shared his thoughts on the 160 million SUV approved for each lawmaker in the country.
National Assembly had come under heavy backlash after news of the luxury vehicles went viral.
According to the reports, each of the SUVs is valued at N160 million, totalling N57.6 billion for the purchase of the vehicles.
Sharing his thoughts on the situation during a chat with Daily Trust, Lamido condemned the move by the lawmakers.
He lamented that the National Assembly are not reflecting the people’s wishes with their decision.
The former governor argued that the lawmakers see their job as a means of accruing profit.
He opined that because the legislators spend so much in getting elected they see their job as an investment, rather than a means to serve the people.
According to him, “Are they reflecting the people’s wishes? They are not, then how were they elected? How would they ignore the Nigerian environment, in terms of our standing and status, to do that kind of appropriation for the president?
“So, what I am saying is this: if members of the National Assembly are representing us, they should do it the right way, but then they are doing what they do because they know how they won the election, they know how they got elected. To them, it is an investment into a business and they are looking for profit, so why do you blame them?
“I mean you go for election: you pay the agent of your own political party, then you pay whatever they call it at the polling booth—NDLEA, police, SSS, Army and they are all there at the polling booth and this goes up to the state, up to national level, they are all paid.
“Then, you also give the voter, maybe spaghetti, macaroni and money or African print (wrapper). How do you expect service from them after all this spending? When they bought the entire process to be there, it is an investment for them.”
