Ndume also asserted that it is not a new thing for government workers to buy vehicles for official duties
By Kehinde Okeowo
Nigerian Senate Chief Whip, Ali Ndume has justified the decision of federal lawmakers to shun made in Nigeria vehicles.
The senator representing Borno South in the Red chamber of the federal legislative house made the disclosure on Friday, while featuring on Arise Television’s Morning Show.
Prior to this, TheNiche had reported that each lawmaker in the National Assembly received N160 million for a Land Cruiser SUV.
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Reacting to the report, Nigerians took to various social media platforms to slam the lawmakers. While some accused them of insensitivity, others wondered why they didn’t patronize local manufacturers such as Innoson Motors and others.
Justifying the decision after backlash from Nigerians, Ndume said they did not choose Nigerian-made SUVs because they were not manufactured in the country.
He further asserted that it is not a new thing for government workers to buy vehicles for official duties, stressing
that the lawmakers needed the vehicles to work.
Ndume said: “The reason why we did not choose Nigerian-made cars is because they don’t manufacture their vehicles, but they assemble them.
“I prefer Nigerian-made products, but the Nigerian car companies are only buying the vehicle parts and assembling them here.”