In a recent interview with AriseTV, Senator Ireti Kingibe of the Labour Party representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) refuted claims that the 10th National Assembly was responsible for the controversial N57 billion SUV purchase.
Senator Kingibe clarified that the utility cars in question were procured by the 9th Assembly, and the 10th Assembly merely received and distributed them.
Senator Kingibe stated, “The Senate says they are utility cars, and they don’t belong to senators. They were already bought before we became senators.”
“I think that going forward, I think this 10th senate might opt to buy cheaper cars made in Nigeria or whatever; I don’t know, but you can hold us responsible for the cars that the 11th Assembly rides, but the ones that we got were purchased and sorted out by the 9th Assembly.
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“The only thing that is being done is that they are being distributed to us. The truth of the matter is that I suppose more attention is being paid because the bulk of the people are poorer, but every National Assembly is always provided with utility cars,” she revealed.
Addressing concerns over the expenses, Senator Kingibe stated, “People are under the misconception that the basic salary of a senator is a lot. It’s not as much. But so far, I’ve been a senator; in the next week or two, it will be maybe 6 months, because there’s such intense poverty out there, a lot of it goes for palliatives. Oh, I have no food; I need to do this, so a lot of that goes there.”