‘NASS cars purchase promotes corruption’

It stated that the Senate had dared Nigerians by its “hedonistic acquisition in these lean times.”

A statement by the TMG chairman, Ibrahim Zikirullahi, on Wednesday in Abuja, said, “The gluttonous manner in which less than 500 individuals are cornering the resources of a country, where poverty and many other forms of privations are the order of the day, calls for concerted efforts among citizen groups, to reject the reign of these thieves garbed in legislative robes.”

The group said, “It is provocative for senators to be living in criminal opulence, at a time Nigerians in many states, are grappling with the difficulties of living life without salaries and the dire economic conditions biting so hard.

“Ironically, this is the same Senate led by a character currently standing trial over weighty allegations of false and anticipatory declaration of assets.

“It is the same institution that has been hijacked by shady figures, including one of them who has also been mentioned as one of those hiding suspicious assets in offshore tax haven, as revealed in the leaked Panama Papers,” the statement added.

The TMG expressed anger that the senators acquired the cars at prices that were twice the market value in violation of extant procurement laws and the Fiscal Responsibility Act.

It said, “In defiance to extant procurement laws and the fiscal Responsibility Act, the senators have gone ahead to acquire the cars at prices that are twice the actual market value.

“It is barefaced stealing from the Nigerian people for the Senate to have paid N35.1m for each of the Toyota Land Cruiser purchased, while independent checks confirmed that the Toyota Land Cruiser SUV V6 2016 model is sold for N17m.”