Buhari rejects N400m armoured cars

President Muhammadu Buhari has turned down an offer
by the Federal Government to procure five new
armoured Mercedes Benz S-600 (V222) cars for his
use.
The cars which total cost is put at about N400m were
planned to be purchased by the State House.
A Presidency source told journalists on Thursday that
Buhari got to know of the plan when the Permanent
Secretary, State House, Mr. Nebolisa Emodi, was
briefing him of his ministry’s activities on Wednesday.
Miffed by the revelation, the President was said to have
told Emodi that the purchase was unnecessary.
Describing it as a waste of scarce resources, the source
said Buhari told the permanent secretary that the cars
he inherited from former President Goodluck Jonathan
were good enough for him.
“I don’t need any new cars. The ones I am using now
are just fine,” the source quoted the President as
saying.
The top government officials, however, said Buhari
welcomed other initiatives presented by the permanent
secretary to reduce the operating costs of the State
House and strengthen its Finance and Accounts Internal
Control Mechanisms.
He however directed that more efforts be made
henceforth to capture all State House expenses within
the approved national budget.
This, he said, was to avoid the frequent recourse by
past administrations to “Presidential intervention
funds.”
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media
and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, confirmed to our
correspondent that Buhari had withheld approval for the
purchase of the new cars.
Shehu said the President would continue to use the
cars left behind by Jonathan in keeping with his
commitment to prudent management of national
resources.
Our correspondent learnt that the proposal to procure
the new cars was first made to Jonathan before he left
office.
The former President was however said to have
directed that it be represented to Buhari for approval on
his assumption of office since the cars could only be
delivered some months after the May 29 handover date.