Buhari rejects N400m armoured cars

President Muhammadu Buhari has turned down an offer by
the Federal Government to buy 5 new armoured Mercedes
Benz S-600 (V222) cars for his use. The cars which cost is
about N400m were planned to be purchased by the State
House.

A source close to the presidency told journalists on
Thursday that Buhari found out about the plan when the
Permanent Secretary, State House, Mr. Nebolisa Emodi,
briefed him of his ministry’s activities on Wednesday.
Angry at 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.
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.
However he directed that more efforts be made towards the
capture of all State House expenses within the approved
national budget, in order 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 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.
Punch