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House of Reps denies distributing 360 exotic cars to members

By Dennis Erezi
27 March 2020   |   3:36 pm
Nigeria's House of Representatives on Friday denied distributing cars to 36 lawmakers representing constituencies in the country while the country tackle coronavirus. "It has come to the attention of the House that a newspaper report on Friday, March 27, 2020, had insinuated that the Green Chamber is distributing official vehicles for the 360 members of…

Nigeria House of Representatives. PHOTO: Twitter/HouseNGR

Nigeria’s House of Representatives on Friday denied distributing cars to 36 lawmakers representing constituencies in the country while the country tackle coronavirus.

“It has come to the attention of the House that a newspaper report on Friday, March 27, 2020, had insinuated that the Green Chamber is distributing official vehicles for the 360 members of the House at this critical moment that the country is battling to contain #Covid-19 pandemic,” House of Representatives said in a statement.

“We, therefore, urge Nigerians to disregard the newspaper report on the vehicles’ distribution as it is mischief taken too far. Just yesterday, the same paper on its back page, claimed that the house “closed shop and went on holiday” three weeks ago, a clear falsehood.”

The Punch Friday reported that lawmakers at Nigeria’s green chamber were already taking delivery of 360 exotic cars in a time that the country is tackling the spread of coronavirus.

The daily said it correspondent sighted some of the cars at different parking lots within the National Assembly Complex, on Thursday.

It said the lawmakers had resolved to purchase 400 units of the exotic car at an executive closed-door session on February 5, 2020.

However, the House said the media report did not reflect the truth about its efforts to support Nigeria citizens and government at the time of the global pandemic.

“This story is rather unfortunate at this time that Nigeria and Nigerians are striving hard to address the pandemic that has forced the Federal Government, and even the various states’ governments, to take drastic measures,” the House said.

“As a House, we are not unmindful of the mood of the nation, we are committed to ensuring the country stands united in these trying times.”

It said the National Assembly has been closed since Tuesday the 24th of March in the wake of the pandemic with most lawmakers relocating to their constituencies.

The House said it introduced and passed the Emergency Economic Stimulus Bill, 2020 on Tuesday, March 24, 2020, to support the plight of Nigerians who are observing government directives to sit at home to curb the further spread of the coronavirus.

The legislative arm of Nigerian Government said it engaged some top government officials in the Executive arm and approved the release of N6.5BN for the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), N10BN for Lagos state, as part of efforts to address the issue of Covid-19 pandemic.

“We are committed, as lawmakers, to join hands with the Executive arm to take measures aimed at containing the pandemic and providing succour to Nigerians as a result of the economic shock necessitated by Covid-19 all over the world,” the House said.

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