Politics
Karimi Sunday Justifies Expensive Vehicles For Senators
Sen Karimi Sunday (APC, Kogi West) has stoutly defended the decision of the upper house to acquire expensive exotic vehicles for members’ personal use.
He marshalled his defence of the resolution at news conference on Tuesday.
Sen Karimi who is also the Chair, Senate Committee on Services, drew attention to the quality and quantity of vehicles being use by Ministers of the Federal Republic as well as the state of Nigerian roads as reasons justifying the decision.
He remarked that maintenance costs were being adversely impacted by the state of Nigerian roads, which further necessitates the use rugged vehicles by members of the upper house.
He maintained that the house accepted the professional input or advise of the procurement department of the National Assembly, after a carefully analyses.
He said, “I’m sure you know that we have a department of procurement in the National Assembly. They did a comparative analyses of cost, of durability, and they came up with suggestions. And we took their suggestions.
“As a Senator, they approved a Land Cruiser for us and somebody that is a Minister has more than three Land Cruisers, Prado and other vehicles in his convoy and you are not asking them questions. Please spare us a bit.
“And these vehicles that you see, go to Nigeria roads today. If I go home once, my senatorial district, I come back spending a lot on my vehicles because our roads are bad.
“I said the decision that we took on using Land Cruiser is the cost and durability.”
Expounding on durability and cost of maintenance, he pointed out, ”We want something that we can maintain for another four years and the issue of buying vehicles from the National Assembly, you know it is a recurring issue, it occurs every assembly, it will always come up.”
He drew comparisons with what obtained at both states and Local Government levels to justify the Senate’s position by pointing to the quality vehicles being used by the various states’ houses of assembly member, as well as elected officers of the local governments.
“If you got to state Houses of Assembly today, check out, most of them before they were even inaugurated, the governor would have bought vehicles waiting for them even local government chairmen.
“I drove the vehicle my local government chairman uses. So why the National Assembly?” he added.
On the cost of the vehicles, Sen Karimi explained that it was because the National Assembly owed the suppliers about N16bn.
He said, “I am the chairman of, the Senate service. When I came into the Senate, when they gave me their liability, they had a liability of over N16 billion. That is made up of different vehicles of the 7th, 8th and 9th Assemblies.
“If you are a businessman and you supply vehicles for somebody in 2014 or 2015 or so and up till now they owed you.
“I am not trying to defend anybody, if you see them selling Land Cruisers in the market let’s say it is at a cost, you don’t expect somebody that will supply it to supply it at the price they are selling it in the market.
“It has to leave a margin and the civil service for supply allowed for 25% margin plus that and VAT and I think that VAT is 7.5%. Out of that 25% margin, they will still remove 5% tax from it.
“You are telling someone to supply and he may even not end up getting payment for three years and you want him to supply at the price they are selling in the market? It is not possible,” he explained.
Delta State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, has officially joined the All Progressives Congress (APC), ending his long-standing association with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), under which he was elected in 2023.
The switch was confirmed on Wednesday after a closed-door meeting at the Government House in Asaba.
According to his Chief Press Secretary, Sir Festus Ahon, the decision came after extensive deliberations.
READ ALSO: Edo LP Senator, Neda Imasuen Set To Join APC
“This move followed wide consultations with political stakeholders and is in the interest of Delta’s long-term development,” Ahon stated.
Oborevwori was welcomed into the APC by senior party figures, marking what observers are calling a calculated political maneuver with potential ramifications for the 2027 elections.
More to follow…………..
The Labour Party (LP) in Edo State may be on the verge of losing another key figure, as Senator Neda Imasuen, representing Edo South Senatorial District, is reportedly considering a defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Party insiders and political observers say the senator is under increasing pressure from APC leaders to switch allegiance, with recent developments pointing toward an imminent move.
Imasuen, who chairs the Senate Committee on Public Petitions, Ethics and Privileges, recently stated that the Supreme Court’s verdict on the LP crisis might have come too late to prevent the damage already done, which has resulted in multiple defections across the country.
READ MORE: Okpebholo Inspects Agro, Road Projects In Edo Central
The senator is said to have a close working relationship with several prominent APC figures in Edo State and has been seen at various public functions alongside them.
Notably, he once served as a senior legislative aide to his predecessor, Senator Matthew Urhoghide—now an APC member—and also acted as Director General of the APC Campaign Council for the upcoming September 21 governorship election.
Further fueling speculation, Hon. Eugene Utubor, Special Adviser to Governor Monday Okpebholo on Political Mobilisation and Engagement, visited the senator on Tuesday night to lobby him into joining the APC and supporting the governor’s developmental drive.
Sources privy to the lengthy meeting described it as productive.
In a statement following the visit, Imasuen praised Governor Okpebholo’s leadership, saying, “The governor has done remarkably well in such a short time. It is crucial that we come together to ensure the success of his vision for our people. Every well-meaning Edo citizen is encouraged to rally around the governor as he works diligently for our collective progress.”
While no official defection has been announced, Imasuen’s words and actions suggest his exit from the Labour Party could be only a matter of time.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State has released the official fees and guidelines for aspirants contesting in the upcoming local government elections scheduled for July 12.
According to the document, jointly signed by the party’s State Chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, and Secretary, Dr. Adeola Jokomba, chairmanship aspirants will be required to pay a nomination fee of N5 million, along with an administrative fee of N500,000.
In a bid to encourage female participation in the electoral process, the APC reduced the chairmanship nomination fee for women to N2.5 million, though the administrative fee remains at N500,000.
READ ALSO: Okpebholo Welcomes Ikpea To APC, Expects More Defectors
Similarly, the party introduced incentives for young aspirants under the age of 40, offering them a 50% discount on the nomination fee while maintaining the administrative fee.
For aspirants living with disabilities, the party completely waived the nomination fee and fixed the administrative fee at N250,000.
Aspirants seeking councillorship positions will also pay fees, with male contenders expected to pay N1 million for the nomination form and N100,000 as an administrative fee.
Female aspirants will pay N250,000 for the nomination form, while the administrative fee remains the same.
The APC noted that youth aspirants applying for councillorship positions would also receive a 50% discount on their nomination fee, although they will still be expected to pay the full administrative fee.
For persons living with disabilities contesting for councillorship seats, the nomination form will be issued at no cost, but an administrative fee of N50,000 will apply.
The party also clarified that no separate fee will be charged for vice chairmanship positions.
“These fees shall be paid by way of bank draft in favour of the All Progressives Congress, Lagos State, State,” the guidelines stated.
Beyond the financial requirements, the APC outlined other conditions for eligibility. Chairmanship aspirants are expected to be at least 30 years old, while councillorship hopefuls must have attained the age of 25.
Academic qualifications require a minimum of a school certificate or its equivalent, with higher qualifications considered an added advantage.
The guidelines also set out the endorsement process for aspirants. For chairmanship hopefuls, five registered party members who are voters within the aspirant’s ward, local government or LCDA must endorse their nomination forms.
Councillorship aspirants will need the signatures of 20 registered party members from their wards.
The party emphasized the need for all aspirants to prove their loyalty to the APC and show active involvement in party activities.
Each candidate must also sign the party’s Code of Conduct.
“Only aspirants cleared by the Screening Committee shall be eligible to stand for election at the party’s primaries,” the guidelines noted.
In line with constitutional provisions, the APC further stressed that any party officeholder intending to contest must resign their position at least 30 days before the election or the party primary.
“All aspirants shall comply with constitutional provisions and requirements applicable to the public office they seek to contest for,” the party added.
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