109 vehicles for senators’ll help curb corruption – Ashafa

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Land Transport, Gbenga Ashafa, says the 109 Sport Utility Vehicles that the Senate plans to buy as “committee cars” for members to carry out oversight functions will help curb corruption.

He, however, said he did not know if the money allocated for the vehicles was N4.7bn as reported.The lawmaker, who represents the Lagos-East senatorial district, said this during a programme, Sunrise Daily, aired on Channels Television on Monday.

Ashafa said if the Senate did not have the vehicles, senators would be at the mercy of Ministries, Departments and Agencies which the Senate is supposed to be probing.

He said, “If you are looking for a National Assembly that will do a very serious oversight, there are some minor things that must be provided. Let me give you an example. Let us say we are going to a ministry in Abuja and it is not within a walking distance, and we decide to take our vehicles and we find out that there are no vehicles in the pool dedicated for such an assignment, there are two options.

“It is either you go with your (personal) vehicle or you call on the ministry, which has been the practice in the past, to provide you with the vehicles. If you use buses provided by the ministries, you will be seen to have compromised.”

When asked why the Senate did not expose the allegations of fraud and corruption in the last government during its oversight exercises despite the provision of the vehicles, Ashafa said that was not enough to prevent the Senate from getting new vehicles.

“A situation whereby you are in a position that you can be compromised should not be tolerated. The oversight function still has to be worked on but we must operate within an environment that will not make room for excuses,” he added.

He said he knew that the Senate had a bad reputation and that the 8th Senate would do everything to impress Nigerians.

Reacting to President Muhammadu Buhari’s proposed meeting with the Senate, Ashafa said the lawmakers would consider whatever the President says and then make its own decision.

He said, “We are waiting for the closed-door session with the President and it will be transparent. If the consensus is that these vehicles should be jettisoned, so be it. We are willing to make sacrifices for the sake of moving this country ahead.”

When asked why the senators could not use their old vehicles to carry out oversight exercises, Ashafa said most of the vehicles had been sold off, adding that every inaugurated Senate is seen as a new entity in the eyes of the law and that is why the perks of the 8th Senate cannot be tied to the 7th Senate.

When asked why the Senate could not make sacrifices for Nigerians in light of the economic crunch facing the country, Ashafa said other arms of government should also be able to make sacrifices, adding that the Senate had even cut down its budget