Speaker Gbajabiamila, Others Order $40m Exotic Cars

By Tosin Olatokunbo

Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila and other lawmakers are bent on spending a whopping $40,000,000 ( about  N14bn) to purchase exotic cars, even though many Nigerians have kicked against the action.

What this means is that foreign automakers will be made richer as a result of the purchase, expected to be concluded in the next few weeks.

On their part, local automakers like Innoson and Peugeout Auto Nigeria, PAN have lost potential revenue to the tune of N14bn  to foreign competitors, auto experts say.

This decision, they say contravene the economic policy of the federal government on the promotion of locally made goods.

The 400 vehicles, it was learnt will be supplied by Toyota, a Japanese automaker in conjuction with Elizade, a local auto dealer in Lagos.

Sources from the auto dealer firm said the company has been contracted to supply the 2020 model expected to arrive the country in less than three months.

Checks by the magazine indicate that the price , depending on the model varies from N9million to N13million.

Both Innoson and PAN have have approached the National Assembly management for the supply of the vehicles, but were turned despite the fact that their vehicles are cheaper and can compete with their foreign compititors in terms of  luxury and ruggedness.

“They asked us to sent quotations which we did. We have been expecting them to call us to supply the vehicles until the news broke that the lawmakers are no longer interested in locally made brands,” said a source in PAN.

But the magazine learnt that some lawmakers actually pushed for the vehicles to be bought in Nigeria, they where overwhelmed by other colleagues “who prefer high tastes”, a lawmaker from Anambra said.

Business experts told the magazine that the decision to abandon local automakers for foreign ones has a wider implications for the country.

Foreign currency, American dollars will be sourced for the purchase, according to Bose Okunade, an accountant, which means more pressure on the nation’s foreign reserve.

Nigeria’s foreign reserve has depleted astronomically in the last one year, from over $40bn to $38bn at the end of 2019, according to checks from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The decision of the lawmakers will also put more pressure on the Naira stability, experts say.

However, it was learnt that the decision to buy Toyota vehicles was taken in consideration of many factors, incluing the claim that  they are more economically viable that local auto brands.

“Fuel efficiency and durability are some of the reasons we considered before arriving on the final decision,” a lawmaker from Lagos said.

He explained that the vehicles will not only serve the private needs of members, they will also be used for field works, by committee members who may have to travel most of the time.

“In that situation you need vehicles that have been tested and trusted to be very rugged. You can now understand where we are coming from,” he said.