He added that Toyota products have been tried and tested while locally produced vehicles are still in the developing stage.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Services, Sunday Karimi, has explained why the Nigerian lawmakers jettisoned the country’s car manufacturing companies for Toyota, a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer.
Karimi, who represents Kogi West Senatorial District, in the 10th National Assembly, spoke during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday, claiming that the lawmakers chose Toyota because of evidence of quality and durability.
He added that Toyota products have been tried and tested while locally produced vehicles are still in the developing stage.
He said, “Today, we decided for foreign, Toyota, because Toyota has a name and a law standing for quality and durability. We decided to go for Land Cruiser Toyota which is tried and tested. Tomorrow, we patronize as local manufacturing develops. We are going to patronize them.”
But when asked if he and his colleagues are patriotic Nigerians considering how they shunned locally made vehicles for foreign-made ones at a time when Nigeria is struggling with forex earnings, Karimi said, “Yes (we are patriotic). I have just said something; as we develop in terms of quality and all that, we are going to patronize Nigerians.”
SaharaReporters had reported that the House of Representatives through its Chairman House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Hon Akin Rotimi, confirmed the distribution of Toyota SUVs worth N130 million to the lawmakers.
He had said the vehicles were utility operational 2023 model vehicles and were tied to their oversight functions in the discharge of their duties in the standing committees but not personal vehicles.
He added that the vehicles would remain the property of the National Assembly at the expiration of the tenure of the 10th Assembly in 2027, should the extant assets deboarding policy of government still be in place.
He said members had the option of making payment for the outstanding value of the vehicles to government coffers before they could claim ownership.
Rotimi stated this in a release on Sunday in Abuja while reacting to the media reports that trailed the purchase of controversial Toyota Prado SUVs.
This development has generated a lot of negative reactions. For instance, the African Action Congress (AAC) has analysed how the allocated funds should have been used to better the life of the common man.
The party said that if the money was used judiciously, it would pay 12 months’ salaries for 48,000 workers if placed on N100,000 and would pay no fewer than 290,000 students’ cost of study allowance if they were to pay N200,000 per session.