President Muhammadu Buhari has turned down an
offer by the Federal Government to buy 5 new
armoured Mercedes Benz S-600 (V222) cars for his
use. The cars which cost is about N400m were
planned to be purchased by the State House.
A source close to the presidency told journalists on
Thursday that Buhari found out about the plan when
the Permanent Secretary, State House, Mr. Nebolisa
Emodi, briefed him of his ministry’s activities on
Wednesday.
Angry at the revelation, the President was said to have
told Emodi that the purchase was unnecessary.
Describing it as a waste of scarce resources, the
source said Buhari told the permanent secretary that
the cars he inherited from former President Goodluck
Jonathan were good enough for him.
“I don’t need any new cars. The ones I am using now
are just fine,” the source quoted the President as
saying.
Top government officials, however, said Buhari
welcomed other initiatives presented by the permanent
secretary to reduce the operating costs of the State
House and strengthen its Finance and Accounts
Internal Control Mechanisms.
However he directed that more efforts be made towards
the capture of all State House expenses within the
approved national budget, in order to avoid the
frequent recourse by past administrations to
“Presidential intervention funds.”
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media
and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, confirmed that
Buhari had withheld approval for the purchase of the
new cars. Shehu said the President would continue to
use the cars left behind by Jonathan in keeping with
his commitment to prudent management of national
resources.
