HIS FIRST PLENARY SESSION AT THE FLOOR OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
IN ABUJA ON WEDNESDAY (10/6/15).
3043/10/6/2015/CH/BJO/NAN
The Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union have condemned the decision of the leadership of the House of Representatives to procure 360 exotic cars worth N3.6bn for its members when the nation is going through economic recession.
Also condemning the action of the lawmakers were the Civil Liberties Organisation and the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders.
The NLC and the TUC described the decision of the National Assembly as a mark of government’s insensitivity to the plight of Nigerians in a period of crushing recession.
Speaking with one of our correspondents on the telephone on Monday, the General Secretary of the NLC, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, described the action of the lawmakers as unfortunate, insensitive and unacceptable.
The PUNCH had reported exclusively that the members of the House of Representatives had started taking delivery of 360 exotic cars in spite of the tough economic situation of the country.
Ozo-Eson said it was inappropriate for the lawmakers to commit scarce resources to the purchase of expensive cars in the midst of rising hardship and unemployment in the country.
The NLC’s scribe called on the leadership of the National Assembly to stop the deal which he said was not too late.
Similarly, the TUC flayed the ostentatious lifestyle of the lawmakers and members of the political class wondering “where lies the honour of the legislators.”
The President and the acting Secretary General of the TUC, Messrs Bala Kaigama and Simeso Amachree respectively, said that the ostentatious lifestyle of the lawmakers and the politicians was the bane of the nation’s development.
Also reacting to the action of the lawmakers, the Executive Director, CLO, Mr. Ibuchukwu Ezike, said it was such display of insensitivity by Nigerian leaders that had made the country the target of ridicule around the world.
Ezike said, “…It is not today that we have begun to see the insensitivity of the leaders of this country and that was captured in the statement by the former British Prime Minister, David Cameron, saying that Nigeria is fantastically corrupt and when recently Donald Trump made his own statement about Nigeria.”
Also the Executive Chairman, CACOL, Mr. Debo Adeniran, described the action of the lawmakers as a display of unreasonable opulence in a country with majority of poor people.
A Lagos-based human rights lawyer, Mr. Fred Agbaje, also condemned the lawmakers, saying their action had justified the call to retain lawmakers only on a part-time basis..
