A Labour Party Senator representing Edo South Senatorial District, Neda Bernard Imasuen says it would amount to nothing, if the eight senators from the LP had rejected the N160 million luxury Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs), provided for each senator as official vehicles.
Imasuen while fielding questions from journalists, noted that with just eight Labour Party members in the Senate, their rejection of the luxury SUVs would not have changed the decision as the majority would still have gone ahead to purchase the vehicles despite the criticism that greeted the venture from a cross-section of Nigerians.
Imasuen, the current Chairman, Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, however noted the matter were to be brought to the floor of the house, LP senators would definitely vote against it.
He said that as a minority in the house, LP members could only have their say while the majority would have their way.
“I want to say that I have not received any SUV vehicle and none has been offered to me. However, we are in democracy, and in a parliament, there is a catchphrase that says the majority will have their way and the minority will have their say.
“We can only say what we believe is the right thing to do in the parliament; we are just eight senators amid 109 senators. So those who have zeroed into Labour Party senators I think it is very unfair.
“Assuming 109 vehicles are given to Senators and of the 109, eight rejected it, can you please tell me what significance that will be to the budget or to the overall image of the National Assembly? But what I can tell is that the Labour Party is not the proponent of this and we have made some inquiries and these seem to be what it is every four years,” he explained.
According to him, “What people don’t know is that senators are offered the right of first refusal to buy it and if you don’t buy it, they take it back from you. It is supposed to be a working vehicle for senators. If we were to vote on it today, the eight Labour party senators will vote against it but it doesn’t stop it because the 101 senators will vote yes. Even if we reject it, who takes it, are they going to return it back to the manufacturers?”
