Buhari rejects N400m armoured cars

President Muhammadu Buhari has rejected a proposal to purchase five new armoured Mercedes S-600 (V222) cars for his use at a cost of about N400m. Buhari was told of the proposal by the Permanent Secretary of the State House, Mr. Nebolisa Emodi at a briefing on Wednesday.

Directing that the proposal to procure the cars be dropped, Buhari said there was no need for them since the ones he inherited from President Jonathan were good enough for him. “I don’t need any new cars.

The ones I’m using now are just fine,” a source at the briefing quoted the President as saying. President 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.

He urged, however, that greater effort be made henceforth to capture all State House expenses within the approved national budget, 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 in keeping with his commitment to prudence management of national resources, Buhari would continue to use the cars left behind by Jonathan and has withheld approval for their replacement. State House sources said the proposal to procure the new cars was first made to Jonathan before he left office.

The former President directed, however, that it be represented to Buhari for approval on his assumption of office since the cars could only be delivered some months after the May 29 handover date.

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