At a time when millions of Nigerians can barely feed themselves, the presiding officers of the Nigerian National Assembly are basking in opulence, flaunting fleets of luxury cars that cost billions of naira.
Nigeria is experiencing one of its worst economic crises in decades. Inflation has soared past 28 per cent, and food prices have doubled. Yet, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abass, and their deputies, Barau Jibrin and Benjamin Kalu, enjoy extravagant privileges, particularly in transportation, at taxpayers’ expense.
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Extravagant convoys amid national struggle
For months, PREMIUM TIMES monitored the convoys of the presiding officers.
Mr Akpabio has an 11-vehicle fleet, including two bulletproof 2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class models, five Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, two Toyota Hilux, one Hilux branded with the logo of ADBN TV, one ambulance and three police power bikes. According to online searches, some of the vehicles are valued at over a hundred million naira each.
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Speaker Abass has the same number of vehicles in his convoy as the senate president. He uses one bulletproof 2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class model, four Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, four Hilux, one Lexus SUV, one ambulance and two police power bikes.
Their deputies operate nine-vehicle fleets featuring similarly luxurious automobiles and two police power bikes each.
However, not all the vehicles in the convoy are parked in the official parking space of the designated officials. PREMIUM TIMES observed that only the two Mercedes-Benz S-Class and two of the five Toyota Land Cruiser Prados are usually parked at the official car lot of the Senate President while others are parked elsewhere.
Similarly, the Deputy Senate President’s official parking space holds two vehicles, a Mercedes-Benz S-Class and a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado.
The financial implications of these convoys are enormous. An online search showed that a brand new bulletproof 2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class costs about ₦306 million per unit, a Toyota Land Cruiser ₦375 million, and a Lexus SUV ₦40 million each. The police power bikes are estimated at ₦30 million each.
The convoys of the Senate President and House Speaker alone cost an estimated ₦4 billion, and with those of their deputies, it costs more than ₦7 billion. This extravagant expenditure is an aspect of their official transportation alone. They also use aircraft from the presidential fleet or charter airlines when they travel outside Abuja.
Breach of financial guidelines
Although the Nigerian Constitution permits allowances and loans for lawmakers, the extravagant vehicle acquisitions by the presiding officers defy the limits set by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC). The agency fixes remuneration for public officers at all levels of government. Section 84 of the constitution mandates that lawmakers adhere to RMAFC’s prescribed financial limits.
RMAFC stipulates that lawmakers are entitled to an optional car loan, capped at 400 per cent of their annual basic salary. Based on this, a senator with an annual basic salary of ₦2.02 million qualifies for a car loan of ₦8.1 million, while a House of Representatives member earning ₦1.9 million annually is eligible for ₦7.9 million in loans. These figures are nowhere near the billions funnelled into luxury vehicle acquisitions.
Historically, Nigerian lawmakers have always exceeded financial limits on vehicle procurements. In 2015, National Assembly members got Peugeot 508 saloon cars, followed by Toyota Camry models in 2020. Both exceeded RMAFC recommendations. More recently, the 10th National Assembly acquired Toyota Land Cruiser SUVs and Toyota Prado models, with prices reportedly exceeding ₦100 million per vehicle.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), along with other concerned Nigerians, have filed lawsuits seeking to restrain the National Assembly from spending public funds on acquiring luxury vehicles for themselves. They argued that such spending violates the Constitution and diverts resources from essential public services.
A government preaching sacrifice
In the protocol order, Mr Akpabio is the number three citizen, while Speaker Abass is number four. Their deputies are also considered top government officials in the Bola Tinubu-led federal government.
Mr Tinubu has repeatedly urged citizens to “tighten their belts” amid his economic reforms featuring the removal of fuel subsidies and currency devaluation, which have drastically diminished Nigerians’ purchasing power. Yet, while families struggle to put food on the table, lawmakers continue to take extravagant allowances and procure SUVs for their convenience.
Tinubu recognising implications of large convoys
In October 2024, President Tinubu directed ministers and heads of federal agencies to reduce their convoys to three vehicles and limit their security personnel to a maximum of five.
This directive was part of the administration’s efforts to cut the cost of governance, recognising that large convoys impose a significant financial burden on taxpayers.
However, the legislature is a separate arm of government not bound by the president’s directive and it is apparent the National Assembly leadership feels it is not bound by the president’s announcement.
Disregard for citizens’ welfare
Mboho Eno, deputy director of Accountability at the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), said the lawmakers’ actions reveal that they are not in tune with the realities of everyday Nigerians.
“The extravagance of politicians in power is a terrible way to lead, especially in a country where inflation has gone through the roof, and citizens cannot afford basic things.
“Politicians living large on public funds just implies they don’t care about citizens. The senate president and his deputy consistently appear not to be in tune with the economic reality of the nation,” he said.
Mr Eno, who oversees UDEME, a platform that tracks government spending, criticised the National Assembly’s leadership, citing past instances of insensitive remarks.
“From the careless statement of prayers in the mailbox to the “let those who want to protest, protest while we are eating” to the billions awarded for the purchase of luxury cars, the current leadership of the Senate is not people-centred, and that is worrisome,” he said.
To ensure transparency, Mr Eno recommended that Nigerian lawmakers make their tax returns public.
“Such a class of politicians need to make their tax returns certificates public to know if it’s just public funds being expended when the government keeps telling citizens to sacrifice for a better country,” he said.
He also advocated for the publication of a breakdown of the National Assembly and Judiciary’s annual budgets.
“This is also a good time to let Nigerians into the full details of the Senate’s annual budget and not just the bulk allocation. The same goes for the Judiciary. The stupendous display of wealth just goes to show that truly Nigeria does not have a money problem. It only has a spending problem. Thus, those in leadership should lead by example,” Mr Eno said.
Akpabio responds
When contacted, Jackson Udom, one of Mr Akpabio’s media aides, denied that his principal moves with an 11-vehicle fleet.
He told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Akpabio uses only one official car.
“The Senate President uses only one car. So every other thing you’re talking about, I don’t know,” he said.
“What you’re saying, I am not aware. I know the Senate President drives to his office or social events or any event he is invited in his official car, so what you’re talking about, I don’t know. Do you want him to trek or you want him to jog to the office? He should not use any car?” he added.
Mr Udom also claimed that the other cars seen in his principal’s convoy belonged to senators accompanying him.
“What you have counted is wrong. What I know is that senators accompany him to the plenary in their own personal cars and you can’t count senator’s cars as part of the cars in the Senate President’s convoy. He drives in only one car. Any other car you see following him are his colleagues following him to events or the plenary,” he added.
However, PREMIUM TIMES’ observations contradict this claim. Mr Akpabio’s convoy typically arrives at the National Assembly without other senators accompanying him. The Senate President rides in a bulletproof Mercedes-Benz S-Class with a white leather seat and is escorted by security personnel through the White House to the Senate Chamber.
When asked whether the Senate President’s security details are always part of the convoy, contrary to his claim that Mr Akpabio’s convoy is only one vehicle, Mr Udom declined to respond.
Meanwhile, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Speaker Abass, Musa Krishi, did not respond to calls and messages sent to him.
Page planned and produced by: Aaron Cole
