Government to spend N4.1bn on cars

A breakdown of the 2016 budget has shown that the federal government will be spending N39 billion in running the Office of the President with major allocations going to car purchase at N3.9 billion and another N189 million to change tyres, Vanguard reports.

The BMW salon cars for principal officers are estimated to cost N3 630 000 000, N189.1m will be spent on tyres for various vehicles, including the bulletproof and plain Mercedes Benz cars being used in the Presidency.

The allocation for tyres will cover other brands of vehicles, including Toyota cars, trucks, Land Cruiser Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs), Prado SUVs, Hilux pick-up vans, Peugeot 607 and 406 cars, ambulances as well as utility and operational vehicles.

Other expenditures on the government’s vehicles include N39.8m for the purchase of an unspecified number of 200 amps, 100 amps and 60 amps Mercedes Benz batteries for bulletproof vehicles.

N30m is to be expended on the purchase of tool boxes, car jacks, and diagnostic machines for the Presidency’s bulletproof cars, the purchase of C-Caution triangles, fire-extinguishers and cables will gulp N27m.