FG Earmarks N39.41 Billion For Purchase Of Cars For MDAs

The uproar surrounding the 2016 budget do not seem to be going away anytime soon as it was discovered yesterday that the federal government earmarked a staggering sum of N39.41 billion only for the purchase of cars in this fiscal year.

The development is contrary to the stance of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration that it is looking to cut costs in the running of the government.

According to a THISDAY report, of the N39.41 billion budgeted for vehicles in 2016 budget, N29.41 billion of them is meant for the purchase of vehicles by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).

It was also learnt that N24.38 billion of the N29.41 billion has been allocated for the purchase of cars; N1.67 billion allocated for the purchase of buses while another N362.65 million is earmarked for the purchase of vans.

The report also disclosed that some agencies such as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) have the combined budget of N10 billion for the purchase of vehicles.

The N39.41 billion budget is besides the budget for the planned purchase of vehicles by the judiciary which is not clearly stated in judiciary’s budget.