Saraki New Cars: Blame Buhari for not showing leadership – Prominent Scholar

– Prominent scholar, Dr Ononuju says Saraki should not be blamed for  acquiring new cars

– Dr Ononuju blames President Buhari for not showing leadership and coming out clean on the state of the vehicles in his presidential car fleet

– Calls for a comprehensive buy made in Nigeria campaign

 The director general, Heritage Centre, Dr. Katch Ononuju, said that Bukola Saraki has done nothing wrong in acquiring new cars for the office of the Senate president.

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Media reports last week revealed that Saraki allegedly sanctioned and had taken delivery of new cars for his convoy worth about N330 million despite public outcry and worsening economic conditions of the country.

Reacting to this issue, Dr. Ononuju, a political and economic researcher who spoke with Naij.com in Abuja said the president caused it by not showing leadership and coming out clean on the state of the vehicles in his presidential car fleet.

He also queried President Buhari’s attitude towards the made in Nigeria campaign.

“The cars that the Senate president has is not as expensive as the one that the president has. The president is the problem, he is not showing leadership in this problem of corruption especially in this austerity period.

“The president has a more expensive Merceedes than the one delivered to the Senate president.  If the president believes in made in Nigeria goods, he should have some Innosson Motors in his convoy….he does not have.

“The president is not sincere. He lacks the political will to fight corruption in a holistic manner. He is also not sincere in the issue of fairness.

 “President Buhari is not an honest person in fighting corruption. President Buhari is also not an honest person in his quest about buying made in Nigeria. I am saying this because no Nigerian made vehicle is in his convoy. If he is honest let him buy Innosson cars in his convoy….that is the way,” he said.

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Fielding questions on the claims made by the president that he rejected budgetary provisions to a tune of N400 million for the purchase of new cars for the presidential car fleet, Dr Ononuju sheds more light saying:

“That is not true. Let me inform you please. When the president took over power amongst things that were delivered to him were new vehicles that were ordered by the previous administration. Those vehicles were delivered to him brand new. They were not used by President Goodluck Jonathan. They were ordered under President Goodluck Jonathan but were delivered when President Buhari took over. So why didn’t he reject them in the name of austerity? That is what you are missing. Don’t get deceived by such posturing,” Ononuju cautioned.

Speaking more on the issue, Dr Ononuju called on Nigerians to use the delivery of the cars to campaign for a comprehensive made in Nigeria program.

“Now that the senate president has also done exactly what the president has done…..now this issue coming up now is very good for the country. Let us use the delivery of those cars to start campaigning for a totality of the made in Nigeria program to be given honest expression and not the mouthy talk that all of us has been doing that don’t add up.”

Speaking on why searchlight has been beamed on Bukola Saraki since he became the senate president, he  predicted that the ruling party, All Progressive Congress (APC), will die before the next general elections.

“The present Senate president is perceived as a political opponent because as a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), he did not behave according to the instructions from the hierarchy of the APC in regards to the position of the senate presidency. He organized with his old Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) mates and seized the senate presidency as a way of allocating to themselves what they believe the APC couldn’t give them.

“The APC was not honest and fair in its allocation of positions to those conglomeration of membership that formed it. APC was formed by four principal groups; a breakaway faction of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), the All Nigeria Peoples Party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC)….and then you have that big injection from the new PDP. But in sharing positions it was only the ACN and the CPC that were favoured. So the members of the new PDP organized themselves to seize the national assembly.

“Those issues are very clear. It is due to the APC inability to build an inclusive national party and that is just the issue. For me that is why I see the APC as a dying party and I do not expect it to extend more than 48 months from now as it is,” he concluded.

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Meanwhile, Senate president Bukola Saraki has faulted reports that he got new cars worth N330 million. In a press release made available to the press by the senate president’s media office, Saraki claimed that only his official car was changed.

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