Metro

Despite economic hardship, Nigerian Senate justifies purchase of N57.6bn SUVs for 469 members

Published

1 year ago

October 25, 2023

Despite the harsh economic situation in Nigeria and the hardship Nigerians have been thrown into as a result of the removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu, the National Assembly has justified the purchase of luxury Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) for its 469 members at the cost of N160 million each, amounting to a whopping total of N57.6 billion.

With a majority of Nigerians condemning the purchase of the vehicles for 109 members of the Senate and 360 members of the House of Representatives at a time ordinary Nigerians are going through pains, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Services, Sunday Karimi, has said the decision of the leadership of the two chambers of the National Assembly to buy the luxury cars for lawmakers was because they want vehicles that will not only be durable on Nigerian roads but also be able to be maintained for the period of four years.

A civil society group, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) had last Friday approached a Federal High Court in Lagos seeking to stop the lawmakers from taking delivery of the SUVs pending the hearing and determination of the applications for injunction filed by the organisation.

However, Sen. Karimi has justified the planned purchase of luxury vehicles for lawmakers in spite of dissenting voices in the last few days.

While briefing journalists on Tuesday in Abuja, the Senator, apparently speaking the minds of his colleagues, accused Nigerians of picking on lawmakers but ignoring ministers whom he said had “more than three Land Cruisers, Prado and other vehicles and questions are not asked.”

The senator expressed disappointment over the media frenzy which followed the exposure of details of the vehicle purchase deal which has become a quadrennial ritual.

He further described public attention on the utility vehicles of lawmakers as unfair because, according to him, the situation was worse at the executive level where ministers who were not elected rode in a convoy of several of such vehicles without a whimper from either the media or the public.

“Somebody that is a minister has more than three land cruisers, Prado and other vehicles and you are not asking them questions, why us?” he queried.

”If I go to my senatorial district, I come back spending a lot on my vehicles because our roads are bad. Am I talking to somebody?

“I said the decision that we took on using land cruiser is … you know they have exchanged the price analysis and other sections, including cost and durability, are you getting me, before they came up with this?

“It is not the decisions of the senators alone, we did an analysis before arriving at the land cruiser. It was based on a comparative analysis of the cost of technical issues and durability on Nigerian roads, are you getting me?

“We want something we can maintain for another four years and the issue of buying vehicles from the National Assembly, you know is a recurring issue, it occurs in every assembly, it will always come up.

“If you go to state houses of assembly today, check out, most of them, before they were even inaugurated, the governor would have bought vehicles waiting for them, even local government chairmen. I drove the vehicle my local government chairman uses. So, why single out National Assembly?” he added.

Related Topics:Featured Nigeria Senate. House of Representatives SUVs

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Metro

Morocco’s Mpox test gets African CDC endorsement

Published

7 hours ago

November 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A major step forward in Africa’s response to the continuing epidemic was taken Thursday when the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) revealed that it had endorsed Morocco’s locally created mpox test.

A “major milestone” for African public health systems, the new real-time PCR test can identify mpox pathogen DNA in tissue, saliva, and blood samples, improving the continent’s capacity to address new health risks.

The Africa CDC announced the clearance on X (previously Twitter), highlighting the validity and effectiveness of Morocco’s mpox test.

The support is in line with the African Union’s overarching goal of enhancing public health self-sufficiency in order to anticipate and effectively address disease risks.

This development follows three months ago when the Africa CDC declared the mpox epidemic to be a public health emergency.

Previously known as monkeypox, mpox is a disease that infects animals and people by intimate personal contact. Symptoms include fever, muscular pains, and characteristic skin lesions.

Alongside the CDC’s work, Abbott Molecular Inc.’s Alinity m MPXV assay, the first mpox diagnostic test, was authorised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) last month.

This diagnostic tool provides an additional means of monitoring and managing the virus by identifying mpox from swab samples.

Approximately 1,100 people have died and over 50,000 instances of mpox have been recorded throughout Africa this year, with Central Africa experiencing the highest number of cases and fatalities.

Metro

Mpox immunisation scarcity slows Kinshasa’s epidemic fight

Published

8 hours ago

November 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A lack of mpox vaccine doses has prevented the Democratic Republic of the Congo from starting a campaign in the capital, Kinshasa, the response commander has confirmed. However, the number of cases nationwide is still rising, particularly among youngsters.

In mid-August, a new strain of pox started to spread from the Congo to neighbouring countries, prompting the WHO to declare a global health emergency. However, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, donors have been hesitant to turn their pledges into cash and vaccines.

The head of operations for Congo’s mpox control program, Cris Kacita, stated on Tuesday that the country needed more than 162,000 doses of vaccine to start a vaccination campaign in the capital, but that 53,921 doses were still available for use in prisons, where inmates are at greater risk because of unsanitary conditions.

The capital, which is home to about 20 million people, has so far been less impacted than other parts of the nation. In six other provinces, vaccination campaigns are now underway.

Along with additional shipments from Germany and the African Union, France has committed to providing 100,000 doses.

He added the arrival of vaccines was also delayed by the administrative process, which includes sending an official request, manufacturing, creating documentation and gaining import authorisations.

“As long as we don’t have the necessary quantity, it’s going to be complicated to launch (vaccination) in the 14 health zones,” Kacita told Reuters, referring to areas of Kinshasa.

According to a health ministry study, from October 28 to November 2, 1,017 new suspected cases were registered nationwide in Congo, including 45 confirmed cases and 16 fatalities.

Since children are almost four times more likely than adults to die from the new strain of mpox, the charity Save the Children warned on Wednesday that targeted vaccines were necessary to halt the virus from spreading quickly among children.

“Children are especially vulnerable to mpox – they explore by touch and taste, don’t always understand health guidance, and have weaker immune systems than adults,” Katia Vieira de Moraes LaCasse from Save the Children said.

According to Africa CDC data, there have been over 42,000 suspected cases of Mpox in the continent, with 1,100 deaths reported so far this year.

The Mpox virus can spread from person to person via intimate contact and also from place to person through objects and surfaces that a person infected with Mpox has touched.