The House of Representatives has started taking delivery of the Toyota Camry 2020 model cars acquired for members as official cars, otherwise called utility vehicles , The insidesources magazine has reliably learnt .
Our correspondent sighted some of the cars at different parking lots within the National Assembly Complex , on Thursday.
The legislators had at an executive ( closed -door ) session on February 5 , 2020 , resolved to purchase 400 units of the exotic car .
The House has , however , kept sealed lips on the cost of each unit as the contract for the supply it was learnt was not awarded to accredited Toyota dealers .
Our correspondent observed that the House procured the V 6 Limited Edition variant of the car .
Chairman of the Committee on House Services , Mr . Wale Raji , who confirmed delivery of the cars declined to respond to further enquiries .
The cars, which belong to the National Assembly, are usually auctioned to the lawmakers after four years .
A check on the website of Toyota revealed that each of the vehicles – depending on the variant , has a price tag of between US $ 25 ,000 to US $ 35 ,000 , excluding the cost of shipping and custom duties, which is about 100 per cent of the actual cost of each unit .
For instance , those with higher specification , which most often than not is the preferred choice of lawmakers , could cost tax payers a tidy sum. Vehicles in this range are: XLE at $ 29 , 455 , XLE V 6 at $34 ,580 , XSE at $ 30 ,005 and XSE V 6 at $ 35 ,130 .
Already , about 14 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado sports utility vehicles have already been handed out to presiding as well as other principal officers and chairmen of select House committees .
Some lawmakers who were contacted on Thursday said they had yet to receive vehicles delivered in “the first batch.”
Giving a breakdown of how the vehicles are shared , a member of the House , who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution , said , the 400 saloon cars would be allocated to each of the 360 members and some top management staff , Chiefs of Staff to the ( two) presiding officers as well as some of their special advisers and assistants .
The lawmaker explained that new members who did not get committee appointments would benefit from the first batch.
The source said , “I was told 100 have already arrived and they are sharing them to new members who are not chairmen and deputy chairmen ( of committees ) . The next batch will be for returning ( ranking ) members who are neither chairmen nor deputy chairmen. The last batch will go to ranking member with appointments .”
The Committee on House Services and the National Assembly Management , led by the Clerk to the National Assembly, Mohammed Sani -Omolori , had constituted a joint committee to oversee the acquisition, verification and distribution to the lawmakers .
The Committee on House Services , which also exists in the Senate , serves as the protocol and welfare department .
The joint committee was set up as some members had alleged that the National Assembly had become a “dumping ground ” for smuggled and refurbished automobiles.
