Honourable Dimeji Bankole, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and his deputy, Honourable Usman Bayero Nafada, are said to have acquired nine bullet-proof cars each for their official use and in preparation for 2011 governorship elections in their respective states.
Bankole is from Ogun State while Nafada is from Gombe. Their governors are respectivel
y serving second terms and their seats will be vacant in 2011.
The Speaker had, on many occassions, denied eyeing the governorship seat, but sources in his state have continued to link him with a possible shot at the Ogun Government House. The multi-million naira vehicles are now in Abuja, while the presiding officers sometimes put some of the cars in their official fleet.
Sources confirmed in Abuja that each of the vehicles was acquired for between N50 and N85 million and that the deputy speaker, most of the times, acted as a catalyst for the acquisition.It was also gathered in Abuja that the cars are mostly parked at a rented apartment being used as a Guest House by the Speaker.
Saturda
y Tribune reports that the speaker acquired the first bullet-proof car shortly after he resumed office in November, 2007, adding that the car was in his fleet during his first official trip to Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.It was gathered that because of the sensitive nature of the cars, the National Assembly had, through the outgoing Clerk of the National Assembly (CNA), Alhaji Nasiru Arab, requested for End Users Certificate (EUC) from the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) to ensure the clearance of the first bullet-proof car acquired for the Speaker.
Bankole is from Ogun State while Nafada is from Gombe. Their governors are respectivel
y serving second terms and their seats will be vacant in 2011.The Speaker had, on many occassions, denied eyeing the governorship seat, but sources in his state have continued to link him with a possible shot at the Ogun Government House. The multi-million naira vehicles are now in Abuja, while the presiding officers sometimes put some of the cars in their official fleet.
Sources confirmed in Abuja that each of the vehicles was acquired for between N50 and N85 million and that the deputy speaker, most of the times, acted as a catalyst for the acquisition.It was also gathered in Abuja that the cars are mostly parked at a rented apartment being used as a Guest House by the Speaker.
Saturda
y Tribune reports that the speaker acquired the first bullet-proof car shortly after he resumed office in November, 2007, adding that the car was in his fleet during his first official trip to Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.It was gathered that because of the sensitive nature of the cars, the National Assembly had, through the outgoing Clerk of the National Assembly (CNA), Alhaji Nasiru Arab, requested for End Users Certificate (EUC) from the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) to ensure the clearance of the first bullet-proof car acquired for the Speaker.
