Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Yemi Adaramodu, has defended lawmakers over the controversy surrounding the National Assembly’s vehicle acquisition programme, stating that senators were not involved in the procurement process and should not be held responsible for legal issues arising from the transactions. The clarification follows a recent Federal High Court judgment that declared the National Assembly’s N110 billion vehicle procurement and allowance schemes unlawful.
Speaking on the matter, Adaramodu explained that the National Assembly Vehicle Procurement process is managed entirely by the administrative bureaucracy of the legislature rather than elected lawmakers. According to him, officials within the National Assembly administration are responsible for determining vehicle requirements, conducting procurement procedures and assigning vehicles for legislative and committee assignments.
“The bureaucracy determines and provides official vehicles for committee work and legislative assignments. No vehicle is registered in the name of any senator,” he stated.
He stressed that the vehicles remain government property and are assigned strictly for official duties during a lawmaker’s tenure.
The senator further clarified that lawmakers do not automatically own the vehicles allocated to them for official functions. He noted that any eventual acquisition of such vehicles by lawmakers can only occur at the end of their tenure through approved government procedures and payment arrangements.
According to Adaramodu, the arrangement is designed to support legislative activities rather than provide personal benefits to members of the National Assembly. He maintained that the National Assembly Vehicle Procurement exercise was executed by administrative departments that operate within established procurement guidelines.
Addressing the legal dispute, Adaramodu argued that any challenge relating to procurement decisions should be directed at the departments responsible for executing the transactions rather than individual lawmakers.
“Senators were not taken to court. Procurement is handled by the appropriate departments within the National Assembly bureaucracy. Legislators have no role in the purchasing process,” he said.
He added that lawmakers should not be blamed for decisions made by the institution’s administrative structure.
The controversy stems from a judgment delivered by Justice Yellim Bogoro of the Federal High Court in Lagos, which ruled that the National Assembly’s N110 billion vehicle procurement and allowance schemes violated procurement laws, constitutional provisions and public trust.
The suit was filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project against Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas on behalf of members of both legislative chambers. In his ruling, Justice Bogoro directed the National Assembly leadership to ensure future procurement activities comply fully with due process, transparency, accountability and value-for-money principles.
The court also held that lawmakers, as beneficiaries of the expenditure they approved, were placed in a position that created potential conflicts of interest.
Despite the court’s findings, Adaramodu insists that responsibility for the National Assembly Vehicle Procurement process rests with the administrative arms of the legislature and not individual senators. He reiterated that lawmakers merely utilise vehicles assigned for official duties and play no direct role in procurement decisions, maintaining that all acquisitions are handled through established institutional procedures.
