244
Daniel Adaji
President Bola Tinubu is planning to spend at least N5.66bn on luxury vehicles in the 2025 fiscal year despite the Nigerian government already spending at least N7.67bn on similar procurements in 2024, according to budget documents analysed by our reporter.
The proposed allocation, contained in the 2025 Appropriation Act showed that the State House Headquarters will spend N4.76bn on motor vehicles.
A breakdown revealed that N3.66bn is earmarked for the ongoing purchase of State House operational vehicles while N1.09bn is set aside for the replacement of SUV vehicles.
Additional allocations in the proposed budget include N255.73m for the President’s vehicles, N285m for the Vice President’s motor vehicles, N179.63m for the Chief of Staff to the President, and N179.63m for the National Security Adviser for the ongoing purchase of security and operational vehicles.
These plans follow a high-spending year in 2024 when the government spent at least N7.67bn on vehicles alone, according to data obtained from BudgIT’s accountability platform, GovSpend.
Some notable vehicle-related expenditures in 2024 include N3.43bn paid to Laralek Ultimate Ltd on August 18, 2024, for the supply of 16 Toyota Prado V6 SUVs. N1.75bn was paid to Mujaf Automobile Nig. Ltd on September 9, 2024, for 10 Toyota Camry V4 (2023 models). N1.9bn was paid on May 21, 2024, from the State House Headquarters Transit Account for vehicle supply through Laralek.
In the 2024 budget, the State House Headquarters alone received N6bn for vehicle purchases. This includes N4bn for new operational vehicles and N2bn for SUV replacements. The Office of the Chief of Staff was allocated N395.1m for its fleet.
These revelations come at a time when Nigerians are facing severe economic challenges including inflation, high cost of living, and rising unemployment.