Inaccuracies litter Senate’s defence of Range Rover purchase

More confusion has set into the controversy trailing the purchase of a Range Rover by the Senate.
Apart from the fact that the Senate said it paid $298,000 for the Jeep, which it said was a far cry from the N298 million initially quoted by the media, two statements by the Senate on Tuesday introduced more inaccuracies into the controversy.
The first was the period the Senate decided to buy the Jeep.
A statement on Tuesday by the spokesman of the Senate, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, said the Jeep was paid for in November 2015.
However, the importer of the vehicle said it was consigned to his company in October 2016 after the person who ordered for the vehicle, Wale Tinubu of Oando, declined interest.
The CEO of Lanre Shittu Motors, Lanre Shittu, explained to the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges on Monday that the SUV was consigned to his company in October 2016 by Tinubu because he was not able to use it for the purpose for which it was imported, hence he approached them to sell the vehicle.
The second inaccuracy in the statement by Abdullahi was the foreign exchange rate at the time the Senate paid for the Jeep in 2015.
Abdullahi put the exchange rate at N165/$1.
However, checks by The Eagle Online on both the website of the Central Bank of Nigeria and Pound Sterling Live showed that both the official and unofficial rates hovered between N197 and N199.
So while Abdullahi categorically said the Senate paid N62.5 million for the vehicle in November 2015, the cost would have been higher even at the prevailing rate then.
Added to this was another statement from the office of the President of the Senate, which quoted a price range that introduced a gap of N4.5 million.
The explanation, offered by the SLA Communications & Strategy in the Office of the Senate President, Olu Onemola, put the cost of the Jeep at between N58 million and N62 million based on the exchange rate then, which was not disclosed in the statement.
The statement by Abdullahi reads in full: “Our attention has been drawn to the various false and mischievous reports in the media about the price of the vehicle which the Senate was said to have bought as part of its convoy but was later abandoned when it got impounded by the Customs over controversy surrounding import duty payment.
“The correct price of the vehicle when it was imported in 2015 is $298,000 which at the prevailing rate of N165 to a dollar is about N49,170.
“The Senate paid N62.5m for the vehicle in November 2015. This is contrary to the mischief by those who decided to turn the $298,000 to N298 million as the price of the vehicle. “For the avoidance of doubt, the price the Senate paid for that vehicle is N62.5m and not N298 million.
“The Senate will appreciate it if all reports relating to the legislative institution, particularly on this vehicle matter, are reported with accuracy and all facts put in proper perspective.
“We urge journalists to avoid sensationalism. The Senate is a responsible institution and those who believe that when they have issues to explain before it, the next thing to do is to resort to falsehood, blackmail, muck-raking and mud-slinging, should know that they are just overheating the polity and undermining our democratic institution.
“Finally, the Senate wish to reiterate our total commitment to upholding the rule of law and to work for Nigerians, in accordance with our constitution.”
The one by Onemola said: “Several news publications, both print and online, have wrongly reported that the Range Rover Bullet Proof SUV vehicle at the center of the import duty waiver story is worth N298 million.
“Please note, the value of the car as specified by all related documents is $298,000, which makes it in the range of N58million to N62million (based on 2015 exchange rates). This makes the inaccurate figure N240million over the actual value of the car.”