As the economic hardship in the country bites harder by the day, the Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has procured 60 new Toyota Prado SUVs for government officials and politicians in the State.
According to sources within the Edo State Government House, a total of ₦9.6 billion is said to have been expended by the governor for the purchase of the 60 Toyota sports utility vehicles at N160 million each.
This, the sources revealed, is in addition to the over N5bn already lavished by the State Government in the first two weeks of Okpebholo’s administration to procure a new fleet of ultra-modern armoured SUVs for the governor-select.
The source who pleaded anonymity, said the purchases align with the government’s ongoing phased process of procuring and distributing luxury operational vehicles to government officials and politicians as a reward for their roles in the recent gubernatorial election, in which Okpebholo emerged through an electoral process widely described as the most manipulated in the nation’s history, and whose outcome is already being firmly contested in court.
“This is not just a glaring display of fiscal recklessness and executive rascality but an insult to the sensibilities of Edo State citizens, who have to endure daily the excruciating economic hardship, widespread poverty, and hunger caused by the mismanagement of the national economy by Okpebholo’s All Progressives Congress (APC) government at the centre.
“We cannot afford a governor who plays monarch with taxpayers’ money, lavishing scarce resources on luxury vehicles at a time when families are struggling to afford basic necessities due to the soaring cost of living, high inflation, and economic hardship. This is reckless, insensitive and to say the least, is most condemnable and reprehensible,” the source said.
Disclosing that the government has so far expended about N20bn on the purchase of luxury vehicles since assuming office, the source further stated, “The splurge of nearly N20bn on luxury vehicles in less than two months in office is yet another display of a clueless government with a development agenda focused solely on rewarding godfathers and selfish politicians while neglecting the pressing needs of the people.”
“We condemn this wasteful spending in its entirety and call on the Monday Okpebholo administration to immediately put an end to its extravagant spending spree and opulent lifestyle and focus on improving the lives of Edo people, paying attention to critical roads and other infrastructure projects, sustaining investment and reforms in the education, health, and creative sectors, and continuing support to drive growth of businesses and enterprises in the State, among other efforts to guarantee a more viable, progressive, and prosperous Edo State,” he charged.
