Last year, November 2023, there was an uproar when the Federal Government approved for all members of the Federal House of Representatives brand new Luxury SUV vehicles for each of the 360 members of the House. The car is valued at a whooping $150m.
The social media went agog with many Nigerians expressing their displeasure with the development. While members of the House of Reps were excited and looking forward to taking delivery of this exotic wonder-on-wheels, more than a few Nigerians were exasperated at the news. They were, to say the very least, disappointed with the Lawmakers for accepting such an ‘expensive gift’ from the government at a time when many of the citizens could barely feed their family and dependants.
The explanation of the House of Representatives is that these SUVs would enable the honourable lawmakers to dispense their duties effectively and serve their people better. But Nigerians disagreed with them. They insisted the timing was wrong and that, in any case, the Lawmakers didn’t need an SUV to serve their constituents if indeed they are genuinely about service to humanity. But while the outrage continued, three Lawmakers proved that they were different from the rest. Indeed, although not many knew about it at the time, but these three young Lawmakers from the northern part of the country actually turned down this offer and refused to accept the SUVs. Let us tell you more.
These three Lawmakers are regarded as the three youngest Lawmakers in Nigeria. They are between the ages of 27 and 35. They are Hon. Bello El-Rufai, from Kaduna State. He is the son of former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai. The others are Hon. Ibrahim Bello from Kebbi State, described as a brilliant young man, and the third Lawmaker is Honourable Muktar Shagaya, another bright lawmaker from Kwara State. These three outstanding young politicians reportedly rejected their own SUV vehicles and they did so purely based on principles. They did not think it made any sense for them to be cruising around town in their exotic automobiles while their people are reeking in abject poverty and feeding from crumbs.
It was the young man from Kaduna State, Hon. Bello El-Rufai, representing Kaduna North constituency, who made this known on a podcast hosted by popular journalist, Seun Okinbaloye of Channels Television. He told Seun, “myself, Honourable Ibrahim Bello, a brilliant young man and Honourable Muktar Shagaya, from Kwara State, none of us took those SUVs,” he said to a shocked Seun Okinbaloye who then asked why they declined to accept their own SUV.
“For all the kinds of insults we dey chop, Seun, why would I take an SUV? You just said perhaps because I am from a privileged home, I have had an SUV since working with Huawei,” he sanswered.
Their position was simple and clear. They believed that it is insensitive and selfish for them to accept the SUVs while their people in the northern region of the country are languishing in penury. Instead, they prefered they are handed the monetary value of the SUVs which is estimated to be around $150m so they can use the money to set up factories or healthcare facilities in their various states. This, they insist, would create employment for the thousands of unemployed peple in that part of the region.
But, for whatever reason, the story of the refusal of the SUVs by these three remarkable young men did not make headline news, unlike the news of the acceptance of the vehicles by the remaining 357 Lawmakers. This went viral and it enraged many Nigerians who felt it was a clear sign of insensitivity on the part of the Lawmakers who promptly accepted the SUVs and a strong reminder to the people that the government simply do not give a damn about them.
However, the Federal House of Representatives did come out to counter Bello El-Rufai’s claim that he and two of his colleagues refused to accept their own SUVs.
The Deputy Spokesperson for the House, Hon. Philip Agbese, cautioned the Kaduna lawmaker not to “grandstand or pontificate on contentious matters in a way that would bring the image of the parliament to disrepute”.
The leaked memo revealed that “every Member of the 10th House of Representatives has received their vehicle”, even though it said, “these vehicles remain the property of the House of Representatives and are to aid Honourable Members in the discharge of their duties”.
The internal memo addressed to members of the House, which is titled, ‘Clarification on Vehicle Allocation’, reads as follows:
“Our attention has been drawn to a trending video excerpt from an interview, wherein one of our distinguished colleagues, Hon. Bello El-Rufai, claimed that some members, including himself, rejected their operational vehicles allocated to them.
“It has become necessary to state that, this is totally false and inaccurate. From our checks with the House Committee on House Services, every member of the 10th House of Representatives has received their vehicle.
“The House, therefore, cautions Hon. El-Rufai to desist from further misinforming the public or attempting to set his colleagues up for public ridicule. As a House, we are advised not to grandstand or pontificate on contentious matters in a way that would bring the image of the parliament to disrepute. Hence, the need for caution in public discourse, especially now that the 10th House of Representatives is earning the trust of Nigerians.
“We take this opportunity to clarify that all Honourable Members have had their vehicles duly allocated to them. These vehicles remain the property of the House of Representatives and are to aid Honourable Members in the discharge of their duties.
“We also wish to remind all Honourable Members that while you have the liberty to engage with the media and the public as you see fit, it is in the best interests of the House and all members to avoid causing disaffection and raising controversial matters.
“Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Neither Hon. Bello El-Rufai nor the other two gentlemen, Honourables Bello Ibrahim and Muktar Shagaya responded to the caution from the Deputy Spokesperson of the House. But many insist that if indeed the three Lawmakers accepted their own SUVs, the young El-Rufai would not have gone to speak to a journalist of Seun Okinbaloye’s status and lie about such a matter when he knows it would be easy for Seun to verify his claim and find out if he is speaking the truth or not. With time, the actual truth, we hope, will be revealed.