By President Muhammadu Buhari approved over one billion naira for the purchase vehicles for the Government of Niger Republic, a document from the country’s Budget Office has revealed.
An investigative journalist, David Hundeyin shared the leaked document on his Twitter page on Tuesday.
As seen in the said document, the sum of N1.4 billion was earmarked for the supply of 10 Toyota Land Crusier V8 vehicles to the Government of Niger Republic on the approval of the Nigerian President.
According to Hundeyin, checks on the account number listed in the document show that it belongs to one Kaura Motors Nigeria Limited.
He asked, “Why is Buhari’s government purchasing vehicles for a foreign government? Is this an extension of the same nonsensical decision-making that saw it prioritise a railway to Maradi?”
I'm going to put this on Twitter because @WestAfricaWeek is a long-read platform that doesn't do breaking news, and this needs to be out there.
I've got hold of a budget office document showing @MBuhari approving N1.4 billion to buy vehicles for the government of Niger Republic. pic.twitter.com/GDVx50cOJ0
— David Hundeyin (@DavidHundeyin) August 2, 2022
The leaked document has since sparked outrage from Nigerians on social media, as many condemned the president for “wasting” the country’s resources amid the economic woes citizens are currently grappling with.
It would be recalled that in June 2021, Buhari publicly defended the decision of his administration to spend $1.9 billion on a rail project to the Niger Republic, saying the move was to allow his Nigerien relatives easily have access to Nigeria.
“I have cousins, family members, etc., in Niger Republic. I shouldn’t just cut them off,” he said at the time.
