The Senator representing Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Ireti Kingibe, has said that government officials should be mandated to use only vehicles assembled in Nigeria.
She opined that the measure would be in response to the public outcry over the high cost of governance amid economic hardships being experienced Nigerians.
Senator Kingibe, who spoke on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ on Wednesday night, noted that she currently rides a “1986” model car, adding that “We can not continue like this.”
Asked what she would do differently to tackle the situation, Kingibe said, “I would insist that all government vehicles must have been assembled in Nigeria. That would go a long way to improving productivity in Nigeria.
“For one thing, Innoson, perhaps Volkswagen and Peugeot, and maybe even Toyota might decide that it’s worth their while to set up an assembly plant here.”
The lawmaker noted that certain commodities, such as tinned tomatoes, should not be imported.
While noting the public would have “a short period of some kind of inconvenience”, she explained that such developments would cause the UD dollar to fall to the Naira and help grow the economy.
She also addressed criticisms directed at her and other members of the Labour Party (LP) for not speaking out more during the recent screening of ministerial nominees.
“Whenever people talk about us Labour Senators, there are only eight of us. And in a democracy, the minority will have their say, and at the end of the day, the majority will have their way.
“We will make changes that we can make, but we’re also new in the Senate. We’re trying to find our feet; we’re trying to know the run of the place. So, they have to give us a little bit of time to see the impact that we can make as well,” Kingibe explained.
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