GOVERNMENT officials should be mandated to use only vehicles assembled in Nigeria, Senator Ireti Kingibe argued on Wednesday with respect to the outcry over the high cost of governance as Nigerians cope with economic hardships, adding that she rides “a 1986 car”.
The senator representing the FCT, who appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today monitored by News Point Nigeria, argued that “we cannot 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 opposition 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 dollar to fall to the naira and help grow the economy.
Kingibe also addressed criticisms directed at her and other members of the Labour Party for not speaking out more during the recent screening of ministerial nominees.
“Whenever people talk about us Labour senators, they’re 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,” she said.
“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.”
