Yesterday 27th of March, 2017, Senate President Bukola Saraki appeared before the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions over allegations that a bullet proof Range Rover Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) belonging to him was impounded by the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) for bearing fake customs clearance papers.
It appeared through evidence that the car documents that were discovered were fake as the original papers where presented yesterday. The dealer Lanre Shittu Motors presented the papers given to it by the importer, Oando Nigeria Plc, to the Customs Service.
The vehicle was imported into the country in September 2015 by Oando Nigeria Plc which consigned it to the motor dealer, Lanre Shittu Group, in October 2016 from whom the National Assembly purchased the vehicle in January 2017, the committee heard.
The committee was chaired by Senator Samuel Anyanwu (Imo East). It was reported that the face-off between the Senate and the Comptroller General (CG) of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), was borne out of revenge for the seizure of the N298 million vehicle for which only N8 million was paid as customs duty instead of N74 million.
Senator Bukola Saraki however said,
“This is not true, those that said it know it is not true. Customs knows it is not true, because we all know that all treated vehicles have end-user certificates and there it states clearly who the importer is.”
“These documents are available and there is no document anywhere that shows my name. So I want to state categorically that this is not true and it is important that I come here and clear my name and put this matter to rest,” Saraki said.
He added that the “ridiculous” allegations were intended to blackmail the Senate for its stance on the anti-people retrospective vehicle customs duty verification policy.
“We raised the issue of the policy that is anti-people in the interest of Nigerians. This policy really had no value at all and that was why this motion came up, we debated it in the interest of Nigerians.
“Unfortunately, those who want to fight back went and thought there was something to blackmail us with,”
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Wuru Wuru! Mago Mago people. He does not has anything to do with the vehicle but his name is the paper. Why no one else beside Mesujamba Bukola Seriki. Hmm! what a country or rather a village. Despicable people and deplorable at best. Mesujamba name always features in crimes in Nigeria and I wish am not in Senate of house of fantastically corrupt house of dealings.