Jonathan Jumah, Director-General of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos, has told the House of Representatives Committee on Inter-Governmental Affairs of plans by the agency to acquire two Toyota Camry cars at N72 million.

Jumah, who stated this on Wednesday in Abuja during a budget performance and overview held by the Committee for agencies under its supervision, added that each of the vehicles would cost N36 million.

“We plan to acquire two Toyota Camry cars for N72 million, at N36 million each. These cars are for project monitoring, and we decided to go for them because they are cheaper than jeeps. If we had gone for jeeps, the price would have been higher,” Jumah told the Committee.

However, the Committee Chairman, Hussain Suleiman (APC, Kebbi), who probably thought the price too high, asked the DG for specification to which he declined on the grounds that it would amount to a breach of the Public Procurement Act.

The Chairman, who described the price for the two vehicles as worrisome, added that there was need for specification in order to guide the Committee in its work.

“Specification is very important. It is a little bit worrisome to buy a Toyota Camry car at N36 million, which is N72 million for two,” the Chairman observed.

Other agencies at the budget performance and defence included the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) and the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC).

According to the Chairman’s observation and suggestions,  some of the agencies need to be scrapped for low performance, not doing what they were mandated to do and having outlived their usefulness.