We Will Patronise Locally Made Vehicles In The Future – Senator Karimi

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Services, Sunday Karimi has stated that members of the Senate and the House of Representatives decided to purchase luxury vehicles from Toyota because of its longstanding name for quality.

“Today, we decided for Toyota because Toyota has a name and a longstanding name for quality and durability…As our local manufacturing companies develop, we are going to patronise them,” he said.

He, however, promised that local producers of vehicles would be patronised as they begin to develop.

The lawmaker stated this in a live appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday.

Naija News reports that controversy has continued to trail the planned purchase of luxury vehicles by federal lawmakers with many Nigerians criticising the idea.

Addressing the situation, Karimi, who represents Kogi West Senatorial District in the 10th National Assembly, explained that the lawmakers “need the vehicles for oversights, to travel all over our constituencies”.

He added that purchasing utility vehicles isn’t illegal as Nigerian roads are very bad.

“If you look at Nigerian roads all over the Federation, we have a serious problem because nothing much has been done in the last years. Most of our roads are terribly bad,” Karimi explained.

Speaking on the choice of foreign-made brand of vehicles, the lawmaker said, “In future, as Nigerian manufacturing sector develops, we will (patronise them).”