Buhari, Osinbajo, Cabinet Ministers Are Not Allowed To Go With Official Vehicles – Presidency

Muhammadu Buhari’s presidency has stated that neither President Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, nor the ministers in his cabinet will be allowed to leave the office with their official vehicles. Instead, they will only receive severance benefits as prescribed by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission.

The presidency also mentioned that the armoured luxury vehicles used by President Buhari and Vice President Osinbajo will be handed over to their successors, namely Tinubu and his deputy, Kashim Shettima.

Mallam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, confirmed in an interview with Punch that the vehicles allocated to President Buhari, Vice President Osinbajo, and the ministers would not be retained by them when they leave office on May 29.

He said, “As we speak today, nobody is entitled to official cars. What they use are project vehicles. These ones can only be boarded and sold after four years of usage. That is when the book value has been exhausted.

“This is as far as the law recommends as we speak. So, don’t expect that because ministers are leaving, they will carry their vehicles under Buhari. It is not going to happen. If the ministers are not taking their vehicles along, you don’t expect the president to take any. It is not going to happen.”

The presidential spokesperson explained that the law already provided for former presidents and their deputies to get a certain number of vehicles at certain intervals and that there was no need for them to take government vehicles.

He stated, “Former Heads of State have a prescribed number of vehicles they are entitled to, which may be changed after a certain number of years. And the President has kept to this by supplying that number of vehicles to all former Heads of State each time it is due. The President will not place himself above the others; that I can assure you.”

What you should know about the Official Vehicles

Take note that the vehicles used by any President and the Vice-President were purpose-built and will not in any way be used by private citizens, even after leaving office, not just the high cost of the vehicle maintenance, they come with high-end customisation, including top secret securities and other features.

Findings revealed that the President and the Vice-President use armoured 2019 Mercedes Benz Maybach S650 bullet-proof sedans, which some experts estimate to be worth at least N300 million.