Sen. Neda Imansuen, a member of the upper house representing the Edo South Senatorial District under the platform of the Labour Party (LP), has claimed that the rumors circulating about his impending defect to the All Progressive Congress (APC) are the product of the state’s uneasy opposition parties.
Imansuen said the rumors were planned to create uncertainty among the LP. He made this statement over the weekend in Benin while answering questions from reporters.
The senator assured that he had no motivation to join the ruling party or any other party, stating that he was aware of the rumors that he intends to join the APC like everyone else.
Imansuen continued, saying that if the eight LP senators had refused to accept the N160 million opulent Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) assigned to them as official cars, the whole situation would have been insignificant.
The Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions Chairman, Imansuen, also stated that, since there are only eight members in the red chambers, the choice to acquire the luxury SUVs would not have been affected by the LP members’ rejection of them. The majority of lawmakers would still have chosen to buy the cars.
He did, however, reveal that LP lawmakers would undoubtedly vote against the issue if it came to the Senate floor.
“I would like to state that I have not been offered or received any SUVs,” Imansuen stated. But in a parliament, as in a democracy, there’s a catchphrase that goes, “The minority will have its say, but the majority will have its way.”
“As only eight senators out of 109 senators, we can only speak in the parliament about what we think is right. Thus, I believe it is highly unjust for those who have targeted senators from the Labour Party.
Can you kindly tell me the impact on the budget and the reputation of the National Assembly if 109 vehicles are supplied to senators and eight of them are rejected? However, from what I’ve been able to gather, the Labour Party is not in favor of this. We have conducted some inquiries, and it appears that this is the case every four years.
What people don’t know, he claims, is that senators have the option to purchase it first, and that if they choose not to, they will have it taken away from them. For senators, it is intended to be a functional vehicle. The eight senators from the Labour Party would vote against it if we were to vote on it today, but it wouldn’t stop the other 101 senators from voting in favor of it. Who will take it even if we reject it, and will they send it back to the makers?
