By Milcah Tanimu
Senator Ali Ndume, the Chief Whip of the Senate, recently disclosed that the presidential yacht project, as stipulated in the supplementary budget, has been officially approved and delivered. This revelation came during an interview with Arise Television on Friday.
He clarified that while the deal has been signed off on and the yacht delivered, the payment for this endeavor is still pending. This financial aspect necessitated the inclusion of the N5 billion allocation in the supplementary budget.
It is worth noting that the House of Representatives had previously opposed the federal government’s proposal to acquire a presidential yacht, anticipated to cost N5 billion as part of the supplementary budget. This controversial initiative has faced widespread public criticism, with many Nigerians condemning it as an unnecessary extravagance in light of the country’s economic challenges.
President Tinubu presented a supplementary budget to the National Assembly for approval, where the planned acquisition of the yacht was categorized under the Nigerian Navy’s proposed capital expenditure of $53 million.
However, the presidency has asserted that the “Presidential Yacht” designation in the 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Bill does not imply personal use by President Tinubu. Instead, the presidential office stated that this naval vessel is labeled as such due to its advanced security features.
In a statement released on Thursday, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, clarified, “What was named as a presidential yacht in the budget is an operational naval vessel equipped with specialized security equipment suitable for high-profile operational inspections and is not intended for the President’s personal use.”
The presidency further revealed that the naval boat was commissioned by the Navy during the previous administration. The payment request for this vessel was part of the obligations submitted by the office of the Chief of Naval Staff to the Ministry of Defense. Out of the total submitted requests exceeding N200 billion, the President approved N62 billion.
