Reps reject N5bn presidential yacht, pass supplementary budget

The House of Representatives on Thursday yanked off the budgetary allocation of N5.09 billion for the purchase of a presidential yacht in the N2.176trn supplementary budget submitted to the lawmakers. 

This is even as the National Assembly approved the plan by the Presidency to renovate President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima’s official residences in Lagos and Abuja with N13.5 billion and purchase official vehicles for the First Lady’s Office with N1.5bn despite public outcry. 

The house, instead, moved the proposed sum to students’ loans thereby increasing allocation for students’ loans to N10 billion as against 5. 5bn earlier provided in the supplementary budget.

Daily Trust reports that the lawmakers’ action followed the public outcry that trailed the provision made for a presidential yacht amid the hardship Nigerians are facing following the removal of fuel subsidies and other policies by the current administration.  

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Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, Abubakar Bichi Abubakar (APC, Kano), made this known while addressing newsmen after the passage of the N2.176 trillion supplementary budget.

He said the need became necessary following low budgetary allocation for students. 

Both the Senate and House of Representatives passed the budget two days after it was sent to the parliament by President Tinubu on Tuesday. 

President Tinubu had, in a letter read in both chambers, asked the federal lawmakers to approve the proposal, the second of such this year after N819.5 billion was approved to provide palliatives for poor Nigerians.

The breakdown of the State House budget showed that N4 billion would be spent for the renovation of residential quarters for Mr. President; renovation of Aguda House to gulp N2.5 billion; renovation of Dodan Barracks, the official residence of Mr President in Lagos, N4 billion; and renovation of official quarters of vice president in Lagos N3bn, totaling N13.5 billion.

 Meanwhile the presidency on yesterday said what was termed “Presidential Yacht” in the supplementary budget is an operational Naval boat not meant for personal use of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

 The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, stated this in a statement titled: “The facts on the Naval Boat in 2023 Supplementary Budget”. 

Reacting to the criticisms that have trailed the issue, Onanuga said the yacht was a naval boat with specialised security gadgets suitable for high-profile operational inspection and not for the use of the president.

 He added that the naval boat was ordered by the navy under the previous administration, stressing that “President Tinubu has consistently said that the government is a continuum as he inherited both assets and liabilities of past administrations.”