Senator Ali Ndume, the Chief Whip of the Senate, has revealed that the controversial N5 billion presidential yacht deal, which was included in the 2023 supplementary budget, has already been signed and delivered.
Ndume made this startling disclosure during an interview with Arise Television on Friday.
“The deal has been signed and delivered, but not paid, and that’s why the amount (N5 billion) was included in the supplementary budget,” stated the senator.
President Bola Tinubu had proposed a budget allocation of N5.095 billion for a presidential yacht in the 2023 supplementary budget that was submitted for approval to the National Assembly, as reported by Media Talk Africa.
Given the current economic climate in the country, the presidential yacht has faced public outrage, with Nigerians criticizing the plan as a wasteful expenditure on luxury.
It is worth noting that on Thursday, following the bill’s passage, Chairman of the Appropriations Committee in the House of Representatives, Abubakar Bichi from Kano State, informed journalists that the committee had removed the presidential yacht from the budget and allocated the funds to Student Loans instead.
Furthermore, Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy, clarified the matter on Thursday, in a statement titled “The Facts on the Naval Boat in the 2023 Supplementary Budget.” He claimed that the so-called yacht had been ordered by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
“What was referred to as a presidential yacht in the budget is actually an operational Naval boat equipped with specialized security gadgets suitable for high-profile operational inspections and not intended for the use of the President.
“The Naval boat was ordered by the Navy under the previous administration,” stated the Special Adviser in the statement.
