November 3, (THEWILL) – Senate Chief Whip, Ali Ndume, on Friday, said the Red Chamber had also reallocated the controversial sum of N5 billion proposed for the purchase of Yacht in the 2023 Supplementary Budget to Student Loan.
President Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday, October 31, requested approval of the two Chambers of the National Assembly for the N2.17trn Supplementary Budget for 2023.
THEWILL had reported the outrage over the Yacht since details of the N2.1 trillion supplementary budget were published.
According to the budget, N5.09 billion was allocated for the yacht. The yacht was listed under the Nigerian Navy’s proposed capital expenditure of N42.3 billion.
The Presidency, on Thursday, dismissed reports that President Tinubu requested the Presidential Yacht.
Speaking on Friday, during an interview on Arise Television, Ndume said the Yacht had been signed and delivered but not paid for before the public outcry, adding that the Senate has since added the required payment fee to the student loan budget.
“We queried the amount budgeted for the yacht, but it was signed for a dollar rate, and the new rate isn’t favourable. The budget was predicated for about N435, and now it is over N800.
“The Navy also clarified that it is not a new budget. And even the House of Representatives moved the budget to the Student loan. The deal for the yacht has been agreed, signed, and delivered but not paid for,” he said.
Speaking on the N160m for Land Cruiser SUV for each lawmaker in the National Assembly, the Chief Whip stressed that it is not a new thing for government workers to be buying vehicles for official duties.
He maintained that the price of the vehicles was also affected by the volatility of the naira to dollar rate, adding that the vehicles are needed for the lawmakers.
“The reason why we did not choose Nigerian-made cars is because they don’t manufacture their vehicles, but they assemble them.
“I prefer Nigerian-made products, but the Nigerian car companies are only buying the vehicle parts and assembling them here,” he said.
