BREAKING: Tinubu denies asking for presidential yacht in supplementary budget

It has been stated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that he never requested a presidential vessel.

This was stated by the president via his spokesman, Tope Ajayi.

According to Daily Trust, since the details of the N2.1 trillion supplementary budget Tinubu submitted to the National Assembly were made public, there has been widespread outrage.

The budget designated N5.09 billion for the yacht, N2.9 billion for Presidential Villa sport utility vehicles, and an additional N2.9 billion for the replacement of operational vehicles for the presidency.

The vessel was included in the N42.3 billion capital expenditure proposal for the Nigerian Navy.

In response to the criticisms that have surrounded the matter, Ajayi expressed scepticism that his principal required one to carry out the responsibilities of his position.

“Two items in the supplemental budget for 2023 address popular topics on social media since yesterday.” One is the Navy’s supplementary budget provision for a presidential vessel, and the other exceeds N6 billion for State House vehicles.

“It is crucial to emphasise that President Bola Tinubu did not request a presidential yatch, and it is unlikely that he requires one in order to carry out the responsibilities of his office.” According to my knowledge, the Navy makes the request for a yacht, regardless of how it is designated or spelt out in the budget, and there must be operational justifications for the request.

“Should the budget office be capable of providing an explanation to the public regarding the rationale behind the current allocation of funds, taking into account the prevailing economic conditions of the nation…” It is without a doubt true that the government’s criticism of our budgeting system stems from the exceedingly simplistic manner in which certain line items are delineated by the budget-preparing civil servants. Numerous examples exist. A Ministry of Solid Minerals Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) project valued at more than N300 million was occasionally budgeted as a “website” in 2016. As expected, it sparked an enormous amount of controversy, as individuals warrantedly inquired as to what sort of website would be constructed with N300 million.

“The statement that journalism ought to foster public enlightenment rather than incite a sense of besiegement is crucial. Constantly reducing State House budgetary provisions for the President and Vice President constitutes weak reporting. When the State House allocates funds for vehicles and food and catering services, it is frequently stated that the President will consume the entire provision of food and vehicles.

“Terroristically inaccurate reporting has been prevalent in the past.” A President and Vice President cannot, under any circumstances, spend N20 million naira annually on sustenance for their first and second families, respectively. Truly, how much sustenance can an individual consume? However, it is not accurate to say that headlines will suggest that Presidents Tinubu, Buhari, Jonathan, or whoever wants to spend N5 billion on food and catering in a given year are doing so. In reality, such budgetary allocations are intended to accommodate the State House’s involvement in numerous state events, meetings, hosting of VIPs and foreign dignitaries, visits by other heads of state, and bilateral and multilateral conferences that occur within a given year.