A June 30, 2010 publication by Daily Trust has emerged detailing how former President Goodluck Jonathan rebuffed a proposal from the Nigerian Navy’s proposal for the purchase of a N3.3 billion yacht.
The Navy said the yacht was for President Goodluck Jonathan’s use to review the naval fleet during the Nigeria at 50 anniversary celebrations in October 2010.
The former President’s spokesman at the time, Ima Niboro told Daily Trust that as soon as the proposal was presented to Jonathan, he directed the navy to liaise with the National Assembly to seek the authority for a virement in order to use the funds for the repair of naval warships.
Meanwhile, amidst rising high inflation and general hardship in Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu-led government concluded plans to include the proposed presidential yacht into 2023 supplementary appropriation.
While it was reported that the House of Representatives has removed the controversial N5 billion presidential yacht from the 2023 supplementary budget, Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, revealed that the controversial Yacht has even been delivered to Nigeria in anticipation for payment even before it became a public knowledge.
Ndume made the revelation while speaking on the 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Budget on AriseNews’ breakfast show, ‘The Morning Show’ on Friday.
The Borno South Senator said the presidential yacht had been signed and delivered but not paid for before the public outcry, however, adding that the Senate had since added the budgeted payment to the student loan budget instead.
“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 on about N435 (to a Dollar), 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 Students loan. The deal for the yacht has been agreed, signed, and delivered but not paid for,” the lawmaker said.
The sum of N5.09 billion was allocated for the yacht, N2.9 billion for sport utility vehicles for the Presidential Villa, and another N2.9 billion for the replacement of operational vehicles for the presidency.
The yacht is listed under the Nigerian Navy’s proposed capital expenditure of N42.3 billion.
Also the sum of N1.5 billion was budgeted for vehicles for the Office of the First Lady, an office that is not recognised by the constitution.
Moreover, the government allocated N4 billion for the construction of an office complex in Aso Rock while N2.5 billion will be used for the renovation of the Vice-President’s official residence in Lagos. In all, N28 billion is proposed for the State House.
It plans to spend N12.5 billion on the Presidential Air Fleet.
The presidential fleet includes Boeing Business Jet (Boeing 737-800 or NAF 001), one Gulfstream 550, one Gulfstream V (Gulfstream 500), two Falcons 7X, one Hawker Sidley 4000, two AgustaWestland AW 139 helicopters and two AgustaWestland AW 101 helicopters.
