The controversial N5 billion presidential yacht has been removed from the 2023 supplementary budget by the House of Representatives.
This decision was announced by the chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriation, Abubakar Bichi, after the passage of the N2.17 trillion supplementary budget by the House.
Recall that the budget was passed on Tuesday by the House after adopting the report submitted by Bichi.
The Committee of Supply considered the recommendations of the Appropriations Committee and passed the bill.
However, Bichi, while speaking to journalists today disclosed that the committee removed the item and moved the money to the student loan section to make it N10 billion as against 5. 5bn.
The Committee also increased the budgetary allocation of the Ministry of Defence from 476bn to 546bn following security concerns.
Bichi also disclosed that the minimum wage for workers was considered and approved for onward transmission to the executive while promising proper legislative oversight to ensure 100 percent implementation
The sum of 100bn was also retained for FCT as requested by the minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike
Thus, the supplemental budget of N2.177 trillion was approved by the House.
Remember that N1.5 billion would have gone toward First Lady office cars, N5 billion toward a presidential yacht, and an additional N12.5 billion would have gone toward the presidential aircraft fleet in President Bola Tinubu’s proposal.
Speaker Tajudeen Abbas declared that the bill would be signed into law by the president on Friday after it was passed.
The administration of President Tinubu had previously refuted reports that a N5 billion presidential yacht had been purchased.
Temiope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, explained that the Navy’s budget included a request for a yacht, and it is presumed that they had an operational justification for it.
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