“N5 billion Presidential yacht deal signed and delivered before budget proposal” – Ndume
written by Adeyemi Maleek | November 3, 2023
The Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Ali Ndume, has confirmed that the presidential yacht deal, originally in the supplementary budget, has been signed and the yacht has already been delivered.
He, however, mentioned that the payment hadn’t been made before the passage of the supplementary budget.
Ndume made this disclosure while featuring on Arise Television on Friday.
He said that the procurement of the deal is what necessitated its addition to the supplementary budget.
Recall that the House of Representatives rejected the federal government’s proposal to allocate N5 billion for the purchase of a presidential yacht in the supplementary budget.
The proposed presidential yacht ignited a public outcry among Nigerians, with many condemning it as an extravagant expenditure, especially given the country’s current economic challenges.
Ndume clarified that the deal had already been sealed before it was added to the supplementary budget, stating that the Navy added the yacht as part of their military hardware to tackle insecurity in the country.
“We queried the amount budgeted for the yacht, but it was signed for a dollar rate, and the new rate isn’t favorable. 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” Ndume said.
