Senator Ali Ndume, the Chief Whip of the Senate, has disclosed that the controversial Presidential Yacht, which was budgeted for in the 2023 Supplementary budget, has already been delivered but remains unpaid for.
He provided this clarification during an appearance on Arise Television’s Morning show. In which he enlightened on the controversial Presidential yacht said to be worth about N5 billion.
Senator Ndume revealed that the Presidential Yacht had been “signed, delivered, but not paid for,” and this is the reason for its inclusion in the supplementary budget.
He further stated, “The Navy provided explanations, especially clarifying that this is not a new item. I know that the President, by his nature, is not a luxurious person. So, I don’t think we will go for that. But anyway, we felt at this time, that 5 billion going for that is inadequate, and in the House of Reps, they felt different, and they felt that it should completely be removed and added to the 5 billion that is provided, 5.6, I think, for the student loan, which is one of the critical things in the supplementary budget. And as you rightly said, we are harmonizing on that.”
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When interviewed on the allocation of N160 million for Land Cruiser SUVs for each lawmaker in the National Assembly, Senator Ndume emphasized that it is not a new thing for government workers to be buying vehicles for official functions.
Ndume stated: “I’m hearing that the cost of each one is N160 million, I don’t know about that cost I’m not in the management.
“All I care about is if the vehicles are made available for us to use, that’s it. But I agree that at this time, the costs of products, generally, not only SUV vehicles, is way high.
“But the question is, is it proper to have vehicles for each senator or member of the House of Reps to use? The answer, I believe, is yes.” he stressed.