Uncertainty Over Payment For N5 Billion Presidential Yacht

The Nigerian Navy’s controversial N5bn presidential yacht, delivered in June 2023, may face payment delays as it was not included in the 2024 Appropriation Bill presented by President Bola Tinubu.

Despite previous attempts to allocate funds in the 2023 supplementary budget, the yacht’s payment was not accounted for in the 2024 budget.

The navy’s total allocation is N192.5 billion, with no specific mention of the yacht.

The National Assembly had earlier refused to approve the yacht’s funding, reallocating the N5bn to student loans with questions remaining on how the government will finance the yacht.

The spokesperson for the House of Representatives, Akin Rotimi, stated that any procurement without legislative approval is unconstitutional.

Amid widespread criticisms over the procurement of a luxury boat for the President in the midst of worsening hardship across the country, the Nigerian Navy affirmed that it ordered the yacht during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The navy noted that the procurement of the yacht was long overdue, stressing that the yacht was for training and not for the pleasure of the President as widely believed.

Meanwhile, the navy said it would spend N3.5bn for the procurement of arms, ammunition, webbing, and equipment, while about N10.3bn would go into the construction and renovation of barracks for its officers and junior ratings.

In the breakdown of its proposed projects, the navy said it planned to construct barracks accommodation for its officers in Calabar, Lagos, and Navy Town in the Asokoro area of Abuja. It said each of the projects would cost N420m.

Similarly, it said it would construct barracks for junior ratings in Kano and Lagos, also at a cost of N420m each. In addition, it said it would spend N3.3bn on the development of barracks accommodation in Abuja.

For barracks renovations, the budget estimate showed that the navy would spend a total of N3.9bn on the maintenance of barracks in Lagos, Abuja, and Calabar.