By: Habeeb Daranijo
Following the release of the supplementary budget for 2023, the country has been filled with information that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu budgeted 5 billion Naira for the purchase of presidential yachts under the budget for the Navy for his personal use.
The Claim
A series of social media users and bloggers have claimed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu wants to buy 5 billion Naira yatch for personal use in the recently submitted supplementary budget sent to the National Assembly earlier this week, which has caused different debates on governance and expenditure in the country.
Our check
Korrectnews accessed the supplementary budget published on the website of Budgit, a civil society organisation that specialises in governance and budgetary accountability. During the check, we established that the budget was written by the Navy and not by the president, as against the claims of some other sources.
Also, the Special Advisor to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga published some facts on the said subject, which can be found below.
PRESIDENTIAL YACHT FACTS FROM THE SUPPLEMENTARY BUDGET FOR 2023
1. It’s an operational naval boat suitable for high-profile operational inspection, not for the use of the President.
It’s called a presidential yacht because of the high-level security features.
2. The Naval Boat was ordered by the Navy under the previous administration.
3. The payment request for the boat was part of the committed obligation submitted by the office of the Chief of Naval Staff to the Ministry of Defence.
The total of the submitted requests was in excess of N200 billion, of which N62 billion was approved by the President.
More so, the House of Representatives has scrapped the plan and diverted the budget to student loans to make it 10 billion Naira instead of 5 billion.
Verdict
It is true that the government budgeted 5 billion Naira for the presidential Yatch but not for the office of the president or for his personal use. The claim is misleading.
The yacht is an operational naval boat suitable for high-profile operational inspection, not for the use of the President.
