In response to public outcry over the allocation of N5.095 billion for the purchase of a presidential yacht in the 2023 supplementary budget, the House of Representatives announced on Thursday that the budgetary allocation had been eliminated.
Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Abubakar Bichi, revealed this during an interview with journalists on Thursday. He also disclosed that the budgetary allocation for student loans had been increased from five billion to N10 billion.
Furthermore, Bichi mentioned that the budgetary allocation for the Ministry of Defence had been raised from N476 billion to N546 billion.
Abubakar Bichi confirmed that the minimum wage for workers had been considered and approved for transmission to the executive branch. He assured that the House would provide diligent legislative oversight to ensure the full implementation of the minimum wage.
Regarding the presidential yacht budget, the Federal Government had initially allocated N5 billion for its purchase in the supplementary budget. The proposed sum was listed under the capital expenditure of the Nigerian Navy’s budget.
However, Bichi stated that the allocation for the presidential yacht had been removed from the budget, addressing concerns raised by the public.
Bichi, further elaborated, “We have submitted our reports to the House, and after careful consideration, the House has approved our submissions. As you know, the budget is about N2.1 trillion, and the Ministry of Defence has about N456 billion. Currently, the Ministry of Defence has the largest share because we understand the significance of our national security. We increased their budget from N456 billion to N546,209,099,671 billion.”