The Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Ali Ndume, has said that the Presidential Yacht which was budgeted for in the 2023 Supplementary budget has already been delivered but not yet paid for.
Ndume during the Arise Television’s Morning show on Friday, November 3, monitored by NewMailNG gave some clarification concerning the issue bordering on the controversial Presidential yacht said to be worth about N5 billion.
He explained that the presidential yacht had been “signed, delivered, but not paid,” which is what brought about its inclusion in the supplementary budget.
Ndume said: “The Navy provided explanations, especially clarifying that this is not a new item, so to say because 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 that should completely be removed and added to the 5 billion that id 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.
“The Navy also believes that that is not their area of priority, but the thing is because you have a committed cause, and it has foreign exchange implications. They felt that the commitment has to be met, especially when I understand that the presidential yacht has already been delivered.”
Speaking on the N160m for Land Cruiser SUV for each lawmaker in the National Assembly, the Chief Whip stressed that it is not a new thing for government workers to be buying vehicles for official duties.
He maintained that the price of the vehicles was also affected by the volatility of the naira to dollar rate, adding that the vehicles are needed for the lawmakers.
Ndume said: “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.”