The Nigerian government has dismissed claims that it was planning to buy a ‘presidential yatch’ for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The purchase of a ‘Presidential Yacht’ for $6 million, which was included in the country's 2023 Supplementary Budget and sent to the Nigerian Parliament by the president on Tuesday for approval, had caused public outcry.
"The poor can't be struggling for survival in a canoe while their leader is yachting," a former Nigerian senator, Shehu Sani said in a post on the social media platform X.
Other Nigerians have also expressed dissatisfaction given the cost of the boat which they believe is meant for the president.
They cite rising cost of living in the country and say the yatch budget should have been channeled to other economic programmes to help the citizens.
However, the Nigerian presidency clarified that the yatch was a navy vessel only described as a presidential yatch but it is not meant for the president.
Security gadgets
The name was given to the vessel ''because of the high-level security features’’ it operates with, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, explained in a statement on Thursday evening.
"What was named as presidential yacht in the budget is an operational Naval boat with specialised security gadgets suitable for high profile operational inspection and not for the use of the President,” the statement added.
It stressed that the boat had already been ordered by the Nigerian navy under the previous administration before Tinubu came to power in May.
President Tinubu had followed through with the request because he sees his administration as ''a continuum as he inherited both assets and liabilities of past administrations,'' the government said.
The presidency assured that Tinubu was aware of the economic challenges being faced by the masses, and Nigerians will soon “get the benefits of the ongoing reforms''.
