Facts On Naval Boat In The Supplementary Budget for 2023

It is necessary to make some clarifications following the public’s comments over the provision for what is called the presidential yacht and other line items in the 2023 Supplementary Appropriation that was presented to the National Assembly.

To begin, it is imperative that we make it crystal clear that the administration of President Bola Tinubu respects the opinions of Nigerians on all issues that are of public interest.

As a result, we believe that it is extremely important to dispel any misconceptions and misunderstandings regarding the issues.

1. The operational naval boat with specialized security gear that was designated the Presidential Yacht in the budget is actually more suited for high-profile operational inspection than it is for usage by the President. 2. The President does not utilize the boat. As a matter of nomenclature, it is known as the presidential yacht due to the high level of security features that it possesses.

2. During the time of the previous administration, the Navy placed an order for the naval boat. In light of the fact that he inherited both the assets and the liabilities from previous administrations, President Tinubu has maintained his position that government is an ongoing process.

3. The request for payment for the boat was included in the committed obligation that was presented to the Ministry of Defence by the office of the Chief of Naval Staff. The sum of all the demands that were made was above N200 billion, of which the President gave his approval for N62 billion.

4. The safety of our nation and its territorial waters is the primary concern of President Tinubu. Under his direction, the Federal Government is increasing the amount of resources it is investing to facilitate increased economic output from our oil and gas, maritime, and blue economies.

We have a leader in President Tinubu who is aware of the difficulties that the general populace is experiencing in terms of the economy. His government is putting in a lot of effort to face and overcome such issues. As soon as possible, Nigerians will be able to reap the advantages of the ongoing reforms, which are certain to result in an uplifted economy and an improvement in the general standard of living for all citizens.

Mr. Bayo Onanuga is currently serving as the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy.

The dmmmNovember 2, 2023