The social media space was thrown into a frenzy last week on the discovery of the N5bn appropriation for the procurement of a presidential yacht in the 2023 supplementary budget. There is anger over the budget with the Presidency explaining that the yacht is not for President Bola Tinubu, writes DAMILOLA AINA
The more governance appears to be taking the desired shift, the more the events of the ignoble past reoccur.
Nigeria faces a myriad of socioeconomic issues ranging from low revenue, high debts, poor infrastructure, increased inflation, unemployment and poverty amidst insecurity.
Despite the unprecedented level of poverty and hardship in the country, a review of the newly approved 2023 supplementary budget showed that the Federal Government allocated the sum of N5.095bn for the purchase of a presidential yacht under the capital expenditure of the Nigerian Navy.
The revelation shocked many who wondered about the relevance of the luxury ship at a time the country was facing various social and economic challenges.
The Debt Management Office recently said Nigeria’s total public debt hit N87.38tn at the end of the second quarter representing an increase of 75.29 per cent or N37.53tn compared to N49.85tn recorded at the end of March 2023.
The increase was primarily due to the N22.7tn Ways and Means Advances of the Central Bank of Nigeria to the Federal Government and the naira devaluation that added about N13.38tn to the external debt figure.
Equally in its three-year economic blueprint, the government said it might source for loans up to N26.42tn between 2024 and 2026 increasing the country’s debt-to-revenue ratio.
A few months into the administration of President Bola Tinubu, advocates of low governance costs were displeased by the number of ministers appointed by the administration. To worsen the situation, the National Assembly members proposed the purchase of luxury vehicles worth N57bn.
What is a presidential yacht?
According to Wikipedia, a Presidential yacht may refer to a vessel of a country’s navy that would be specially used by the country’s president. It is common for a vessel to be designated as the presidential yacht during a fleet review.
World leaders and countries have owned and operated presidential yachts as far back as the 1890s. However, only a handful of countries, including the United States, Russia, Turkey, Qatar, Italy, and the Philippines have had a presidential yacht at some point.
Yachts, depending on sizes and specifications, cost from tens of thousands of dollars to as high as $10million or even more. Beyond the cost of purchasing these big toys, one of the main reasons why leaders choose to opt out of operating yachts is the maintenance cost, which runs into 10 per cent to 15 per cent of the purchase price annually, according to burgessyachts.com.
Queen Elizabeth II, in one of her rare public moments, shed a tear when HRM Britannia was decommissioned in 1997. The vessel is now permanently berthed in Edinburgh and has been converted into a museum. To date, all the clocks on board read 3:01 pm, the exact time the Queen last disembarked from the yacht.
In 2021, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson proposed a £250mn scheme to procure a successor for Britannia. The idea was scrapped by Rishi Sunak, his successor, to cut down on government spending.
However, the Presidency, in an attempt to assuage anger, claimed that the yacht was not meant for the president. The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, clarified that the Navy requested the platform and the last administration approved it.
He said in a statement, “What was named as a 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 Naval boat was ordered by the navy under the previous administration.
“President Tinubu has consistently said that the government is a continuum as he inherited both assets and liabilities of past administrations. The payment request for the boat was part of the committed obligations submitted by the office of the Chief of Naval Staff to the Ministry of Defence, and a total of N62bn out of more than N200bn requests was approved.’’
“President Tinubu is focused on securing our country and territorial waters. The Federal Government under his leadership is investing more resources to enhance greater economic output from our oil and gas, marine and blue economy,” Onanuga added.
However, Nigerians who hoped that the procurement of the boat would be halted on account of the widespread criticisms were jolted by the revelation from the Majority Whip of the Senate, Ali Ndume, that it had been delivered to the country.
Ndume during an interview on Arise TV disclosed that the presidential yacht had been signed and delivered before the public outcry, even though it had not been paid for. “The deal for the yacht has been agreed, signed, and delivered but not paid for,” he noted.
Ndume explained that the N5bn earmarked for the yacht was included in the supplementary budget because it had yet to be paid for.
“When we saw that amount, we queried it. When we asked those questions, the Navy explained that this was not a new item. I know the President is not a luxurious person, he won’t go for that,’’ he explained. But left unsaid is the fact that the procurement was based on anticipatory approval which was done without the National Assembly’s approval.
Commenting on the issued, a former lawmaker representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District in the 8th National Assembly, Shehu Sani, said that the presidential yacht could not be a priority for the country’s defence needs.
Sani noted that Nigerian troops on the frontlines had been complaining about a lack of adequate basic weapons, food and medical support. The former lawmaker disclosed this in a post on his X handle.
Sani’s tweet read, “A yacht can’t be a priority for our defence needs. We have heard reports of our troops on the front lines complaining of a lack of adequate basic weapons and even food to eat.’’
The Executive Director, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Auwal Rafsanjani, said the supplementary budget was a “Trojan horse for wasteful, suspicious expenditure on frivolous items.”
Rafsanjani in a statement asked the Federal Government to desist from “extravagance and opulence.”
He said, “There is a troubling trend of upholding the luxurious lifestyles of public officials at the cost of the public, while the country grapples with widespread poverty and high levels of unemployment. Supplementary budgets are meant to take care of expenditure that was not factored in during budget-making.
“While the national assembly had recently passed, and signed, a supplementary appropriation act 2023 for over N819bn, a second supplementary budget was conceived in response to the impact of the petrol subsidy removal for further provision of additional palliative measures, including the wage award for public servants and the enhanced cash transfer programme, which was intended to benefit the most vulnerable members of our society.
“However, this has become a “Trojan horse” for wasteful, suspicious and unnecessary expenditure on frivolous items. What informed these budgets? How pertinent are they in the face of Nigeria’s more pressing economic needs? Should we be borrowing for frivolities considering our overbearing debt burden? Should Nigerians be tightening their belts to satisfy a few?”
Oyesiji Paul commenting on Facebook said, “Amid this, Emilokan keeps on telling Nigerians to endure when he continues to milk the nation’s treasury to his advantage.”
A user of the app, Bunu Muhammed, also said, “May God guide us through this joke of a nation. While billions are spent on unnecessary services, the masses are struggling for survival.
Another citizen, Omo Adeniran, stated, “Continuity of legacy. Masses can keep sacrificing, while leaders keep eating up the sacrifice. Welcome to Renewed Hope region! Naija go get it right one day sha.”
On X (formerly Twitter), a user@Segun_Odunayo wrote, “Nigeria is too broke to pay for fuel subsidies but we’re not too broke to buy a presidential yacht worth N5billion. The citizens must learn to manage hard times but the leadership are buying exotic cars. Ok nah.”
Dab4youth opined, “You think legislators that got brand new SUVs will refuse presidential yacht. Dey play.”
Reacting to the criticism, a presidential spokesman, Tope Ajayi said Tinubu did not ask for a yacht.
Ajayi said, “ “It is important to state clearly that President Tinubu didn’t ask for a presidential yacht, and I doubt he needs one to perform the functions of his office. From what I know, the request for a yacht, however it is named or couched in the budget, is from the Navy, and they must have operational reasons for why it is required.”
The Director of Information, Nigerian Navy, Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan said the service made a “long overdue request” for the replacement of the defunct presidential yacht under the Buhari-led administration.
He said, “ Under the immediate past administration, a long overdue request was made for a Presidential yacht to replace MV AMARIA, the defunct Presidential yacht. It was also to be used for the Presidential Fleet Review 2023 that was held in May this year. “
