Presidential yacht still in budget despite House of Representatives’ removal

Nigerian Navy confirms plan to purchase N5 billion presidential yacht

The Nigerian Navy has confirmed that the N5 billion presidential yacht budget is still in the 2023 supplementary budget.

This comes after the House of Representatives scrapped the controversial budget line item in May 2023.

The Navy spokesman, Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan, said in a statement on Thursday, November 3, 2023 that the presidential yacht is meant to replace the defunct presidential yacht ‘MV Amaria’.

He also said that the yacht has always been an integral part of the Navy fleet.

Presidential yacht still in budget despite House of Representatives’ removal

In May 2023, the House of Representatives scrapped the N5 billion presidential yacht budget from the 2023 supplementary budget and transferred it to the Student Loan budget.

This came after public outrage over the proposed purchase, which many Nigerians saw as wasteful and unnecessary.

However, the Navy has now confirmed that the budget line item is still in the budget, despite the House of Representatives’ removal.

Nigerian Navy defends N5 billion presidential yacht budget

The Navy spokesman, Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan, defended the N5 billion presidential yacht budget in his statement on Thursday, November 3, 2023.

He said that the yacht is necessary to replace the defunct presidential yacht ‘MV Amaria’ and that it is an integral part of the Navy fleet.

Nigerian Navy: N5 billion presidential yacht to replace defunct ‘MV Amaria’

The Navy spokesman said that the N5 billion presidential yacht budget is meant to replace the defunct presidential yacht ‘MV Amaria’.

He did not say when the ‘MV Amaria’ went defunct, but he did say that it was a long overdue request.

N5 billion presidential yacht: Navy says it’s an integral part of the fleet

The Navy spokesman also said that the presidential yacht is an integral part of the Navy fleet.

He said that the Federal Government of Nigeria has been supporting the Navy’s fleet recapitalisation and renewal effort for over eight years.

Conclusion

The Nigerian Navy has confirmed that the N5 billion presidential yacht budget is still in the 2023 supplementary budget, despite the House of Representatives’ removal.

The Navy has defended the budget, saying that the yacht is necessary to replace the defunct presidential yacht ‘MV Amaria’ and that it is an integral part of the Navy fleet.