Amid the raging debate on the N5.095 billion Presidential Yacht to be procured by the Federal Government as captured in the 2023 supplementary budget submitted to the National Assembly, the Nigerian Navy on Friday affirmed that it had taken delivery of the yacht.
The Director of Information, Nigerian Navy, Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan, in an interview on Friday, stated that the yacht had been in the country since June, 2023.
He explained that the service made a “long overdue request” for the replacement of the defunct Presidential Yacht during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
He stressed that the yacht was for training.
The Naval Spokesperson said: “It was delivered in June 2023. We have not used it yet.”
When asked if the inability to pay for the yacht was responsible for the delay in using it, he stated, “Correct. It’s tied to the non-payment.”
This implies that until the payment is made, the Navy may not be able to use it for its operational activities.
Meanwhile, indications have emerged that the payment for the yacht may suffer delay, given the opposition by the two chambers of the National Assembly, in which case the federal lawmakers refused to approve the payment for the yacht. Thus, while the yacht has been delivered to the country, how the government would raise money for it remains to be seen in the coming days and months.
Earlier on Friday, the Senate Chief Whip, Ali Ndume, who represents Borno South, clarified during an interview on Arise TV 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 noted that the Senate queried the amount budgeted for the yacht, but that it was signed for a dollar rate, and that the new rate was no longer favourable. He pointed out that the budget was predicated on N435, but that the rate was now over N800/dollar.
He said the navy also clarified that it was not a new budget, and that even the House of Representatives moved the budgeted sum to the Student Loan.
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.”
As many Nigerians hoped that the procurement would be halted on account of widespread criticism, owing to the current economic situation, the revelation on Friday that it had been delivered to the country introduced a new twist to the issue.
About N5bn had been allocated to the yacht in the N2.1trn supplementary budget transmitted by President Bola Tinubu to the National Assembly after the Federal Executive Council meeting on Monday.
@The PUNCH
