The Nigerian Navy has confirmed the plan to purchase a yacht worth N5 billion in the Supplementary Budget forwarded to the National Assembly.
It was reported that the federal government had planned to purchase a Presidential yacht worth N 5 billion after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved N2.17 trillion as the 2023 supplementary budget.
The Editor learned that the proposed sum is under the capital expenditure of the Nigerian Navy’s budget.
Following the public outrage that trailed the development, the House of Representatives scrapped the controversial N5 billion presidential yacht from the 2023 supplementary budget and transferred it to the Student Loan budget.
However, in a statement on Thursday, the spokesman of the Nigerian Navy, Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan, said the budgeted presidential yacht was meant to replace the defunct presidential Yacht ‘MV Amaria’.
Ayo-Vaughan explained that the presidential yacht had always been an integral part of its fleet, saying the most talked about budgeted Yacht was conceived under the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
The Navy spokesman noted that the request was approved, but there was no cash backing it, hence the current administration only ratified what was already done and nothing new.
He said, “It was under the immediate past administration a long overdue request was made for a Presidential yacht to replace MV AMARIA, the defunct Presidential yacht. Also, to be used for the Presidential Fleet Review 2023 that was held in May this year, it was approved, but no cash backing.
“The new administration of President BAT only ratified what was already done. The Presidential yacht is, in fact, an integral part of the Navy fleet, and recall that the Federal Government of Nigeria had approved, supported, funded and driven the Navy’s fleet recapitalisation and renewal effort for well over eight years. The yacht has always been there. That’s what the public needs to know.”
