The listing of the yacht in the budget which was passed on Thursday had elicited criticisms from Nigerians who faulted the government’s plan to purchase such for the president despite the country’s harsh economic situation.
But in a statement, the Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy Bayo Onanuga said contrary to speculation, the yacht is a naval vessel.
“What was named as Presidential Yacht in the budget is an Operational Naval boat with specialized security gadgets suitable for high profile operational inspection and not for the use of the President. It is called a presidential yacht by way of nomenclature because of the high-level security features,” he said in a Thursday statement titled “The Facts on the Naval Boat in 2023 Supplementary Budget”.
“The Naval boat was ordered by the navy under the previous administration. President Tinubu has consistently said that 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 obligation submitted by the office of the Chief of Naval Staff to the Ministry of Defence. The total of the submitted requests was in excess of N200 billion out of which N62 billion was approved by the President.”
Onanuga also reiterated President Tinubu’s commitment to bettering the security of the nation’s waterways.
“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.”
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