We didn't approve Tinubu's yacht request- Reps appropriations chairman reveals

We didn’t approve Tinubu’s Yacht request- Reps Appropriations Chairman reveals

Abubakar Bichi, the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, has revealed that lawmakers did not grant Tinubu’s request for funds to acquire a yacht; rather, the budget allocation for a presidential yacht has been reallocated to student loans.

This announcement came following his briefing with journalists after the approval of the supplementary budget.

“As far as we are concerned, the presidential yacht is no longer in our budget. Instead, we have significantly increased the funding for student loans,” he stated.

Bichi explained, “The initial budget had allocated N5 billion for student loans, but we have now raised it to N10 billion.”

It’s worth noting that President Bola Tinubu’s administration initially proposed a budget of N5.095 billion for a presidential yacht.

Despite the prevailing economic challenges and widespread poverty in the country, the administration had earmarked N19.3 billion for the acquisition of vehicles for the President and the renovation of the Presidential and Vice Presidential lodges in both Abuja and Lagos.

Details of the budget sparked outrage among Nigerians, who were of the opinion that the government failed to consider the sufferings of the masses.