The House of Representatives has opposed the N4.79bn budgetary allocation for a presidential yacht contained in the N2.176trn supplementary budget for the 2023 financial year transmitted to it on Tuesday by President Bola Tinubu.
In passing the supplementary budget on Thursday, the House moved the sum proposed for the yacht to student loan, bringing the total sum for the scheme to N10bn up from the initial N5.5bn.
Abubakar Bichi, who heads the House Appropriation Committee, stated this while addressing journalists on after plenary on Thursday.
“As far as we are concerned, we don’t have that presidential yacht anymore. We have increased the student loan.
“If you recall, the student loan was N5 billion in the budget but we have increased it to N10 billion,” the lawmaker said.
Bichi added that the committee increased the budgetary allocation of the Ministry of Defence from the initial allocation of N476bn to N546bn.
According to him, the four months wage award of N210bn for workers was considered and approved for onward transmission to the President for implementation.
He pledged adequate legislative oversight to ensure 100 per cent implementation.
The sum of N100bn was retained for the Federal Capital Territory as requested.
Details later…
