Reps scrap N5bn presidential yacht in supplementary budget, increase students loan to N10bn

Akinwande Soji-Ojo

The House of Representatives has rejected the N4.79 billion budgetary allocation for a presidential yacht contained in the N2.176 trillion 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 N10 billion from the initial N5.5 billion.

Abubakar Bichi, who is the House Appropriation Committee Chairman, disclosed this while addressing journalists after Thursday’s plenary.

“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 to the Ministry of Defence from the initial allocation of N476 billion to N546 billion.

According to him, the four months wage award of N210 billion for workers was considered and approved for onward transmission to the president for implementation.

The sum of N100 billion was retained for the Federal Capital Territory as requested.

He pledged adequate legislative oversight to ensure 100 per cent implementation.