The National Assembly has approved a shocking spending plan by President Bola Tinubu to purchase new a fleet of SUVs for his office and his wife’s office with billions of naira of public funds at a time citizens are facing crippling hardship.
The Senate and the House of Representatives passed the president’s N2.17 trillion supplementary budget, submitted last week, with only a minor adjustment.
From the approved figure, the government will use N1.5 billion to purchase new vehicles for his first lady’s office, an office not recognized under Nigerian laws.
Some N2.9 billion on sports utility vehicles and another N2.9 billion on “operational vehicles” for the presidential office.
The government also plans to spend N4 billion on the renovation of the residential quarters of the president; N2.5 billion on the renovation of the vice president’s resident.
In all, N28 billion is proposed for the State House, while the presidential air fleet will get N12.5 billion.
The government also plans to spend N5 billion for a presidential yacht. By contrast, the government allocated only N5 billion for students’ loan.
Brushing public outrage aside
The budget has drawn widespread criticisms, coming at a time Nigerians are groaning under the weight of the country’s cost of living crisis, with inflation at 20-year high.
The president has repeatedly urged longsuffering citizens to endure hardship made worse by his administration’s removal of petrol subsidy and the devaluation of the naira, but government officials’ wasteful lifestyle has remained unchanged.
Temitope Ajaji, President Tinubu’s media aide, blamed the media for “sensational headlines” and said some of budget items were not properly captured by civil servants.
“The budget office should be in a position to also explain to the public why such expenditure should be accommodated now, considering the economic situation of the country,” he said in a post on Facebook.
Despite outrage, the two arms of the National Assembly passed the plan, but only blocked the request to purchase a presidential yacht. The House of Reps moved N5 billion from that subhead to students’ loan.
The chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, Abubakar Bichi (APC, Kano), presented the report and was considered by the Committee of Supply chaired by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen.
Lawmakers too
The 460-member National Assembly has defended its plan to buy expensive sports utility vehicles for members, at an estimated cost of over N100 million each.
The so-called First Lady Office, which the president seeks to apply public funds to, is not recognized by the Nigerian constitution or any other law of the land.
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