Controversial presidential yacht bought, delivered but not paid for – Ali Ndume clarifies

Senator Ali Ndume has explained that the agreement, signature, and delivery of the N5 billion presidential yacht authorized in the supplementary budget were completed before it became a matter of public debate.

Ndume, who is also the Chief Whip of the Nigerian upper chamber, made the revelation while commenting on the issues surrounding the contentious presidential yacht on Arise Television’s Morning show on Friday.

The senator representing Borno South stressed that the Senate indeed challenged the sum budgeted for the controversial yacht, adding that it had been signed and delivered but not paid for prior to the public outrage.

“We queried the amount budgeted for the yacht, but it was signed for a dollar rate, and the new rate isn’t favourable. The budget was predicated for about N435, and now it is over N800,” Ndume said.

“The Navy also clarified that it is not a new budget. And even the House of Representatives moved the budget to the Student loan. The deal for the yacht has been agreed, signed, and delivered, but not paid for.”

Commenting on the N160 million for a Land Cruiser SUV for each lawmaker in the National Assembly, Ndume said there is nothing wrong with government workers acquiring vehicles for official duties.

On why the lawmakers went for Toyota SUVs instead of Nigerian vehicles, Ndume said, “The reason why we did not choose Nigerian-made cars is because they don’t manufacture their vehicles, but they assemble them.”