How ex-president Jonathan rejected proposal to buy presidential yacht in 2010

A track back to the previous administrations has revealed that the Navy’s recent move to acquire a presidential yacht is a development that has been around for a while.

Last week, President Bola Tinubu suffered a major backlash for adding the purchase of a N5 billion presidential yacht to his 2023 supplementary budget.

It was confirmed that ex-President Goodluck Jonathan rejected the Navy's proposal to buy a presidential yacht in 2010.

However, the presidency immediately cleared the air, noting that the yacht was for the President’s use but for the Navy.

The press statement further clarified that it was the administration of the President that first ordered it.

The statement reads partly: “President Tinubu has consistently said that government is a continuum as he inherited both assets and liabilities of past administrations.”

How Jonathan rejected presidential yacht proposal in 2010

Meanwhile, back in 2010, during the tenure of former President Goodluck Jonathan, a similar proposal was put forth by the Navy, but it was swiftly rejected, The Cable reported.

According to a 2010 report from DailyTrust, the Navy had suggested obtaining a presidential yacht for N3.3 billion in preparation for Nigeria's 50th independence anniversary celebrations in October 2010. However, President Jonathan declined the request.

His spokesperson at the time, Ima Niboro, was quoted in the newspaper as saying that the former President instructed the Navy to work with the national assembly to obtain the necessary approval for a virement, allowing the funds to be reallocated for the repair of naval warships.

Virement is a financial process that permits the transfer of approved budget allocations from one budget category or project to another within a fiscal year.

Reps throw out Tinubu's N5 billion presidential yacht from supplementary budget

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has said that the controversial N5 billion presidential yacht in the supplementary budget has been thrown out.

Abubakar Bichi, the chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, who spoke to journalists after the N2.17 trillion supplementary budget was passed, said the money was transferred to the student loan section. But the presidency, in its explanation, said the presidential yacht was an operational naval boat with specialised gadgets suitable for high-profile operational inspection.