Ali Ndume, the senator representing Borno South Senatorial District, has stated that the Nigerian Navy already signed and sealed an order for the purchase of a presidential yacht.

The senator further said that the idea of purchasing a yacht was not an initiative of the current federal government, saying the proposal had been approved as part of the 2023 appropriation bill signed by former President Muhammadu Buhari.

He stated this while appearing on Arise News’ popular programme, The Morning Show, on Friday.

The lawmaker made this remark in response to the agitation by many Nigerians that the government’s intention to acquire a luxury yacht was insensitive to the plights of Nigerians, whom the president had consistently asked to make sacrifices following his government’s removal of fuel subsidies.

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

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Tinubu had submitted a supplementary budget to the national assembly with a component of N5 billion allocation for a yacht. The allocation for a yacht has, however, been merged with the allocation for student loans, thereby increasing the student loan funding from N5 billion to N10 billion.

CLAIM: The provision for a presidential yacht was not an idea of President Tinubu. It was under the Nigerian Navy’s 2023 budget and it was passed by the last Senate.

VERIFICATION: Buhari signed the 2023 appropriation bill into law on January 3, 2023, with a one-year life cycle. FIJ examined the said budget as available on the National Budget Office’s website.

Nigerian Navy, being a component of the Ministry of Defence, has its total budgetary proposals captured in the ministry’s budget.

The navy was allocated N189,790,615,183 for both recurrent and capital expenditures for the year. This includes N22,768,880,735 for overhead cost, N136,474,920,215 for recurrent expenditure and N53,315,694,968 for capital expenditure.

With all the line items clearly stated in the budget, including the procurement of certain security equipment and construction of various amenities, there is nowhere a yacht was mentioned directly or indirectly as something the navy intended to procure.

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CONCLUSION: The navy didn’t include a yacht in its 2023 budget.

VERDICT: The claim that the procurement of a yacht had already been stated in the navy’s budget for 2023 fiscal year is false.