Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s first supplementary budget includes a fleet of SUVs for himself and his wife, a presidential yacht and the renovation of his villa amid a cost-of-living crisis for some of the poorest people in the world.

The proposal — which seeks additional funding beyond the annual budget approved by Tinubu’s predecessor — comes as the government asks Nigerians to persevere through pain caused in part by a raft of economic reforms ushered in by the new president. Africa’s most populous country faces rampant unemployment, soaring food prices and a plummeting currency.

Federal lawmakers approved the president’s request for extra spending on Thursday, but eliminated the provision of 5 billion naira ($6.01 million) to buy a presidential yacht. Instead, they doubled the allocation to a student loan fund to 10 billion naira, according Abubakar Bichi, chairman of an appropriations committee in the House of Representatives.

The lawmakers approved 1.5 billion-naira proposed to purchase SUVs for the office of First Lady Oluremi Tinubu — an amount larger than that allocated to many individual federal colleges. The supplementary budget also proposes almost 6 billion naira to purchase SUVs for the presidency — more than the amount initially allocated to fund a student loan program for poor families.

A spokesman said the president didn’t ask for a yacht and criticized coverage of the budget. The “public attack” is because of the “very simplistic way some of the line items are described by civil servants, who prepare the budget,” Temitope Ajayi said in a column posted to a local media outlet. New vehicles, he said, will be used by aides and civil servants, not Tinubu himself.

The legislature has also been slammed for buying hundreds of its own expensive SUVs.

Tinubu, who took office in May, ended a popular but costly fuel subsidy and removed currency restrictions that saw prices spike and the naira sharply devalued. That’s left many households struggling to survive in Africa’s most populous nation, where at least 40% of its more than 200 million people live in extreme poverty.

Last year, the country spent about 96% of its revenue servicing debt and the government plans to raise 9 trillion naira to help fund next year’s budget.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-02/nigeria-budgets-for-suvs-and-yachts-amid-economic-hardship

A mad republic

Time to go our separate ways

See the kind of news international paper is reporting from Nigeria, and you will expect foreign investors?

When a gang of fraudulent personalities , criminals, forge stars, drug dealers and crooks on bench kidnap a nation, these are the kind of things in play.

If Tinubu seek another loan from imf and world Bank they will grant him.Like,does the IMF and world Bank officials who approved these loans received kickbacks from the Nigerian politicians?They cannot say they are not aware that these loans are mismanaged and misappropriated by these polithiefcians.
What about the official cars purchased by previous administration?Did they go away with government properties?Why can't Tinubu order all the cars taken away by Buhari and his cabinets and outgoing lawmakers to be returned instead of buying new ones?Who swear for this country?

Varunpulyani:
A mad republic

yarimo:

🤷🤷🤷

Some people will still defend this and go back to trekking 40km to work everyday.

Nigeria now a laughing stock

It's just disheartening.
.. but I believe that the senate did a reasonable thing to convert the yacht money into student finance.

The idea of fighting who voted who in the last election should be a thing of the past by now except una wan fight unaself till 2027 again.

This government is not doing well.

🤔

APC supporters know that there's nothing left to justify. The same man who they said has money and that he will use his wealth to boost the economy is now plunging the country into more debts . It will be the high level of foolishness to defend this government

Mad people

Vagabonds In Power.


Wittyness

Emilokan really hit the ground running..,

He will fix Nigeria, He fixed Lagos.

Nothing is working.

Full time agricultural thing is ringing seriously on my mind.

😂

Agbadorians dragging us backwards as a nation

A

Politicians are set on putting Nigeria on its knees. This set of people don't care about Nigeria at all! I am happy I didn't vote in the last election though... See all the reps and senators buying lavish SUVs despite the state of the economy, when it's not even like they don't have several cars before.

I have supported Tinubu several times here cos I feel he deserves to be given a chance to perform but it seems he obviously has his priorities wrong despite fighting hard & dirty to become president.

.

Let me borrow falsephrophet prophecies for the year 2024

1 dollar will equal 220 Naira
1 bag of Rice will go for 18k
Flight Lagos to Abuja 16k
Flight Lagos to Heathrow 230k
Flight Abuja to Jfk 440k
Unemployment rate 2.8%
Security 97%
Health care system 89%
Housing 94%
Minimum wage 250k/M
Constant power 97%
Davido Grammy awards winner
All Road/Highway fixed
Visa free agreement with new 10 countries

After them go beg country wey dem borrow money from to forget about the money, imagine say those countries dey see this kind news?

Waiting patiently for APC dogs to come and defend. Let's even take a look at APC logo and ask yourself if this guys use broom in their various houses and offices. But when it is time for campaign they use it and leave it for their gullible followers.