When a country is in a deep economic crisis including a rising inflation rate, high level of debt, high cost of living, and insecurity issues just to name a few, is it time for the government to indulge in spending public funds on luxury vehicles, jets, and yachts? Of course not, but that’s exactly what Nigerian puppet President, Bola Ahmed TinubI intends to do, proving that he is no different from the previous greedy Nigerian President who cared only for their belly. A few weeks ago, the government of Nigeria revealed the proposed 2023 supplementary budget which the President has submitted to the National Assembly for approval and a review of it has shocked not just us but millions of Nigerians who cannot comprehend the thoughtlessness of its government.

Nigerians are currently facing an unprecedented level of poverty and hardship. Prior to this time, the country had been grappling with above-average inflation for years but the devaluation of the local currency, which has pushed it to record lows against the dollar, has led to even more price spikes and greater hardships. The inflation rate hit 26.72% last month, its highest level in 20 years. Food inflation also rose to more than 30% year-on-year in September, 1.3% higher than the previous month. Transport costs had already risen sharply after Tinubu ended a fuel subsidy during his inaugural speech in May, saying it was unsustainable and a drain on public finances. A lot of Nigerians cannot feed themselves and are trying to survive, waiting for the government to do something about the situation. But, then what do they wake up to?
A supplementary budget showed that the federal government allocated the sum of 6 billion naira for the purchase of a presidential yacht. Can you imagine this? 6 billion naira for a presidential yacht. Please what does the President need a yacht for? How is it going to affect the economy positively? Of course, it’s simply for the President’s pleasure but as Nigerians began to show discontent about the need for a presidential yacht, the presidency quickly turned around to say that the purchase of the yacht comes under the capital expenditure of the Navy.
According to the Special adviser to the President on Information, Bayo Onanuga, ““What was named as a presidential yacht in the budget is an operational Naval boat with specialised security gadgets suitable for high profile operational inspection and not for the use of the President. The Naval boat was ordered by the navy under the previous administration. “President Tinubu is focused on securing our country and territorial waters, he added.
The idea is almost laughable, do they think that Nigerians are stupid? So, all of a sudden the Presidential yacht is needed for defense purposes. What more can one additional yacht do for the defense of Nigerian’s territorial waters that the 49 ships currently in the Navy can’t do? And if the President is so concerned about the defense of the nation, why has he not allocated funds to the Nigerian Army where Nigerian troops on the frontlines have been complaining about a lack of adequate basic weapons, food, and medical support?
A lawyer and war historian who heard the news of the proposed budget stated that ““If Britain, far richer and with the Western world’s most storied naval tradition, gave up the Royal Yacht, “Brittania”, decades ago for economic and value-for-money reasons, a demise that made a whole Queen Elizabeth II literally shed tears, I see no reason why we should keep that boat and

budget for it” We concur with his statement, there is no reason for the government to budget 6 billion naira for a yacht. It’s not a priority for the country.

Sadly, Nigerians who hoped that the Presidential yacht would not be bought on account of the widespread criticisms were jolted by the revelation from the Majority Whip of the Senate, Ali Ndume, that it had been delivered to the country. “The deal for the yacht has been agreed, signed, and delivered but not paid for,” he noted. Quick question, where will the money come from to finance the payment of the yacht? According to the Debt Management Office, Nigeria’s total public debt hit N87.38tn at the end of the second quarter representing an increase of 75.29 percent or N37.53tn compared to N49.85tn recorded at the end of March 2023. The increase was primarily due to the N22.7tn Ways and Means Advances of the Central Bank of Nigeria to the Federal Government and the naira devaluation that added about N13.38tn to the external debt figure.
So, Nigeria is currently owing, 87.38 trillion naira, yet the Presidency wants to buy a yacht that costs 6 billion naira? It’s no wonder, one article calls Nigeria the most mismanaged economy in Africa. But that’s not all, President Tinubu’s administration has said that between 2024 and 2026, it will source for loans up to N26.42tn, thereby increasing the country’s debt-to-revenue ratio. This obviously tells us that the majority of the items on the supplementary budget will be funded from funds obtained through loans. And yet, a presidential yacht worth 6 billion naira was added to the budget. But that’s not the only luxury item on the supplementary budget that has scaled the second reading at the House of Representatives.
The Presidency allocated the sum of 2.9 billion naira for sport utility vehicles for the Presidential Villa, and another 2.9 billion naira for the replacement of operational vehicles for the presidency. The sum of 1.5 billion naira was budgeted for vehicles for the Office of the First Lady, an office that is not recognised by the constitution. The government allocated N4 billion for the construction of an office complex in Aso Rock while 2.5 billion naira will be used for the renovation of the Vice-President’s official residence in Lagos. In all, 28 billion naira is proposed for the State House. The government also plans to spend 12.5 billion naira on the Presidential Air Fleet. The presidential fleet includes Boeing Business Jet, one Gulfstream 550, one Gulfstream V, two Falcons 7X, one Hawker Sidley 4000, two AgustaWestland AW 139 helicopters, and two AgustaWestland AW 101 helicopters.

Again, we ask, how is the purchase of luxury vehicles, presidential air fleets, and renovation of the presidential quarters supposed to help the economy?
In an Independence Day address in October, President Tinubu asked Nigerians to make sacrifices until his economic reforms began to take effect, urging them to “endure this trying moment.” However, instead of trying to reduce the cost of his luxurious administration, the President has gone all out to outfit it in luxury. Some analysts rightly call it a “hypocrisy” for the government to spend on luxuries while impoverished citizens suffer hardship caused by the president’s economic reforms.
So many Nigerians have come out to blast the Tinubu administration concerning the budget. In his his reaction, the candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2023 presidential election, Omoyele Sowore, said Tinubu took fuel subsidies from poor Nigerians, floated the naira and introduced school fees to enable his government fund their luxuries while Nigerians remain in misery. On his X handle, Sowore called the Tinubu administration a dynasty of thieves and stated that “They want to buy a “Presidential Yacht” for N5 billion for a man who’s never been to a stream before, they want to renovate a Presidential Lodge in Lagos for N4b for a man who just built a mansion in Lagos that stretches from Bourdillon to Queens Drive in Ikoyi.
His words actually do make sense. Before President Tinubu became President of Nigeria, everybody knew him as one of the hidden richest men in Nigeria. So, why does he have to spend public money to buy luxurious vehicles and Presidential air fleets? What happened to his personal wealth? His actions just highlight the greed of not just Nigeria but also African politicians who love to live in luxury at the expense of their citizens.

Anti-corruption activist Ogunsanya told CNN that Nigerians were yet to reap the benefit of monies saved from the removal of the fuel subsidy. Speaking on the proposed budget, Ogunsanya said that “You said there’s no money, you want to remove the subsidy. You have removed it, and people are still feeling the impact. And then that same money, instead of channeling it to productive ventures and see how it can ameliorate the sufferings of the people, it is just (being used) for their own selfish benefits to live large in luxury,”
The Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Auwal Rafsanjani also commented on the budget saying that the supplementary budget was a “Trojan horse for wasteful, suspicious expenditure on frivolous items.” He said, “There is a troubling trend of upholding the luxurious lifestyles of public officials at the cost of the public, while the country grapples with widespread poverty and high levels of unemployment. Supplementary budgets are meant to take care of expenditure that was not factored in during budget-making. “While the national assembly had recently passed, and signed, a supplementary appropriation act 2023 for over N819bn, a second supplementary budget was conceived in response to the impact of the petrol subsidy removal for further provision of additional palliative measures, including the wage award for public servants and the enhanced cash transfer programme, which was intended to benefit the most vulnerable members of our society.
“However, this has become a “Trojan horse” for wasteful, suspicious and unnecessary expenditure on frivolous items. What informed these budgets? How pertinent are they in the face of Nigeria’s more pressing economic needs? Should we be borrowing for frivolities considering our overbearing debt burden? Should Nigerians be tightening their belts to satisfy a few?”

These are questions that the Tinubu administration needs to answer. Sadly, Nigerians are living in a lawless state where the government is above the law, and no matter how outraged the citizens are about the actions of the government, nothing will change.

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