"The President Doesn't Need A Presidential Yacht" - Spokeswoman Temitope Ajayi

Temitope Ajayi

Spokesman for the President says "The president did not request a presidential yacht, he doesn't need it"

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu did not want a presidential yacht because he does not require one, according to Temitope Ajayi, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity.

Recall that in the N2.1 trillion supplemental budget Tinubu presented to the National Assembly for approval, the federal government set aside N5.09 billion for the purchase of a presidential yacht.

On Thursday, November 2, Ajayi responded to the criticism that had followed the situation by saying: "The trending issues on social media are two items in the 2023 supplementary budget. One is the provision for a presidential yacht in the supplementary budget by the Navy and the other is over N6 billion for vehicles to the State House.

"It is important to state clearly that President Bola Tinubu didn't ask for a presidential yatch and I doubt he needs one to perform the functions of his office. From what I know, the request for a yacht, however it is named or couched in the budget is from the Navy and they must have operational reasons for why it is required.

"The budget office should be in a position to also explain to the public why such expenditure should be accommodated now, considering the economic situation of the country."

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