The N5 billion budgeted for the purchase of a Presidential boat has been cancelled by the House of Representatives.
Speaking to journalists after the Supplementary Budget was passed today, November 2, Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Abubakar Bichi, said the lawmakers considered the public interest in scrapping the Yacht budget and transferring the sum to the N5.5 billion budgeted for the Student loan initiative, bringing the total budgetary allocation for the Student loan to N10 billion.
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“As far as we are concerned we don’t have that presidential yacht anymore. We have increased the student loan. If you recall, the student loan was N5 billion in the budget but we have increased it to N10 billion,” he said.
Following security concerns, the Committee increased the Ministry of Defence’s budgeted allocation from 476 billion to 546 billion.
Bichi also revealed that the minimum pay for workers had been studied and approved for transmission to the executive while guaranteeing sufficient parliamentary monitoring to ensure full implementation.
The sum of $100 billion was kept for FCT, as requested by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike.
