NEWS
Reps Remove N5bn Yacht From Supplementary Budget
Amid public protest over the allocation of N5.095 billion for a presidential yacht in the 2023 supplementary budget, the House of Representatives announced on Thursday that the budgetary allocation has been scrapped.
In an interview on Thursday, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Abubakar Bichi, confirmed the removal of the budget for the presidential yacht and noted an increase in the allocation for student loans from five billion to N10 billion.
Bichi further revealed that the committee raised the budget for the Ministry of Defence from N476 billion to N546 billion.
Additionally, he shared that the minimum wage for workers was approved and would be transmitted to the executive, with a commitment to thorough legislative oversight to ensure full implementation.
Recall that the President’s supplementary budget to the National Assembly initially included a N5 billion allocation for a presidential yacht, falling under the capital expenditure of the Nigerian Navy’s budget.
According to the breakdown, the Navy will require N62.8 billion for its operations, with recurrent expenditure and capital expenditure gulping N20.4 billion and N42.3 billion, respectively.
However, Chairman Bichi confirmed the removal of this allocation, stating that the five billion naira for the presidential yacht has been removed from the budget.
He said: “Actually We have submitted our reports to the House and after careful consideration, the House has approved our submissions and the breakdown is as follows:
“As you know, the budget is about N2.1 trillion and the Ministry of Defence has about N456bn but currently the Ministry of Defence has the largest share because we know how important our security is. As you are aware, we had interactions with them yesterday. Currently, we have increased their budget from N456 billion to N546,209,099,671 billion.
“For Police formation and command, we gave them N50bn while the FCT has about N100bn. You know FCT is very important to us, so we want to make sure that FCT can compete with any state in the world. That is why we gave them N100bn.
“On the Office of National Security, their initial budget was N27bn but currently we have increased it to N50bn. For the state house, their initial budget was N28bn and we maintained that.
“On Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, you know how important that ministry is. We maintained their initial figure of N200bn as well.
“For the Ministry of Housing, you know we have a serious housing deficit in the country and Mr President’s agenda, he wants to build as much as he can, so we have approved N100bn for housing.
He added: “Our members, especially those standing committees, oversight those projects and ensure the money is used judiciously. From now till three months time, we are going to call them and ask them what they have done with the money.”
The South-South Reawakening Group has opposed plans to align the proposed coastal road with the East-West Road, insisting that both projects should be constructed side by side.
The group’s convener, Joseph Ambakederimo, stated this during an interview on Arise TV on Sunday, arguing that the coastal road should be delivered as a separate infrastructure project rather than diverted to the existing East-West Road.
Ambakederimo said the coastal road had remained on the drawing board for many years and questioned why the project was now being considered for alignment with the East-West Road.
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“I posted on my LinkedIn handle when somebody posted the minister’s briefing. I said no. Mr. Minister, we want to see the coastal road side by side the East-West Road,” he said.
“We want to see that happen, not to do any alignment. Alignment of what? To where? We need that coastal road, and that road has been on the drawing board for so many years. So many, many years.”
He urged engineers to revisit their plans and address potential environmental challenges associated with constructing the road through the South-South region.
“I believe the feasibility of that road has been done. We know the processes of building roads, infrastructure all over the world. Pure and concrete feasibility would have been done. So let the engineers go back to the drawing board,” Ambakederimo said.
His comments come amid concerns over the proposed route of the coastal road and calls for the Federal Government to reconsider its approach to the project.
Ambakederimo maintained that the coastal road should be constructed alongside the East-West Road rather than aligned with it, stressing the importance of delivering the long-awaited infrastructure project to the South-South region.
The Nigeria Police Force has rescued an abducted farmer, Nafi’u Abubakar Sarki, as security operatives continue efforts to locate 10 other farmers abducted by armed bandits in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
The rescue operation followed the abduction of 11 farmers at Kamfanin Madam Village, according to the police operational update issued on Sunday, October 18, 2026.
The police said tactical teams, working alongside local vigilantes, traced the escape route used by the suspected bandits in an effort to locate the victims.
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“Police Tactical Teams and local vigilantes successfully traced the escape route of armed bandits who abducted 11 farmers at Kamfanin Madam Village, Maru LGA,” the statement said.
It added that “one of the abducted victims, Nafi’u Abubakar Sarki, was safely rescued unharmed, while operations continue for the rescue of the remaining victims.”
The police identified the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Gusau as the unit investigating the incident.
Otunba Segun Showunmi, a member of the Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) for 2027, has urged the South-East to assess President Bola Tinubu’s administration based on verifiable projects and measurable results rather than political propaganda.
Showunmi made the call in a statement posted on X on Saturday, urging Nigerians to evaluate the government’s performance based on infrastructure delivery, funds committed to projects and their impact on communities.
He said federal infrastructure initiatives targeting the South-East under Tinubu’s administration deserved serious scrutiny and factual assessment, adding that unfulfilled promises should continue to be pursued until the expected results were delivered.
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“Our message is clear: We will not trade facts for propaganda, nor accountability for political loyalty!” he said.
The political figure challenged critics of the administration to provide evidence to support their claims, while urging those defending the government to present the projects and demonstrate their impact.
He also called on government officials to publish relevant figures, disclose project timelines and provide measurable results, insisting that no public official should be exempt from scrutiny.
According to Showunmi, the South-East deserves infrastructure that supports economic growth, including roads that connect markets, investments that create jobs and policies that expand economic opportunities.
He maintained that political representation must translate into tangible benefits for citizens, stressing that public office should deliver value to the people.
As part of his call to action, Showunmi urged Nigerians to scrutinise government records, challenge misinformation with evidence and demand the completion of outstanding projects.
He further called for public commitments to be matched by measurable delivery, arguing that leadership should be assessed by facts and results rather than political rhetoric.
Ending his statement with the slogan, “Asiwaju is a goal,” Showunmi called for accountability and greater inclusion of the South-East in Nigeria’s development.
Showunmi is associated with The Alternative and is a member of the Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council for the 2027 elections.
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