President Bola Tinubu-led federal government is planning to allocate N1.5 billion for vehicles for the Office of the First Lady, as revealed in the supplementary budget submitted to the National Assembly for approval.
The president recently requested the National Assembly’s approval for the N2.17 trillion supplementary budget, which had already been endorsed by his cabinet on Monday’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.
A review of the proposed budget by an investigative online media, Premium Times, shows that there is a N1.5 billion allocation for vehicles for the Office of the First Lady, an office not officially recognized by the country’s constitution.
Additionally, the government plans to spend N2.9 billion on Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) for the Presidential Villa, as well as N2.9 billion to replace operational vehicles for the presidency.
There are also allocations of N4 billion for the renovation of the presidential residential quarters and N2.5 billion for the renovation of the vice president’s residence, making a total of N28 billion allocated for the State House.
A substantial N12.5 billion is designated for the Presidential Air Fleet, which includes various aircraft, despite the heightened cost of living that Nigerians are grappling with.
While President Tinubu and government officials have urged Nigerians to be patient during this period of suffering, the supplementary budget reflects a significant expenditure at a time when citizens are asked to make sacrifices.
President Tinubu had previously removed the petroleum subsidy regime, resulting in a substantial increase in the price of petrol at retail outlets.
The supplementary budget has already scaled through the second reading in the House of Representatives without any scrutiny and resistance from the lower legislative chamber, a development that did come as a surprise to MUK TV because the lawmakers had also used N75 billion to procure luxurious SUVs for themselves.
