Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, has described President Bola Tinubu as a humble man, who lives a modest life.
Speaking at the close of the three-day Cabinet Retreat held at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, on Friday,
Bagudu rued the controversy surrounding the purchase of a yacht, stressing that it was not intended for the President’s personal use.
The mischaracterisation or controversy that followed from the way Navy described the ship has unfortunately generated a controversy but if a budget of N2.2tn 95 per cent of it is okay, I think President Tinubu should be given credit for it,” he said.
He said the President has no need of a luxury yacht as purported given that “he is happy with all he has achieved in life, personal comfort does not matter to him.”
Before he was elected president, he stays in a three bedroom apartment in Abuja. He lives a modest, humble life,” he said.
Bagudu, who defended the allocation of a significant portion of the budget to defense and security, stressed the importance of these funds in enhancing national security.
According to him, “Yesterday, in my comment, I said three things in the panel discussion. First, President Bola Tinubu during the campaigns, have repeatedly emphasized the urgency to tackle security. And not surprisingly 30 per cent of the supplementary budget is for the defense sector.
“Equally, he has spoken about the need to support vulnerable populace and keep promises equally 30 per cent of the supplementary budget is also on the on palliatives.
“N400bn cash transfers and N200bn cash awards. Equally infrastructure, about 25 per cent of the supplementary budget is infrastructure. So there you have it, about 85 per cent is in these three areas.”
He said studies by experts had shown the key difference between countries that achieve growth and those who do not is that “they have a plan and they stick to your plan.”
The supplementary budget for 2023 had come under scrutiny, particularly regarding two items: the provision for a presidential yacht by the Navy and over N6bn allocated for vehicles to the State House.
The Presidency had on Thursday clarified that the item for the Nigerian Navy was not for President Tinubu’s personal use.
It argued that the public scrutiny meted to President Tinubu over poorly-named items in the 2023 supplementary appropriation (such as Presidential Yacht) could be avoided if the budget office described these items in a bit more detail.
“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,” said Tinubu’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, in a piece posted on his Facebook page Thursday.
Ajayi reasoned that the one reason Nigeria’s budgeting system has been a subject of public attack is the “very simplistic way some of the line items are described by civil servants who prepare the budget.”
