Tinubu To Spend N1.5 Billion On Cars For ‘First Lady’s Office’, N2.9 Billion For SUVs

President Bola Tinubu-led government is planning to spend N1.5 billion on vehicles for the Office of First Lady.

The amount is contained in the supplementary budget sent to the National Assembly for approval.

Truetells Nigeria had earlier reported that President Tinubu on Tuesday asked the National Assembly to approve the N2.17 trillion supplementary budget.

The budget was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at its meeting on Monday.

Despite the hardship in the country, Tinubu and some of his aides and other government official have repeatedly pleaded with Nigerians to be patient with the administration.

Tinubu had during his inauguration on 29 May removed the petroleum subsidy which has led to over 400 per cent hike in price of petrol at retail outlets.

The President, however, has decided to spend N1.5 billion on vehicles for the Office of the First Lady, an office that is not recognised by the country’s constitution.

Aside from the Office of the First Lady, the government plans to spend another N2.9 billion on Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV) for the Presidential Villa, and another N2.9 billion to replace operational vehicles for the presidency.

The government is also proposing to spend N4 billion on the renovation of the residential quarters of the president, and N2.5 billion on the renovation of the vice president’s resident. In all, N28 billion is proposed for the State House.

It is planning to spend N12.5 billion on the Presidential Air Fleet.

The presidential fleet includes Boeing Business Jet (Boeing 737-800 or NAF 001), one Gulfstream 550, one Gulfstream V (Gulfstream 500), two Falcons 7X, one Hawker Sidley 4000, two AgustaWestland AW 139 helicopters and two AgustaWestland AW 101 helicopters.

The budget has already scaled the second reading at the House of Representatives.