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N5bn yacht: Navy confirms delivery, faces payment crisis over N’Assembly opposition

Published

3 years ago

November 4, 2023

Advocate News Nigeria

• Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Adm Ogalla

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Amid the raging debate on the N5bn presidential yacht to be procured by the Federal Government, as captured in the 2023 supplementary budget submitted to the National Assembly, the Nigerian Navy on Friday affirmed that it had taken delivery of the yacht.

The Director of Information, Nigerian Navy, Commodore Adedotun Ayo-Vaughan, in an interview with one of our correspondents on Friday, stated that the yacht had been in the country since June, 2023. He explained that the service made a “long overdue request” for the replacement of the defunct presidential yacht during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. He stressed that the yacht was for training.

Meanwhile, indications have emerged that the payment for the yacht may suffer delay, given the opposition by the two chambers of the National Assembly, in which case the federal lawmakers refused to approve the payment for the yacht. Thus, while the yacht has been delivered to the country, how the government would raise money for it remains to be seen in the coming days and months.

Earlier on Friday, the Senate Chief Whip, Ali Ndume, who represents Borno South, clarified during an interview on Arise TV that the presidential yacht had been signed and delivered before the public outcry, even though it had not been paid for. “The deal for the yacht has been agreed, signed, and delivered but not paid for,” he noted.

Ndume noted that the Senate queried the amount budgeted for the yacht, but that it was signed for a dollar rate, and that the new rate was no longer favourable. He pointed out that the budget was predicated on N435, but that the rate was now over N800/dollar.

He said the navy also clarified that it was not a new budget, and that even the House of Representatives moved the budgeted sum to the Student Loan.

Ndume explained that the N5bn earmarked for the yacht was included in the supplementary budget because it had yet to be paid for. “When we saw that amount, we queried it. When we asked those questions, the navy explained that this was not a new item. I know the President is not a luxurious person, he won’t go for that.”

Navy justifies purchase

As many Nigerians hoped that the procurement would be halted on account of widespread criticism, owing to the current economic situation, the revelation on Friday that it had been delivered to the country introduced a new twist to the issue.

About N5bn had been allocated to the yacht in the N2.1trn supplementary budget transmitted by President Bola Tinubu to the National Assembly after the Federal Executive Council meeting on Monday.

But speaking on the issue in the interview with Saturday PUNCH on Friday, the naval spokesperson said, “It was delivered in June 2023. We have not used it yet.”

When asked if the inability to pay for the yacht was responsible for the delay in using it, he stated, “Correct. It’s tied to the non-payment.”

This implies that until the payment is made, the navy may not be able to use it for its operational activities.

Amid heavy criticisms that had greeted the procurement, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, had said the yacht was not for Tinubu’s personal use.

He had stated, “What was named as Presidential Yacht in the budget is an operational naval boat with specialised security gadgets suitable for high-profile operational inspection and not for the use of the President.”

The navy during an interview with our correspondent on Thursday also confirmed the statement by the presidency, stressing that the navy, and not Tinubu requested for the yacht. He had said, “Under the immediate past administration, a long overdue request was made for a Presidential yacht to replace MV AMARIA, the defunct Presidential yacht. It was also to be used for the Presidential Fleet Review 2023 that was held in May this year.”

Senate clarifies position

Meanwhile, there are fresh concerns that payment for the yacht may suffer delay given the opposition to the payment by the two chambers of the National Assembly. By constitutional provisions, the procurement of items by the government is subject to legislative approval.

Therefore, as the federal lawmakers have expunged the payment for the yacht from the supplementary budget, it might create a crisis for the payment of the yacht and when it can be put to use.

Against widespread reports that the Senate approved the payment while the House of Representatives on the other hand expunged the item and added it to the money budgeted for the student loan, indications emerged on Friday that the Senate also did not approve the payment.

The Senate said it aligned with the House of Representatives on the reallocation of the N5.095bn appropriated for the presidential yacht to be added to the student loan.

The National Assembly had on Thursday approved the supplementary budget.

While the Senate was silent on the N5bn proposed for the yacht in the budget, the House of Representatives cancelled the allocation and added it to the student loan.

Clarifying the position of the Red Chamber, the Senate Spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu, noted that the report was co-signed by both the chairmen of appropriation for both Senate and House of Representatives.

He noted that both the Chairman, Senate committee on Appropriation, Senator Solomon Adeola, and the chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, Abubakar Bichi, had agreed on moving the yacht allocation to the students’ loan laid before the lawmakers.

Adaramodu stated, “It was an agreement that was signed by both chambers. The fact that the Senate didn’t expressly mention it doesn’t mean that we were not on the same page.

“One chamber cannot singlehandedly sign a supplementary budget, the paper presented at the Senate was the same presented at the House. Both chairmen consolidated their reports and presented it at the plenary.

“As the chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, I can tell you that we didn’t approve any money for the presidential yacht.” (Saturday PUNCH)

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2027: Atiku raises concern over outdated BVAS

Published

12 hours ago

August 11, 2026

Advocate News Nigeria

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar

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Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has raised concerns over the alleged use of an outdated operating system on the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), warning that it could pose cybersecurity and operational risks ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Paul Ibe disclosed this on his Facebook handle on Tuesday.

Atiku, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), raised the concerns following the reported failures recorded during the Osun State mock accreditation exercise on August 1, 2026, and comments by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Director of ICT, Dr Lawrence Bayode.Bayode, while speaking on Arise TV on Monday, reportedly said the BVAS, introduced into Nigeria’s electoral process in 2021, currently runs on Android version 10.

In a statement issued by his Media Office in Abuja on Tuesday, Atiku said Android version 10 had reached end-of-life status in 2023 and no longer receives regular updates or security patches.

He argued that running an election technology platform such as BVAS on an outdated operating system could expose the electoral process to cybersecurity and operational vulnerabilities.

Atiku questioned why INEC, with what he described as its substantial budget, had not upgraded the BVAS software ahead of the 2027 general elections or used forthcoming off-cycle elections, including the Osun governorship election, to test an updated version.

He described what he called INEC’s handling of the BVAS issue as “suspicious” and alleged that it could undermine the integrity of the country’s elections.

According to him, vulnerabilities in an outdated operating system could potentially be exploited by cybercriminals to gain unauthorised access to devices and tamper with stored voter accreditation or polling unit result data before transmission.

He also raised concerns about the transmission of polling unit results over public telecommunications networks to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.

Atiku said outdated security and cryptographic components could increase exposure to cyber threats, including attempts to intercept, block or manipulate data transmitted between polling units and the result-viewing platform.

The former Vice President further expressed concern about the biometric functions of BVAS, which uses fingerprint and facial recognition for voter accreditation.

He argued that an outdated biometric framework could affect the system’s accuracy and resilience against attempts to circumvent its verification processes.

Atiku also warned that software defects associated with legacy systems could lead to application crashes, particularly during periods of heavy usage, potentially causing delays in voter accreditation.

He said he supported calls by cybersecurity experts for an independent and comprehensive audit of the BVAS hardware and software ahead of the 2027 elections.

According to him, running critical national infrastructure on an end-of-life operating system could create an expanded attack surface and expose the electoral system to avoidable risks.

The statement was signed by the Atiku Media Office, Abuja, on August 11, 2026.

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Gov Mbah hails security forces over arrest of Affa Church kidnappers

Published

20 hours ago

August 11, 2026

Advocate News Nigeria

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Four AK-47 rifles, ammunition recovered

Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State has commended intelligence and security agencies in the state for nabbing three members of a notorious kidnap gang responsible for the August 2, 2026 attack on St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Inoyi-Affa, in Udi LGA of the state.

A joint operation by the Department of State Services (DSS), the Army, Police, Enugu State Forest Guard, and others, led to a gun battle with the suspected kidnappers.

One suspected member of the kidnapping gang was neutralized, while the security team recovered four AK-47 rifles and a cache of ammunition.

The governor made the commendation on Monday night after visiting the state DSS headquarters to see the arrested suspected kidnappers.

The governor, who was represented by Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, disclosed that two of the three kidnapped victims of the August 2 attack, Seminarian Lawrence Igbo and Mr. Emmanuel Onwudi, had regained their freedom.

The victims, stated the SSG, had fully identified the apprehended men as their abductors.
On behalf of the governor, the SSG assured the people of Enugu State that the Mbah administration would continue to prioritise and invest in the security of their lives and properties.

“There was one fatality in this process. It was one of the criminals that died in the process of apprehending them. Usually, criminal elements will not want to be apprehended easily without a fight, but our people were ready, and we have one fatality, while the others are here now as you can see; and they will face the full wrath of the law,” he declared.

“We made it very clear that if criminality becomes your venture, Enugu State is not the location to do that business; that we will pursue you, we will make sure we bring you to justice, and that was why we put the robust security architecture across the state, working in collaboration with the security forces to ensure that Enugu is uncomfortable for anybody that plans criminality, and you’re seeing that very clearly.

“We are intentional in investing in and organising our security architecture to prevent crime. But if there is a breach, you can run, but cannot hide for long. We must get you. You can’t commit these crimes in Enugu State and get away with it. No way,” he said.

He warned citizens against colluding with criminal elements or serve as their informants, vowing to come after them.

“We will find you also, just as we have found these people, and we will prosecute you as part of this evil operation and this evil syndicate.

“Wherever you are, know that investigation is ongoing and that this government will track you down, and you will pay for your crimes in planning havoc on our citizens. So wherever you are, we are still coming for you,” he stressed.

He showered encomium on the security forces for their cooperation and gallantry.

“We also want to very highly commend all the security agencies: the DSS, Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Police, the Enugu State Forest Guard, the military services, others for being very instrumental in some of the work that was done, and continue to do in Enugu State,” the SSG declared.

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Enugu Church Kidnap: Seminarian, other victims rescued, three kidnappers arrested, one killed

Published

1 day ago

August 10, 2026

Advocate News Nigeria

Three kidnappers arrested

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…Ransoms, 4 AK-47 rifles and ammunition recovered

…Gov Mbah: You can’t get away with your crimes in Enugu

Security forces in Enugu State have successfully apprehended three perpetrators of the August 2, 2026 kidnap attack on St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Inoyi-Affa, Udi LGA, Enugu State, and also recovered ransoms during the operations.

This was even as one of the kidnap suspects was neutralised in a gun duel during the joint operation of the Department of State Services (DSS), the Army, Police, Enugu State Forest Guard, and others, which also saw to the recovery of four AK-47 rifles, seven magazines and 133 rounds of ammunition from the hideouts of the kidnapping syndicate.

Fielding questions from newsmen during the parade of the criminals at the state headquarters of the DSS in Enugu Monday evening, Governor Peter Mbah, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, added that the remaining two of the three victims of the August 2 attack, Seminarian Lawrence Igbo and Mr. Emmanuel Onwudi, had also regained their freedom.

Ransom recovered from the kidnappers

Mbah also revealed that ransom deployed as a strategy was fully recovered, noting that security agents tracked down the criminals by deploying the state’s hi-tech security assets.

He hailed the DSS, Army, Police, Forest Guards and other security agencies in the state, adding that the victims had equally identified the apprehended criminals as their abductors.

The governor assured the people that his administration would continue to prioritise and invest in the security of their lives and properties.

A member of the kidnap gang neutralized

“There was one fatality in this process. It was one of the criminals that died in the process of apprehending them. Usually, criminal elements will not want to be apprehended easily without a fight, but our people were ready, and we have one fatality, while the others are here now as you could see; and they will face the full wrath of the law.