Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s approval of a multimillion-dollar supplementary budget for a presidential yacht and all-terrain recreational vehicles (SUVs) for his wife and members of parliament has once again fueled controversy. Anger among Nigerians over what they see as a developing economic disparity.
On Wednesday, Nov. 8, Tinubu signed the budget, which allocated $38 million for the presidential air fleet and other improvements. About $6. 1 million budgeted in the past for the yacht ended up going toward student loans. The Navy said it had received the yacht but “has not been paid for. “
Meanwhile, the country’s 460-member parliament proved that all MPs would buy a new SUV, which would cost more than $150,000 per child. They say those cars will help them do their jobs better.
Nigeria is lately seeing food costs skyrocket, reaching record levels and fueling frustration among Nigerians, who see politicians earning huge salaries while others, such as fitness workers, are forced to overlook the strike to protest their meager income.
“It’s by the grace of God that I can eat. It’s difficult,” says Nduka Omeje, a shopkeeper from Abuja. Unions have been fighting for the government to raise the minimum wage for civil servants, which has lately been $67 a month. In 2019 there was a wage increase following the protests.