While many Nigerians are struggling to feed, the State House spent a whopping sum of N244,654,350 for the purchase and supply of tyres in a single day. According to Daily Trust, investigation and data gathered from govspend, a portal documenting the Presidential Villa expenditure, showed that the State House made payments for the supply of an unspecified quantity of bulletproof tyres and Westlake tyres, the week that the President Bola Tinubu government marked its first year in office.
Tinubu took over from his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, on May 29, 2023. Documents showed that the sums of N200,583,390, N38,070,000, and N6,000,960, were respectively paid for these items, on May 21, 2024. The documents revealed that two separate payments were made for the purchase and supply of tyres (no specified quantity) for bulletproof vehicles and another five armoured bulletproof tyres to Obi-Wealth Enterprises Nigeria Limited (RC-640684) for the sums of N200,583,390 and N38,070,000.
A quick search on the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) website revealed that the company is inactive. Hommy & Fay Investments Limited, active on the CAC portal, handled the other part of the supply of an unspecified number of Westlake tyres (315/80R22) for N6,000,960.
Attempts to get reactions from the presidency over the tyre expenditure did not yield result as several calls made to the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, did not go through. The message sent to him had not been replied as of the time of filing this report. 24 hours after the tyre payments were made, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu, apologised to Nigerians over the nationwide hardship.
Speaking during the ministerial sectoral update, he said the policies of the Tinubu-led government were on track despite the currency crisis and inflation which has frustrated economic growth.
“So, what’s the answer to all of these? It’s to restore macroeconomic stability that will ensure that investors, both domestic and international put their face in our economy once again. And we are all doing this without a blame game. And I apologize for the pain that they may occasion, but they are necessary…Is our strategy, right? Absolutely. We believe our strategy is right, but it requires occasional calibration. Put good money to use,” he had said. Nigeria’s inflation has risen to a 28-year high, worsening the cost of living—a stance largely attributed to President Tinubu’s policies. However, critics have accused the Tinubu administration of “frivolous spending” despite numerous pleas to the citizens over the current hardship.
There was a backlash the last time the president asked Nigerians to make sacrifice for the progress of the nation. Tinubu had, while addressing journalists after observing the Eid-el Kabir prayer at Dodan Barracks, Lagos, stressed the need for the people to follow the path of sacrifice to make the nation great. The comment had elicited reactions from Nigerians, civil society organisations, and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), among others.
An economist and lecturer at Saadatu Rimi University of Education, Kumbotso, Kano, who is also the Director, Fiscal Discipline and Development Advocacy Centre (FIDAC), Dr. Abdulsalam Kani, said the government had failed to fulfil its part of the bargain, especially promises made to Nigerians.
“The government has removed fuel subsidy and increased electricity tariff, plunging many into difficulty. Nigerians were promised that Port Harcourt refinery will begin production in December last year, and that has not happened. Despite these and the failure of the administration to fulfil promises, they are making plans to buy new aircraft for the president and vice president,” he said. He said the government had equally failed to address rising inflation which is above 33 per cent at the moment.
Source: Daily Trust
