Despite the nation grappling with economic hardships and a soaring inflation rate, the presidential villa had spent at least N244 million in one day on the purchase and supply of bulletproof Westlake tyres.
The total amount of N244,654,350 spent on the tyres was transacted on the 21st of May, 2024, and was generated from various transactions, as revealed by Govspend – a platform tracking and analysing federal government spending.
According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the country’s inflation rate ticked up to 33.95 per cent in May from 33.69 per cent in April 2024, for the seventeenth consecutive month driven by food and non-alcoholic beverages.
However, month-on-month headline inflation slowed to 2.14 percent in May 2024 from 2.29 percent in April 2024 which is the second broad-based decline since October 2023.
Recall that last Sunday, President Bola Tinubu while addressing Nigerians during the Eid-el-Kabir festivity emphasised to Nigerians that nation-building requires great sacrifice.
He stressed that some level of sacrifice will also be required to move the nation forward.
Tinubu said, “We have been told by the Chief Imam how we can follow the path of sacrifice. The sacrifice required of a good citizen. Citizenship comes with responsibilities.
“As citizens, what do we need to do to be committed members of our society? Yes, that is sacrifice; loving your country. Loving your neighbours. Sharing what you have with each other. And to always be thankful to Almighty God.”
The federal government, through Atiku Bagudu, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, asked for forgiveness from Nigerians for the pain and economic hardship being experienced in the country.
He noted that the present government slogan ‘Renewed Hope Agenda,” would stimulate economic growth and prosperity for the country.
“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 faces in our economy once again. And we are all doing this without a blame game.
“And I apologise for the pain that they may occasion, but they are necessary. So, not surprisingly, the exchange rate is not yet where we want it to be. Inflation is not yet where we want it to be.
“Is our strategy right? Absolutely. We believe our strategy is right, but it requires occasional calibration. Put good money to use,” the minister said.
Of the N244,654,350 total amount spent on the tyre items, N200,583,390 was spent on bulletproof vehicles. N38,070,000 was spent on five armoured bulletproof tyres with payment made to a company – Obi-Wealth Enterprises Nigeria Limited while the sum of N6,000,960 was spent on the purchase and supply of Westlake tyres with the company name Hommy & Fay Investments Limited.
However, the number and quantity of items purchased were not made known.
In May, BusinessDay reported that Tinubu visits over 10 nations, and spends over N3.4bn on local, and foreign trips within one year.
In the report, some of the countries he travelled to between May and December 2023 include Nairobi, Kenya; Porto Norvo, Benin Republic; and Berlin, Germany, amongst others.
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