President Muhammadu Buhari, has proposed to spend a whopping sum of N400 million for former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan, among others, as part of the 2017 Budgets estimates.
Recall, that last November, there was outrage over the inability of the Federal Government to pay allowances of the country’s former Presidents for eleven months.
The Presidency had attributed it to paucity of fund available in the wide service votes.
“There is a department responsible for the payment of former Presidents. Presently, funds are not available in service-wide vote to do that,” the Presidency had said.
According to the details of the 2017 Appropriation Bill, currently before the National Assembly, N400 million was budgeted for the purchase of vehicles for seven former Presidents, Vice Presidents, Heads of State and Chief of General Staffs.
The nation’s seven living former heads of government include Gen. Yakubu Gowon (retd.); Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Alhaji Shehu Shagari; Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (retd.); Chief Ernest Shonekan; Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar (retd.); and former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The four living former Vice-Presidents and ex-Chiefs of General Staff are former Vice-President Alex Ekwueme; Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe (retd.); Gen. Oladipo Diya (retd.), Atiku Abubakar and former Vice-President Namadi Sambo.
The budget details did not indicate the number of vehicles that would be bought for each of the former leaders. The brands of the vehicles were also not disclosed.
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