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Tag: Osinbajo

  • Osinbajo to Nigerians: we’ve cause to be thankful to God

    VICE President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday admonished Nigerians to be thankful to God.

    He also urged them to look to the future with hope because of God’s faithfulness.

    Osinbajo spoke with State House correspondents after the end-of-year thanksgiving service at the Presidential Villa Chapel in Abuja.

    He was joined at the service by former Head of State Gen.  Yakubu Gowon, his wife, Victoria, Nassarawa State Deputy Governor Silas Agara, Minister of Niger Delta Usani Uguru Usani, among other government officials.

    He said: “My message to Nigerians is that we have every cause to be extremely thankful to God. This has been a year where God has shown his faithfulness in so many ways.”

    The vice president said God has a message for Nigerians for the coming months and years.

    “I think that what God is also telling us is that the coming month and the coming years will be even better. Our country is going forward; our country is getting better and better; our country will prosper; our country will be a country of abundance.

    “All of us will enjoy the fruit of this land. So, my message is that we should continually thank God because God has helped us a great deal and set to help us even more,” he said.

    Gowon urged Nigerians to pray because “God accepts our genuine prayers”.

    He said: “God accepts our prayers for Nigeria, but not our selfish prayers. Let God answer all the good prayer for Nigeria; what he thinks is best for Nigeria. Let us pray and be determined to make sure that we contribute to that peace in Nigeria.”

    Expressing gratitude for peace in Nigeria, Agara prayed God to give another term to President Muhammadu Buhari and Osinbajo to enable Nigerians witness “more abundant blessings”.

    Delivering the message of the thanksgiving, Assistant General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God Pastor Eziekel Oduyemi said thanksgiving “is reflective of a grateful heart and that “only a great thinker can give thanks to God”.

    He said the fact that Nigeria, with over 180 million people, still has peace and freedom of worship, showed that God answers the prayers of Nigerians.

    The first Bible reading of the service, taken from Isaiah 51: 1-3, was taken by Usani, while the second reading from Philippians 4:1-7 was taken by Mrs. Gowon.

  • Osinbajo: we’re closer to ending AIDS epidemic

    •NACA targets $15m  HIV/AIDS trust fund

    THE Federal Government is closer to ending the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) epidemic, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said yesterday.

    He added that like many other countries in Africa, Nigeria is committed to the ambitious goal of ending the AIDs epidemic by 2030.

    Osinbajo, who was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Mustapha Boss, spoke yesterday at a programme marking the 2018 World Aid Day in Abuja.

    He said: “I am pleased to mute that more than ever before; we are closer to ending the AIDs epidemic. Having a HIV diagnosis today implies something very different from 20 years ago.

    “Research has delivered improved medicines, technologies and approaches to service delivery and holds even greater promise for what will obtain in the future. Today, with more access to treatment and care, people living with HIV can live healthier and more fulfilling lives.

    “I acknowledge the remarkable achievements made in Nigeria despite our resource constraints. We now have over a million people on life-saving HIV treatment. Every year, about nine million adults are tested for HIV, with about two million being pregnant women, a clear affirmation of our goal to eliminate Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV.

    “Like many other countries in Africa, we are committed to the ambitious goal of ending the AIDs epidemic by 2030. Despite the gains achieved so far, we know that concerted effort will be required to achieve this. It is in this regard that we embarked on the National AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey in all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, which Mr. President personally flagged-off in June this year. The survey aims at providing us a reliable baseline against which we can monitor our performance as a country. I understand that the survey has made remarkable progress, and the results will be available by March 2019.”

    Osinbajo said the Federal Government also appreciated the need to reinvigorate and sustain prevention efforts to end the AIDs epidemic.

    “The role of HIV testing services and supporting people living with HIV to ‘live life positively’ cannot be over-emphasised. The theme: ‘Know your status’, clearly speaks to the importance we place on HIV testing.

    “I would like to reaffirm the commitment of the government in providing sustained political support at the highest level. Furthermore, Government is committed to increase funding for the HIV response and ensuring universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and care services.

    “To this end, government has for the first time ensured that the funds required to keep all those living with HIV on our treatment programme in Taraba and Abuja is fully accommodated in the 2019 budget.”

    Read also: Teenage girls are bearing the brunt of global AIDS epidemic – UNICEF

    He said the Federal Government is committed to support an additional 50,000 persons on HIV treatment every year in budgets.

    The Vice President added that the government will also facilitate the integration of vulnerable members of the HIV community into its poverty alleviation and social intervention programmes.

    He lauded the efforts of development partners for their efforts towards eradicating the scourge.

    But NACA said it has concluded arrangement to launch an HIV and AIDS Trust Fund, as part of efforts to address funding gap.

    The seed money for the take-off of the fund, according to NACA Director-General, Dr. Sani Aliyu, is $15 million.

    Aliyu said the initiative would help to provide platform for more contributions from the private sector.

    The NACA DG said the idea of the trust fund is the fruit of government engagement with the private sector.

    This year marks three decades of commemoration of World AIDs Days and also 30 years of global progress against HIV.

    Aliyu added that states have begun to response to the idea of setting aside one per cent of their monthly Federal Allocation towards funding AIDS response.

    He said: “We have been working on strengthening our engagement with the Private Sector in Nigeria through the Nigeria Business Coalition Against AIDS (NIBUCAA) in a bid to increase domestic funding for HIV towards a more sustainable response.

    “The HIV Trust Fund, which will soon be launched, will provide the platform for more concrete contributions from the private sector. It is our hope that resources that come through this window will help to close the gap in access to antiretroviral therapy for people living with HIV,” he said.

    He added: “Improving engagement with the private sector forms part of our larger efforts to enhance local ownership and sustainability of the response.”

    Explaining further on the fund, he said the fund is going to provide additional support to the country’s response to HIV, as it will be used to procure drugs, commodities and logistics.

    “It is going to serve as a support to whatever the government is doing on test and treatment for HIV.”

    Aliyu hailed the role the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo played in obtaining a commitment from governors to resource the HIV responses in their respective states with up to 1.0% from their monthly Federal allocation.

    NACA, he said, is prioritising local manufacturing of HIV medicines and other relevant commodities as part of its long-term plan.

  • Fed Govt committed to PIB passage, says Osinbajo

    The Federal Government has restated its commitment to the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) pending before the National Assembly. It has also assured that at least three modular refineries will begin operation next year.

    Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who delivered the keynote address at the 18th Biennial International Conference for Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) organised by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in Lagos yesterday, said government is committed to passage of PIB in view of its importance to the oil and gas industry.

    Represented by the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, the VP said: “No discussion about the future of the oil and gas can be divorced from the PIB, which represents the most ambitious and comprehensive reform in decades of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria. While there have been varied reactions to Mr. President’s recent decision to return the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB) to the National Assembly for slight amendments, permit me to state unequivocally that this administration remains fully committed to the passage of the PIGB and we are working closely with the National Assembly to ensure its timely passage. The reforms proposed in the PIGB reflect our collective desire to entrench transparency and sustainability of oil and gas operations in Nigeria to enable the country finally to realise the full potential of her hydrocarbon resources.

    Read also: Good governance is your right, Osinbajo tells Ndigbo

    “Resolving the security challenge in the Niger Delta remains on the front burner for this administration as we seek to create a peaceful business climate. This will attract investors and bring massive development to the oil producing communities.  While the government is fully sensitive to the genuine agitations of the host communities for greater participation in, and control of oil and gas resources, the law and order element to the problem has to be tackled headlong to allow for a peaceful business environment.”

    The Vice President launched three important regulatory documents that have been long awaited by the industry and are aimed at further entrenching health, safety and environment (HSE) best practices in oil and gas industry operations. These regulatory documents are a culmination of the collaborative efforts of the Department of Petroleum Resources, Industry operators and other stakeholders.

    Kachikwu said 10 out of 40 modular refineries licensed have shown signs of progression.

    The minister said he had visited some of those areas and three have begun construction processes and may come on stream later next year or by end of next year.

    He said: “Environmental sustainability is a key component of the Seven Big Wins initiative of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration for the oil and gas industry. With the continuous inflow of statistics from the DPR highlighting the gory state of affairs on gas flaring and the failure of previous efforts to end the menace, this ministry had to come up with new initiatives to truly incentivise the flare-out policy by creating the new National Gas Policy.

     

  • Osinbajo to deliver keynote address at maiden Nigeria Diaspora Investment Summit

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will  deliver a keynote address at the maiden Nigeria Diaspora Investment Summit (NDIS) slated to hold in Abuja.

    The three-day summit, themed “Activating Diaspora Investment for a Diversified Economy”, is to provide a platform for Nigerians in the diaspora to invest in the economic development of their country.

    The Director, Nigerian Diaspora Alumni Network (NiDAN), Dr. Badewa Adejugbe-Williams, disclosed this at a joint press briefing with other stakeholders in Abuja.

    Adejugbe-Willaims also revealed that over 200 Nigerians in the diaspora have registered to participate in the summit.

    The summit, she said, would identify ready and prospective investment opportunities which diasporans can explore with the assistance of relevant government agencies.

    She said: “The summit intends to establish a platform where diaspora investors can interact with potential sponsors, partners, collaborators and the government and have direct round table deals for mutual benefits.

    “The emphasis is to reach out to Nigerians in the diaspora to invest in their county. We know that Nigerians are doing extremely well in other nations where they are, and they are usually at the top of performance in companies and organizations they work for. We know that financially and technically, they have a lot of competence that they can add to the community, to Nigeria as a nation.

    “Nigeria is a land of opportunities, and the opportunities are massive. We need our own people to benefit from these. We want the money to remain in Nigeria. If they can come and invest in businesses, especially in the private sector, they help to create jobs and their families will become stakeholders in these companies.”

    She, therefore, encouraged Nigerians who have viable and legitimate businesses to submit their projects for the summit.

    The target sectors of the summit include agribusiness, education, training and skills development, entertainment, hospitality and tourism, extractive industries, healthcare, infrastructure and real estate, manufacturing, telecommunication, technology and innovations, transportation, waste management and environmental remediation.

  • Obasanjo seeks apology from AIT over alleged ‘meeting with Osinbajo, others’

    FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo has asked the African Independent Television (AIT) to retract with apology, the airing of a photo on its social media segment, Kakaki Social, where a purported tweeter account belonging to him, depicted a picture of his alleged meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN).

    The alleged meeting, at his Ota farm in Ogun State, also included Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi.

    Obasanjo said the apology should also be extended to Osinbajo for the embarrassment the depiction of the picture might have caused him.

    The elder statesman stated this in a statement issued by his Special Assistant (Media) Kehinde Akinyemi yesterday.

    He expressed disappointment that AIT could disseminate information it sourced from fake Twitter Account without first verifying it.

    He added that he did not have Twitter account anywhere and expressed concern over the continuous use of his name by suspected fraudsters on social media platforms.

    Obasanjo  warned  that whoever that is caught perpetrating the act, would be made to face prosecution immediately, even as he advised the media to always be professional in discharging their duty and refrain from creating unnecessary confusion and heating up the polity

    “It is a fact that severally, (sic) the former President dissociated himself from owning any social media account. Therefore, it is highly disappointing that such sensitive Twitter post would be allowed to go on air without verification by the African Independent Television (AIT).

    “There was no meeting with the Vice President anywhere. I was at the airport and was informed that he was around in the Lounge and out of courtesy, I felt I should go and greet him. We met, greeted and exchanged pleasantries and I left. That was all.

    “The station should have been very professional and not causing confusion and heating up the polity. That I am not operating any social media account should not be strange to a station like AIT, and for that embarrassment, the Vice President and I deserve an apology,” Obasanjo said.

     

     

  • Osinbajo won’t be distracted, says Presidency

    THE Presidency yesterday said recent attempts to smear the person of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will not distract him from empowering and protecting Nigerians in line with the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

    This was contained in a statement issued by the presidential aide on political matters, Senator Babafemi Ojudu.

    The statement reads: “Recent desperate attempts to smear the person and reputation of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, will not deter or distract him or the Buhari administration from the work of protecting and empowering every Nigerian.”

    He said the  National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) probe report, which social media account said might have been outlined at a meeting in a foreign country, was one of such efforts plotted to attack the Buhari administration by tarnishing the vice president’s image.

    Ojudu said: “We have read reports in the media that the meeting of the major opposition party in a foreign country was centered on trying to attack the Buhari administration by targeting the vice president, using different tactics.

    “It is now evident through the NEMA report that the opposition is indeed making frantic efforts to tarnish the image of the Vice President,” he said.

    He explained that even after Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness Ali Isa had publicly admitted that the vice president was not mentioned in the report, the opposition still found it expedient to continue, attacking the reputation of Prof. Osinbajo by claiming without proof or evidence that fraud was committed in the N5.8 billion Emergency Food Intervention Fund for Northeast.

    Giving more insights on the issue, Ojudu said contrary to insinuations in some quarters, there were no violations in approval of N5.8 billion Emergency Food Intervention Fund and the then Acting President did no wrong in approving fund for the emergency intervention.

    He said the presidential approvals were well within the clear constitutional authority of the then Acting President.

    “First of all, the action was in response to the threat of hunger and starvation based on strong warning received from the United Nation World Food Programme in April, 2017. The organisation had issued a warning that it would be reducing its vital support to about 1.8 million IDPs by as much as 85 per cent, due to the corresponding reduction in funding by the donor countries. Around the same time, the United Nations Commission for Refugees in Geneva also warned of the growing risk of mass deaths from starvation among people living in the conflict areas.

    “Secondly, it is also important to note that the procurement process was not ignored in the release of funds, as alleged. Section 43 of the Public Procurement Act makes provision for emergency procurement, in which case the procuring entity is allowed to engage in direct contracting for goods and file a report thereafter with the Bureau of Public Procurement.

    “Also, the BPP issued a ‘certificate of no objection’ to NEMA on the emergency procurement and this addresses all issues relating to the alleged breach of due process,” Ojudu said.

  • Osinbajo directs Julius Berger to hasten work on Ijora Bridge

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday said he had directed Julius Berger Plc, the contractor handling the repair of Ijora Bridge in the Apapa, Lagos State, to hasten work on the bridge and reopen it to traffic as soon as possible.

    The Chairman of Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN), Princess Vicky Haastrup, recently said the closure of a section of the Ijora Bridge, outbound Apapa, was worsening the chaotic traffic situation in the Lagos port community.

    Speaking yesterday on a Lagos-based television station, Wazobia TV, Osinbajo said the reopening of the bridge is vital to the free flow of traffic in Apapa and its environ.

    He said: “While we are fixing the roads, if you stand in front of the port, the bridge Julius Berger is building, they opened one half of the bridge and closed the other half. So, it is not being used. That bridge must be completed and opened.

    “One of the things we have done is telling Julius Berger about two weeks ago that they must complete and open up the bridge. Even when the construction of Wharf Road has been completed and the bridge has not been opened, we will still experience the same problem.”

    The Vice President blamed congestion on the Lagos port access roads on bad roads and increased cargo volume.

    He accused past administrations of abandoning the roads to deteriorate to their present state.

    Osinbajo said: “The Apapa Port was built to handle 38 million metric tonnes of cargo, but it is now handling 84 million metric tonnes. So, it is too small for the volume that it is handling and this has resulted in too many trucks going into the port.

    “When we had the problem the first time and I came to Lagos, we noticed that all the roads around Apapa were bad and we agreed that we would fix them. We agreed to fix the Wharf Road down to Mile 2. We have almost completed the road around the port now; we will then move all the way to Mile 2. We must fix the roads. If they are not fixed, we will continue to have the problem.”

    He said road repair, revival of rail network and revival of the ports outside Lagos area are long-term solutions to the Apapa gridlock.

    Osinbajo said: “But for long-term solution,; three things must be done. The first is that we are building the Lagos-Kano railway and the first phase is the Lagos-Ibadan line, starting from Apapa Port. Many of the goods will be evacuated by rail. The Lagos-Ibadan phase should be completed by next January. We hope to finish the construction to Kano in about two and a half years.”

     

     

     

  • Osinbajo seeks simpler adoption process

    Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, has urged the government and other instituions to make the process of child adoption easier.

    A simpler method will encourage more people to adopt children and care for them, he added.

    He spoke yesterday at the second annual conference  of Heritage Adoprion Support And Advocacy Group (HASAAG), at the Federal Palace Hotel in Lagos.

    HASAAG is an offshoot of the The Heritage Homes Orphanage founded by Pastor Ituah Ighodalo.

    Osinbajo, who was the special guest of honour, said something must be done to bring children to love and care.

    He also called for the need to sensitisation and education on adoption, noting that this sometimes influences the processes and enable everyone to understand what adoption is all about.

    Osinbajo also noted that counties that have good development are majorly those where adoption takes place.

    “There are numbers of children all over the world not cared for by any one; they need love and care from parents.

    “We need more men and women to advocate on adoption and make the difference. There is need for more people to be committed and speak up more about adoption.

    “Adoption is in Gods plan. Anyhow we come about children, be it by grace or adoption, it is in Gods plan because there is something divine about adoption. God wants us to look at adoption, it is the greatest act of love regardless of who we are,” he said.

    Ighodalo, who is the Chairman Board of Trustees, HASAAG Team, said the group was

    established to take care of adoption to enable more people to adopt and to make the world a better placefor children.

    He said:”We are here to celebrate adoption, to encourage people to adopt and to remove the stigma of adoption and to educate people on the need to adopt”.

    HASAAG Team Managing Trustee/ Project Corsinator, Eme Akenzua, said  25 per cent of married couples have fertility problem.

    According to her, some have it for years, while some for a life time. “Infertility can happen to anyone regardless of gender or status. Pressure on infertility can come from family, friends and society. Women are stigmatised and in some cases divorced. Men are also responsible for infertility. Most couples approach adoption with pain and sadness especially in Nigeria. A child is a child weather from your womb or anyone; they are all created by God,” she said.

    Lagos State Commissioner of Youths and Social developments Agboola Dabiri, represented by Ajao Olabode, said the state government had put in place thingsto give succor to vulnerable children.

  • Nigeria is Africa’s best investment destination, says Osinbajo

    Nigeria still remains one of the best investment destinations in Africa, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said.

    Making this known at the just-concluded Africa Investment Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa, Osinbajo said Nigeria’s ease of doing business had continued to improve.

    The forum which held at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa, was organised by the African Development Bank (AfDB).

    It was aimed at attracting multi-billion-dollar global investment capital for Africa’s ambitious development agenda.

    Prof. Osinbajo, who spoke during the second Presidential Investment Chat panel, said all bottlenecks hindering businesses were being removed to allow business owners carry out their business with fewer hitches.

    The vice president also said certain incentives were being planned for new businesses in the country to encourage more investors.

    “We have established industrial council and this works on policy and our vision on industrialisation in the coming years,” he said.

    Osinbajo also said a number of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) companies were springing up across the country.

    According to him, tremendous improvement would be witnessed in the ICT sector in the next few years.

    Osinbajo noted that Financial Technology (Fintech) firms had given hope to the government and people of Nigeria that job creation would keep improving.

    The vice president, however, added that there was the need to allay the fears of banks. “…payment systems are happening much faster so, we have to change our systems’’.

    “We’re trying to work with the banking system. Major issue is that the technology is disrupting the financial space; so banks need to reform,” he said.

    Osinbajo said Nigeria was on track as far as investment drive was concerned. According to him, Nigeria’s huge spending on roads, continuous establishment of Independent Power Plants (IPPs) and spending improvement on transportation give hope that there would soon be huge improvement in the economy.

    The vice president was on the panel alongside President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, President Alpha Conte of Guinea, Prime Minister Philemon Yang  of Cameroon, and the Chairman of African Rainbow Limited, Patrice Motsepe.

     

  • No form required for TraderMoni, says Osinbajo

    Petty traders are not required to fill any form to benefit from the TraderMoni Scheme, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said yesterday.

    Warning traders not to give in to fraudsters while featuring on a question and answer session aired yesterday by Wazobia FM, 95.1, in Lagos, Osibnajo spoke after activating the scheme at at Obalende, Makoko and Oyingbo markets in Lagos.

    TraderMoni is a Federal Government initiative which is providing about two million petty traders across the country with collateral-free loans before the end of the year.

    The vice president, who spoke in Pidgin English said anybody carrying forms for TraderMoni was a fraudster.

    “No form dey for TraderMoni, we no dey give anybody form to fill at all, the people wey get TraderMoni, many of them no fit fill form at all, so we no dey give anybody form.

    “The way we do it be say, enumerator -like person we dey do census go market, go all the places where we get all these traders outside market –the roads wey dey lead to market.

    “Him go see wetin dem dey sell, e go take your photo, the thing wey you dey sell, your name, put everything down on his own tablet, na for phone dem go contact you.

    “The first alert wey you go get na for phone, anybody wey don get TraderMoni na for phone e dey get am, anybody wey carry form come say this one na for TraderMoni, na lie, that one na 419.

    “Everything is electronic, you get alert, you go cash your money,’’ he said.

    Osinbajo said by next month, two million petty traders would have benefitted from the scheme which has covered more than 1.3 million petty traders nationwide.