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Tag: Osinbajo

  • House ‘ll not rescind resolution indicting Osinbajo, NEMA, says Dogara

    National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Managing Director Mustapha Maihaja stands indicted and the House of Representatives will not rescind its resolution on the investigative report that informed the decision, it was learnt yesterday.

    The lawmakers also insisted that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has questions to answer over the management of the agency’s finances, being the chairman of its governing board.

    Osinbajo, on Thursday, in a response to the House resolution on NEMA, said insinuations on  the purported indictments and perceived violations of due process or the constitution were baseless and false.

    Such interpretations are flawed and should be utterly ignored, he said.

    Osinbajo was also indicted and recommended for sanction for approving N5.8 billion for the procurement of food items for victims of insurgency in the Northeast in 2016.

    The lawmakers said the money was released, but no procurement was made.

    Speaker Yakubu Dogara, while ruling on a point of order by the Chairman of House Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness, Ali Isa, said the resolution of the House was informed by the documentary evidence at its disposal.

    Dogara said the House would not rescind its decision, neither would it offer any apology over the decision.

    He, however, said the only means through which the House could rescind its decision is if any government official or Nigerian that have issues with the report could present documentary evidence that would invalidate the ones at its disposal.

    On that note, he said until then, the House stands by its decision, would not withdraw the report, rescind its resolution nor apologise to anyone.

    Isa, had in his point of order, complained that some newspapers misrepresented the report’s recommendation and that there was nowhere in the report where the name of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was mentioned for indictment.

    He said the vice president had a case to answer being the chairman of the board that suspended six directors of the agency and the Acting President that approved the release N5.8 billion from the Euro bond component of the Consolidated Revenue Account (CRA) for the procurement of food items for Northeast insurgency victims.

    He said if any government official felt he was indicted, then so be it.

    He said documents showed that no food grains were procured for the purpose.

    “I was expecting them to have waited to receive the report and the resolution before issuing statement and contradicting the report they have not seen.

    “Meanwhile, this is the government that says it’s fighting corruption, but it’s the same government that is attacking this report that has exposed corruption in NEMA.

    “We acted to save the country and the report is all about asking the government to look at areas of inefficiency of the agencies involved,” the House committee chairman said.

    He laid some of the documents that the committee worked on during the investigation that formed the basis of the report and the recommendations.

    Isa, at a news briefing after the plenary, also defended the Speaker over allegations of being behind the travails and the negative report of the committee that indicted the NEMA MD.

     

  • You’re wrong on Northeast emergency intervention, Osinbajo replies Reps

    •Says alleged violation of due process baseless

    The Presidency yesterday responded to claims by the House of Representatives that the emergency food supply intervention in the Northeast was misplaced.

    It said that the then Acting President, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, acted within his constitutional mandate, adding that the food purchased were delivered to the affected areas, contrary to the belief of the lawmakers.

    Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, said in a statement that the House Committee’s conclusion that the payment made was in contravention of approval of the National Assembly was both false and misleading.

    Akande explained that when the United Nations World Food Programme (UN WFP) 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 corresponding reduction in funding by donor countries, the Federal Government moved urgently to prevent the looming disaster by establishing a strategic food intervention plan for the affected states.

    The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to a report of the House Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness issued on Thursday, November 8, 2018, particularly in respect of funds released for “emergency intervention of food security to the North-East” in June 2017, when the Vice President was Acting President.

    “In its report, the Committee alleged that a sum of N5,865,671,939.26 was approved and released in  June 2017  vide  a  memo  raised

  • Osinbajo delivers keynote address at IoD confab

    The Vice President  Prof. Yemi Osinbajo is slated to give the keynote address at the upcoming Institute of Directors (IoD) conference scheduled for November 7, 2018 in Abuja.

    The Chairman, IoD Abuja Zone, Mr. Victor Alonge, made this known during a courtesy call paid by the group to The Nation office in Abuja yesterday.

    According to Alonge, the IoD is a not-for-profit institute which develops good corporate governance, promotes directors and enhances the economy for business development.

    He said: “The institute delivers leadership training through various courses and training programmes.

    “IoD is for leaders in organisations, corporations  and directors. Before now the emphasis has been in private sector but in the last few years we have moved to the public sector as well.

    “What we are doing is a form of corporate social responsibility, not for our own benefit but for the interest of the nation and the people.”

     

  • Photos: Osinbajo, Ambode, Sanwo-Olu bring ‘Tradermoni’ to Lagos

    The Federal Government on Monday launched the special enterprise and empowerment programme,TraderMoni in three additional markets in Lagos.

    The markets are Ketu, Bariga and Oshodi.

    The scheme is a collateral and interest-free loan for traders.

    Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (2nd right); Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (2nd left); APC Governorship Candidate, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu (right) and Executive Director, Micro Enterprises Bank of Industry, Mrs. Toyin Adeniji (left) during the launch of the TraderMoni Scheme in Ketu, Bariga and Oshodi Markets in Lagos, on Monday

     

    Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (middle); Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (left) and APC Governorship Candidate, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu (right) interacting with Traders during the launch of the TraderMoni Scheme in Ketu, Bariga and Oshodi Markets in Lagos, on Monday.
    Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (2nd right); Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (2nd left); APC Governorship Candidate, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu (right) and Executive Director, Micro Enterprises Bank of Industry, Mrs. Toyin Adeniji (left) during the launch of the TraderMoni Scheme in Ketu, Bariga and Oshodi Markets in Lagos, on Monday.
    Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (2nd right); Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (2nd left); APC Governorship Candidate, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu (right) and Executive Director, Micro Enterprises Bank of Industry, Mrs. Toyin Adeniji (left) during the launch of the TraderMoni Scheme in Ketu, Bariga and Oshodi Markets in Lagos, on Monday

     

     

     

     

     

  • Osinbajo: We have stopped ‘grand’ corruption

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday in Sokoto said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) government has stopped the ‘grand corruption’ that characterised the system in the past.

    Similarly, Osinbajo seized the space to also absolve the executive of interference in the affairs of the legislature saying that it has always observed absolute restraint.

    “There has never been attempt by this government in any guise to impede on the National Assembly. Governor Tambuwal who was then Speaker will not forget how he scaled the fence by acrobatic means to get into the assembly complex.

    “I was Attorney General of Lagos State when the executive withheld our funds. All these were absolute impunity, threat and undue interference which are now in the past with the coming of this government”, he stated.

    According to him in the past, governors and legislators ýwere under severe interference and threats by the executives. He said there has been significant change with positive and far reaching effect in reforms through democratic means, “We have been able to actualise and domesticate financial autonomy of the judiciary as an important integral arm of government.”

    Osinbajo made the remarks at the 2018 annual lecture organised by the Barewa Old Boys Association ahead of its centenary celebrations slated for 2021.

    According to the Vice President, before the current administration, the country experienced a lot of impunity, adding “We knew when the executive approved direct stealing and collection of huge sums from the public treasury to the tune of $297 million in a single swing.”

    He enumerated the various areas through which the federal government intervention schemes have grossly impacted the citizenry to include the N-Power, Anchor borrower, conditional cash ýtransfer, school feeding and other beneficial entrepreneurial and skills acquisition empowerment ventures.

    Osinbajo however, described BOBA as a social entity which has produced brilliant and dependable leaders with vision for a prosperous nation.

    He extolled the visionary greatness of products of the Barewa College, citing examples with late Sir Ahmadu Bello for galvanising the north into the national system as an incredible foresight; Tafawa Balewa who stood for better Nigeria with federal identity and unity; Malam Aminu Kanoý who also stood and fought to stem social justice; Murtala Muhammed with ethical and moral discipline while Yakubu Gowon rooted his mission for ‘No victor, no vanquish to re-integrate the country after the civil war as well Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari among others who fly the BOBA banner to constantly reflect their strides on Nigeria’s history and development to remedy and redeem the county’s democracy.

    In his remarks, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal noted that the issue of good governance was a critical and necessary aspect to the country’s democracy.

  • We invested N2.7t in capital projects, says Osinbajo

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said the current administration is working on growing the economy by investing over N2.7trillion in capital projects.

    He said though the administration earned 60 per cent less from oil, it has done more by creating “an environment that supports commerce, trade and foreign direct investment.”

    He spoke at the 2018 Lagos International Trade Fair organized by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).

    Osinbanjo said: “The light rail line between Lagos and Ogun and the port access road development are part of enabling environment created by the current administration to create a competitive investment environment”.

    On power generation, he said: ‘The current administration is generating over 7,000 megawatts as against the 3,000 megawatts we met on ground, while independent power producers are currently powering big markets such Ariara in Aba, Abia State; Sura Market in Lagos and markets in Edo and Ondo states”.

    Read also: PDP faults Osinbajo on debt profile

    He said the government had a partnership with Goggle Station to provide free Wifi and internet services in public places such as Palms Supermarket, Ikeja City Mall, Landmark Centre, Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MM2), all train stations, computer villages and on.

    He said the facilities would soon get to Onitsha Market and other markets in the country.

    He said the government had distributed over N15.2 billion to 400,000 traders and artisans nationwide with 56 per cent to women, including the trader moni given to the poor to lift them out of poverty.

    Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Yutaka Kikuta, said: “Nigeria is blessed with abundant human and material resources’.

    He told the nation to turn its potential to trade relations with foreign companies which would serve as a catalyst for job creation and economic development.

    President, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Iyalode Alaba Lawson, told government to expedite action on infrastructure development.

    She commended the Micro Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) clinics for making available loans and working capital to small and medium businesses.

    She said the government should work earnestly to seek business relationship with developed economies.

    Earlier, LCCI president, Mr. Babatunde Paul Ruwase, said: “The trade fair with the theme, ‘Connecting Business, Creating Value’, is to underscore the importance of relationships and interactions among businesses for the purpose of wealth creation.

    “We recognize the imperative of non-oil sector development and the need to add value to our primary products in order to improve earnings for both the public and private sectors of the Nigerian economy. This trade fair provides a platform to identify non-oil alternatives and highlight the significance of value addition”.

  • PDP faults Osinbajo on debt profile

    THE People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has faulted Vice President Yemi Osibanjo’s account on the country’s rising debt profile.

    Also, the Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation (APCO) said yesterday that the planned sale of some public assets by the Federal Government to fund the 2019 federal budget would amount to fiscal irresponsibility.

    The PDP said the debt has escalated to a frightening proportion under the watch of the present administration.

    Speaking at a public lecture organised by the Sigma Club in Ibadan on Saturday, Osinbajo had stated that the Buhari-led administration inherited a debt of $63 billion and has only borrowed $10 billion since it took office in 2015.

    “The earnings from oil from 2010 to 2014 were the highest recorded in the history of the country. This was a period when the price of oil per barrel sold from $100 to $114”, Osinbajo added.

    But, while addressing a media conference in Abuja yesterday, the PDP spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, accused Osinbajo of deliberate distortion of facts and figures.

    The main opposition party described the vice president’s position as a desperate attempt to divert attention from the “failures” of the administration.

    Ologbondiyan said: “Vice President Osinbajo falsified financial templates to argue that this government has no blame in the accumulation of debts under its watch.

    “It is an incontrovertible fact that the Buhari administration has accumulated more debts than any other administration in the history of our nation.”

    “Our dear Vice President forgot that Nigerians are aware that between 2016 and 2017, under President Buhari, our annual borrowing was about N3.7 trillion as against the N1.04 trillion annual borrowing perimeter between 2008 to 2015. Between 1999 to 2007, the annual borrowing perimeter was as low as N96 billion.

    “To deceive the public and divert attention from the alarming borrowing spree of the Buhari administration, the APC-led Federal Government converted domestic debt borrowed in naira under its watch, to the U.S. dollar so that the very high exchange rate will make the domestic debt look smaller in dollars. This is a deceptive picture because domestic debt was accumulated in naira and not in dollar.”

    In a statement yesterday, he Atiku presidential campaign group said the planned sale, as canvassed by government officials, was capable of ridiculing President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The APCO said, “It will be recalled that on Monday, the 29th of October, 2018, President Buhari accused PDP past leaders of not building public infrastructure, while delivering the 75th Anniversary Business lecture of the Island Club, Lagos.

    “However, some of the assets listed for sale in the policy document of the Buhari administration, were assets built or established under the PDP administrations that governed Nigeria between 1999 and 2007. Some of them were the brain child of the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

    “Our question is this: If the PDP did not build infrastructure, as alleged by President Buhari, who built these assets that this administration wants to sell to fund their 2019 budget?”

  • FG, governors yet to agree on minimum wage

    The Federal Government and State governors are yet to agree on a common figure as the minimum wage.

    The Economic Management Team (EMT), chaired by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo met with representatives of the governors on Monday towards taking position on the new minimum wage which the organised labour is insisting on N30,000.

    The governors at the meeting on Monday had requested to meet on Tuesday under the platform of the Nigeria’s Governors Forum (NGF) in order to critically analyse the memo from the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, and finally take a common stand.

    But there was indication on Monday that the governors were not in agreement with the Federal Government over the figure for the new minimum wage.

    Stressing that state governments are willing to pay any amount demanded by the workers as minimum wage, the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum and Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari, while speaking with State House correspondents, said that their main challenge could be the capacity to pay.

    According to him, the meeting was for the government side to look at the bottleneck on the minimum wage with the organised labour.

    He said, “The position of the governors is not very clear to some of you. We are willing to pay any amount but the issue is the capacity to pay.”

    The meeting, he said, discussed the proposal made by the organised labour and the figure proposed by the Federal Government, adding that “the governors still haven’t come out with any figure.”

    Read Also: Osinbajo, governors meet over minimum wage

    “So by Tuesday, we are going to discuss with our governors on the bill by the Minister of Labour and Employment to the NGF Secretariat.

    “We will digest it and come up with our own positions as governors because we are critical stakeholders on this issue.” he said

    A reliable source from the meeting said that the governors were not comfortable with the N24,000 proposal by the Federal Government and would likely come up with their own figure after meeting today.

    According to him, the governors were furious with the N24,000 being proposed when some governors were unable to pay the current N18,000.

    The Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige said the meeting had a fruitful deliberation.

    He said, “We held a meeting for us to bring out modalities for us to respond to the emerging problems thrown up by the National Minimum wage Committee and we have very fruitful meeting which necessitated in governors having further meeting on Tuesday.

    “We will reconvene on Tuesday to brief the Economic Management Team and the Vice president and we take it up from there.

    “The governors will meet to take a position and brief the Economic Management Team. This meeting is only for the Tripartite Committee of the government side.” he said

  • Osinbajo, governors meet over minimum wage 

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Monday led the Economic Management Team (EMT) to a closed-doors meeting with representatives of state governors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    At the meeting were the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), the Ministers of Labour, Finance, Budget and National Planning, Boss Mustapha, Senator Chris Ngige, Mrs Zainab Ahmed and Udoma Udo Udoma, respectively.

    Read Also:Minimum Wage: Minister updates Buhari, Osinbajo as FG, Governors meet on Monday

    Also at the meeting were the Head of Service to the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, the Director General, National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, Chief Richard Egbule and Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris.

    The Governors at the meeting included the Chairman of Nigeria’s Governors Forum, and Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, Governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu, Osun State, Rauf Aragbesola and Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong.

    The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Ngige had briefed State House correspondents on Friday last week after meeting behind closed-doors with President Muhammadu Buhari had announced that the Economic Management Team would meet on Monday with the Governors to take position on the new minimum wage.

    The Federal Government has insisted on N24, 000 as new minimum wage, the organised labour had on their own maintained that in the last Minimum Wage Negotiation Tripartite Committee, the sum of N30, 000 which the government objected to, claiming that there was no consensus on that.

    Ngige maintained that in fixing the minimum wage, the paramount thing was the ability to pay and that government cannot force employers to pay what they cannot afford.

    But the organised labour has accused the government of playing games with the minimum wage and threatened to embark on strike November 6.

     

    Details Later….

  • 2019 poll: Osinbajo, Atiku renew restructuring battle

    The restructuring debate returned at the weekend, with Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo  describing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar as an opponent of the idea when he was in office as vice-president between 1999 and 2007.

    Atiku has promised to restructure Nigeria in six months, if voted in as president.

    Speaking in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, while delivering the ninth public lecture of Sigma Club at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan (UI), Osinbajo spoke of how he as Attorney-General of Lagos State went to the Supreme Court 12 times on restructuring.

    That was when the Lagos State Government’s move was opposed by the Olusegun Obasanjo presidency with Atiku as his deputy.

    “All this time, this was 2000, some of those people, including the presidential candidate of PDP, who is talking about restructuring, was the vice president then.

    “They opposed every step we took. Of course, we were taking the Federal Government to court then. They opposed every step.

    “Let me explain my position clearly. I am not just an advocate of restructuring, there is no other government in Nigeria that has actively pursued restructuring such as we did when I was Attorney General in Lagos State.

    “People talking about restructuring, if you ask them what they meant by restructuring, they won’t even know what it means and that is the problem we have to face,” he said.

    The vice president recalled the Supreme Court battles.

    His words: “We started with fiscal restructuring, which is more of resource control. Should states control their own resources? We went to the Supreme Court. They argued that each state should control its own resources.

    “The states that argued in favour of autonomy for states to control their resources were the oil producing states in the country and Lagos State while some others argued on the other side because they wanted to share oil money.

    “We lost at the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court said ‘no’, that you cannot control your resources. If you are an oil producing state, take 13 per cent extra, which is derivation.”

    Osinbajo said Lagos State argued that it had ports and the ports served the entire nation, so the state should also take 13 per cent derivation which the Supreme Court objected.

    Osinbajo said further argument led to the introduction of onshore and offshore law, which enabled the state to share from onshore resources.

    “The next thing we did was that the states should be able to create their own local governments, which is autonomy of states.

    “So, we created 37 new local governments in Lagos. The president then, Chief Obasanjo, seized our local government funds and said we could not create new local governments,” he said.

    But Atiku fired back in a statement by Paul Ibe of his media office. He described Prof. Osinbajo as “economical with the truth.”

    The statement said: “given that Prof Osinbajo and his boss have been speaking discordant tunes on restructuring, we can understand their desperation to revise history, however, it is impossible to revise documented history.

    “Prof. Osinbajo needs to be reminded that there are well documented accounts in the Nigerian media chronicling Atiku Abubakar’s support and struggle for restructuring.”

    The statement said a piece published in a national newspaper chronicled Atiku’s thoughts on how “to restructure the revenue allocation formula to allow littoral states of the federation benefit from off shore oil proceeds.’

    It added that “ironically, it was precisely Mr. Osinbajo’s boss, Muhammadu Buhari, who as military dictator, cheated these states of their just due by military fiat.

    “It is also common knowledge that the six geopolitical zones structure which all parts of Nigeria benefit from today is the fruit of the collaborative efforts of Atiku Abubakar, the late Alex Ekwueme and other patriots.

    “Their efforts at restructuring Nigeria are captured in the Hansard of the 1995 Constitutional Conference, which is a public document and is still available at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

    “The question we want to ask Professor Osinbajo is this – why do he and his boss constantly resort to rewriting history? Why can they not campaign on their achievements? Is it that they are forced to campaign on subterfuge because they have no achievements to campaign on?

    Nigerians want to know if promises have been kept. They are not interested in fairy tales about how Atiku Abubakar did not support restructuring because they know that he is and was and will always be an active promoter of restructuring.

    Everywhere he goes to campaign, Atiku Abubakar has used temperate and respectful language on both President Buhari and Vice President Osinbajo.