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Tag: Osinbajo

  • Osinbajo, others for CIPM 50th anniversary

    Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo will lead African business leaders and captains of industries to the 50th anniversary of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM).

    The event, which will also double as its annual national conference, will hold next month at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

    Prof. Osinbajo will be the keynote speaker, while the Director, International Labour Organisation (ILO), Country Office, Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone, Dennis Zulu; the Chief Operating Officer (COO), Corporate Services, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Isa Inuwa; Justice of the National Industrial Court Kenneth Amadi and the President, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Uyi Akpata, are the speakers.

    Other speakers are the Human Resources Director, Cadbury Nigeria PLC, Tope Philips Aikhuemelo and a former Director-General of the Bureau of Public Reforms, Joe Abah.

    CIPM Vice-President Mr. Olawale Adediran, who represented the President, Mr. Udom Uko Inoyo, during a visit by CIPM management to stakeholders in Oyo State, including the Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Prof. Abel Idowu Olayinka, represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research, Innovation and Strategic Management, Prof. Olanike Adeyemi, said the conference was open to business leaders, human resources practitioners, undergraduates and the public.

    Adediran, with the Registrar/Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Ajibola Ponnle, told the university management, students and the Chairman, Oyo State Civil Service Commission, Chief Joseph Oladele that the institute had been regulating human resources management practice over the past five decades.

    He said CIPM contributed to national development through promotion of excellence in the acquisition and application of knowledge and skill by the practitioners through continuous innovation.

    Mrs. Ponnle said: “In the last 50 years, we have contributed to the country’s development through our members, who are decision makers across sectors.”

    Prof. Olayinka and Chief Oladele assured CIPM of their readiness to partner it during the 50th anniversary.

     

     

  • No plan to sell Ajaokuta Steel Plant – Osinbajo

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has assured that there was no plan by the Federal Government to sell the Ajaokuta Steel Complex.

    Kogi State Governor, Yahaha Bello, disclosed this to State House correspondents after meeting with the Vice President on Thursday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    He said, “First of all, the Vice President, being the Chairman of the National Economic Council, we came to make some enquiries from him over the purported sale of Ajaokuta Steel Complex and he has indicated that there is nothing like that.

    “He said there is no plan by the Federal Government to sale Ajaokuta Steel Company. The VP said Ajaokuta is an asset of the Federal Government and that they are looking into how best to make good use of that particular complex for the benefit of Nigerians at large.

    “Also, we are going to coronate the new Oba of Kabba on Saturday, we came to notify him as a father of the event that is coming up on Saturday and to seek for his blessings.”

    Read Also: Our concern with new minimum wage – NGF

    On the preparation for 2019 general elections he said, every primary can be rancorous and everybody can hustle for one ticket or the other. I can assure you that we have a capable leadership of the party in President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “Also, we have our able chairman, Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomole who is doing his best to ensure that the party is strong and the party is really very strong.

    “As for the general elections, in Kogi State, we are one hundred percent ready and we are going to sweep all the state and by the grace of God, we shall bring out a vote that has never been witnessed in the North Central by the Grace of God. I can assure you as well that the 2019 elections for Mr President, it’s going to be a walk over by the grace of God.” he stated.

  • Osinbajo, Bindow meet in Aso Villa

    VICE President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday met with Adamawa State Governor Jibrilla Bindow at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    After over one hour closed doors meeting, Bindow dodged reporters, who were waiting to interview him on the state’s primary elections.

    He was sneaked out from the Vice President’s office through the backdoor when the meeting ended around 5p.m

    The President’s wife, Aisha Muhammadu Buhari, whose brother lost Adamawa All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship ticket to Bindow, had on Sunday blamed the party’s National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, over what she described as impunity and unfairness in the conduct of the primary elections.

    She had claimed that the party appeared to have granted automatic tickets to some political office aspirants while denying others the opportunity to contest after paying huge amounts of money to purchase nomination forms.

    Mrs. Buhari regretted that despite coming from Labour background, Oshiomhole left the side of the people and presided over the impunity.

  • Fed Govt gives N15b interest-free loans to traders, says Osinbajo

    THE Federal Government has spent N15 billion on interest-free loans across the country, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said yesterday.

    He spoke during the 9th Presidential Quarterly Business Forum at the old Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja.

    According to him, the Federal Government is working with eight banks, which were very committed to the “Trader Moni scheme”.

    He said the administration would make a massive difference if N1 trillion is spent on the poor yearly.

    Stressing that job creation has always been a top priority of the administration, he said the surest way to create jobs was by enabling the private sector.

    He said: “N15.183 billion in interest-free loans ranging from N50,000 to N350,000 have been disbursed to more than 300,000 market women, traders, artisans and farmers across all 36 states and the FCT. By the way, 56% of the loans have gone to women.

    “We took the view that since the largest number of small businesses in Nigeria are the market women and men and petty traders, we needed to expand the opportunities in these categories.

    “Our energising economies project is putting power, especially solar power in markets and commercial clusters. We have powered Ariara Market, Aba; Sabongari Market, Kano; Sura market in Lagos, Isinkan market in Ondo, Bola Ige market in Ibadan, Oyo State and Edaiken market in Benin, Edo State.

    “So, there are actual interactions with the small businesses. Our focus has been to ensure that the regulators understand their role as facilitators not an obstacle to business. We are also establishing one-stop shops in the states, where all regulators are under the same roof in the states.

    “If we spend N1 trillion to bail out the poor in this country every year, we will make a massive difference.”

    He added that the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) are among government agencies improving on the ease of doing business.

    The government, he said, is working through the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) to improve the business environment.

    Declaring that the MSME clinics carried out across the country have been a great success, he said he has personally attended 18 of the 20 clinics carried in 20 states so far.

    He said the government also expanded the micro credit to small businesses, under the Government Empowerment & Enterprise Programme (GEEP).

    He hailed the NAFDAC and the CAC for their efforts at improving on the ease of doing business in the country.

    He described the “Trader Moni programme” as one of the most crucial components of expanding opportunity for millions of Nigerian traders by giving micro- credit to the bottom of the trading pyramid.

    “The smallest businesses; the one table trader; the bread or plantain seller or the Mai Shai.

    “This is the largest segment of our working population; their inventory is no more than N5,000 – N10,000. But they are an important part of the value chain of most goods. They sell the single sachets of soap, sugar and spices to the largest numbers of our people. But they are forgotten and ignored in economic plans and budgets and considered too unwieldy and risky for micro credit loans.

    “The N-Power programme is the largest post-tertiary jobs project in Africa, placing 500,000 young people in existing teaching jobs and also identifying new roles they could fill in the health and agriculture sectors.

    “Some of our N-power graduates are also being employed as enumerators for data collection and research because of the new skills they have gained.  In addition to these 500,000 N-Power graduates, we have 20,000 non-graduates working and learning as part of the build programme in various construction, the automotive and technology sectors,” Osinbajo said.

    He announced that government has empowered two million petty traders under the Trader Moni scheme, giving microcredit across the country.

    Osinbajo added that the Federal Government spent N1.7 trillion in capital investment in two budget years. The vice president said infrastructure growth was crucial in economic growth and job creation.

    He hailed the commitment of the participants to expanding the work being done by the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) and the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) on skills acquisition.

    According to him, there is the need to put emphasis on skill training and placing large numbers of young people in the workplace.

    Osinbajo said that the Federal Government was also looking at solving the power problem.

    He said the Federal Government would review the previous power privatisation and how to enhance capacity of business people by boosting power supply.

  • Osinbajo’s new tribe

    LAST Monday, while declaring open a five-day photo exhibition tagged ANISZA, in Abuja, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo spoke of the need to create a new tribe of Nigerians to help drive its unity and development. Here is what he said: “It is my respected view that to build a new Nigeria, we need a new tribe; one tribe of men and women of all faiths, of all tribes, of all ethnicities committed to a country run on high values; high values of integrity, of hard work, of justice and of love of country. A tribe of men and women who are prepared to make the sacrifices and exercise the self-constraint that is crucial for building a healthy society and who are prepared to stick together to fight injustice; to fight corruption; to insist on the rule of law; even when our friends are at the receiving end.  A tribe consisting of professionals, of businessmen, of politicians, of students, of religious leaders and all who believe that a new Nigeria is possible.”

    These are fine words; but like the British say, “fine words butter no parsnips.” On the surface, Prof Osinbajo can’t be more accurate in his observation of the country’s weaknesses and needs. But all the things he said are mere platitudes. What the country actually needs is to shift emphasis away from persons to structure. No building is so well maintained by persons, no matter how brilliant, if that building is not first made structurally sound. Nigerians must first restructure their country in line with sound political and economic principles before it can hope to unleash the people’s energies and talents. The major problem with Nigeria is first of all structural before it is people or tribe. The country must stop putting the cart before the horse.

  • Osinbajo to speak Pidgin English as `HIYA Nigeria’ goes live

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, will on Oct. 8 at NTA Star times, feature in the inaugural broadcast of a national patriotism programme, `HIYA Nigeria’, aimed at educating Nigerians using local languages and Pidgin English.

    HIYA Nigeria is an acronym for H-Hausa, Igbo-I, Y-Yoruba and A-All Nigerian language.

    HIYA Nigeria Project Convener, Oluwadamilola Oni, who briefed newsmen on Friday in Abuja, said that Osinbajo would speak pidgin English on the programme.

    She said the project, a grassroots senistisation and capacity building programme, would start its first segment broadcast in Pidgin English, Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo from Oct. 8 to Dec. 27.

    According to her, the programme seeks to educate and awaken Nigerians to ownership, unity, and in-depth knowledge their languages, culture, history and national values.

    “Our first guest is the vice president; he will come and speak Pidgin English live on air at 6 p.m.

    “He will also play the puzzle game – how much he knows Nigeria?

    “The vice president will be speaking on the topic,`The Road Way to Independence’; he will speak on what the independence used to be and what it is now.

    “He will talk about the constitution from the point of view of a constitutional lawyer.

    “The general genre of the programme is a talk show; a live phone-in television programme in Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba and all Nigerian language (Pidgin English),’’ she said.

    She said plans were also under way to bring President Muhammadu Buhari to the second segment of the programme in January 2019, to speak Fulani language.

    According to Oni, the target audience is non-English speaking citizens at the grassroots.

    Read Also: APC primaries: Buhari against automatic tickets – El-Rufai

    She said that the programme would re-orientate Nigerians on proper use of national symbols which include but not limited to the constitution, national anthem, coat of arms, national flag, national identity card, and national currency, among others.

    The convener said that the broadcast could be connected via email on hiyaNigeria.official@gmail.com, via Facebook on facebook/hyanigeria, Instagram on hiyanigeria, Twitter on @hiyanigeria, Whatsapp on 08055996919 and Youtube on HIYA NIGERIA.

    Oni said that the anchors of the programme would be a cross section of youths.

    HIYA Nigeria is being coordinated in partnership with the National Orientation Agency

  • Osinbajo’s visit stalls hearing on El-Zakzaky’s bail

    The expected visit of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to Kaduna State yesterday stalled hearing of the bail application for leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, and his wife Zeenatu.

    The Kaduna High Court, however, adjourned sitting till November 7.

    El-Zakzaky and his wife are being tried for culpable homicide.

    Director of Public Prosecution Dari Bayero said the case was adjourned because Osinbajo is visiting Kaduna and there is not enough security.

    The Vice President was expected to witness the convocation ceremony of the 65 Regular Course (Army) and 66 Regular Course (Navy and Airforce) at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA). He was later represented by the Secretary to the Government of Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha.

    Bayero said: “The court has adjourned the case till November 7 when the defendants will be present for hearing. We could not bring El-Zakzaky to court because of security concerns as the Vice President is visiting Kaduna and security is over stretched.

    “The prosecution thus asked that the presence of the defendant be excused for the proceedings and the court graciously accepted.”

  • Osinbajo, Amosun meet in Aso Villa 

    Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday evening met behind closed doors with Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The meeting started around 6.10pm when Amosun arrived the Vice President’s office.

    Amosun was part of the nine All Progressives Congress (APC) governors that met President Muhammadu Buhari earlier in the day over faulty primary elections in their states.

    The meeting with Osinbajo was still in progress at the time of filing this report.

  • Nigeria ‘ll soon be envied globally, says Osinbajo

    NIGERIA will soon be envied and a toast of the whole world, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said.

    He spoke on Monday night in Abuja during the Independence Day Dinner and Gala Night.

    Osinbajo said: “The reason why we are so optimistic is because we know that we are the best; we know we are going to excel. It may seem like it’s taking a while, and there are many problems, but every one of the over 1,000 days that I have been Vice President for, I grow stronger in my complete confidence that we are going to be the envy of the whole world in a few short years. Well, you might say that that is optimistic, why not, I am a Nigerian.”

    He noted that Nigerians, irrespective of where they come from, have the same DNA.

    The vice president said: “We love our country and this may not always be obvious, but you try insulting Nigeria if you are a foreigner and you will see our fierce and angry our reaction can be. A Nigerian can say the same thing, but if you’re a foreigner, don’t try it.

    “We love our food, we love our clothes and  we love our merrymaking. We love to be successful and we love success. We are resilient, we are fair-minded.

    “Nigerians always fight for the underdog. We believe in justice and the rule of law, even though our system still can do much better.  But we are by far one of the smartest and, perhaps, the most talented people on earth. And I don’t say that lightly.”

    Osinbajo added: “In the U.S., Nigerians are the most educated ethnic group, not one of the most educated, but the most educated. Sixty per cent of Nigerians in the U.S., we are told, have college degrees.

    “This is above the American average of 30%. And Nigerians in U.S. are one of the highest income earners, and I choose America as one example. Nigerians earn 25% more than the median U.S. income.

    “The world’s fastest supercomputer was designed by a world-renowned inventor, Philip Emeagwali, a full-blown Nigerian. This means Nigeria has the patent for the world’s fastest computer. The wealthiest black African, a Nigerian. Isn’t that a good thing? We are also told that the wealthiest black woman in the world is also a Nigerian. Who knows who the next wealthiest African would be here.”

    The Vice President added: “A Nigerian family, The Imafidons, who live in the UK, have been officially declared the smartest family in the UK, a family of about six children who have excelled in their academics in incredible ways.

    “The designer of that famous car, Chevrolet Volt, is a  guy called Jelani Aliyu; super talented Nigerian from Sokoto State. He now works for the Nigerian government. And for those who think that we are only giants in technology and business, Anthony Joshua is the world’s best heavyweight boxer, for those who watch boxing.

    “Everybody is dancing to Nigerian music, and our traditional attires, especially our women attires and headgears have conquered Africa.  Even our male attire; there’s just something about the Nigerian swag. Whether they like it or not, we Nigerians are just exceptional, we are just different. Anywhere you go, you know a Nigerian, don’t you recognise a Nigerian when you see one? You can just tell. If you see anyone reading a book on ‘How to become self-confident’, know that he is not a Nigerian; we are born self-confident.”

    Osibanjo also called for the creation of a new tribe of Nigerians, comprising of men and women from all tribes and religions and tongues as a necessity in salvaging the unity in Nigeria.

    He appealed for a new tribe of unified populace ready to build a healthy society, and stick together to fight injustice and corruption.

    Osinbajo spoke while declaring open the nation’s first five-day unity photo exhibition introduced by the Official Photographer to the Vice President, Novo Isioro, called ANISZA at Abuja on Monday.

    He explained that ANISZA is a collaborative project between the Federal Government and the private sector to showcase the untold stories of Nigeria’s unity since independence in 1960 through photography and images.

    After walking through the photo gallery upon arrival, the Vice President hailed the exhibition, citing the photograph of Christians forming a protective shield around praying Muslims at the Shitta Bey mosque in 2012, as a symbolic imagery of Nigeria’s unity.

    Novo Isioro explained that the name ANISZA was derived from the three major ethnic languages of Nigeria: ‘AN’ from the Igbo phrase ‘anuko onu’ meaning ‘togetherness,’ ‘IS’ from the Yoruba word ‘isokan’ meaning unity, and ‘ZA’ from the Hausa word ‘zaman tare’ meaning ‘one tribe.’

     

     

  • Osinbajo lauds Ugwuanyi on entrepreneurship programmes

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has praised Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for his administration’s cooperation with the Federal Government in the advancement of objectives of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).

    Osinbajo, who was “extremely delighted” with the “kindness and warm reception” the state government always accords him when he visits, hailed Ugwuanyi for “the very great steps” his administration has taken in the growth and development of the MSME programme.

    The Vice President spoke during the National MSME Clinic at the Michael Okpara Square.

    He said Ugwuanyi’s administration “is doing very well for the MSME” and in advancing the interest of small entrepreneurs, stressing “the governor deserves a warm applause for the great work he has been doing”.

    Osinbajo, noting that the MSME Clinic initiative was “particularly important” to the Federal Government, said President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration “is fully committed to supporting states regardless of political or ethnic affiliation”.

    He hinted that the Federal Government has “provided close to N2 trillion” for its social investment programmes, stressing “small businesses are the future of our country”.

    The Vice President, who reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to the growth and development of entrepreneurship and small businesses, was confident that “together we will bring the deserved prosperity, not just to the people of Enugu State, but also to the people of Nigeria”.

    Ugwuanyi, welcoming the Vice President, his entourage and other stakeholders, to Enugu, commended President Buhari for “the vision behind the conception of this National MSME Clinic”.

    Ugwuanyi said the programme was another laudable addition to the people-oriented initiatives the Federal Government has introduced to fast track socio-economic development and improve the people’s welfare, especially youths, women and the less privileged.

    The governor noted that Enugu has continued to enjoy a mutually rewarding and strategic partnership with the Federal Government, saying his administration, in keeping with the Vice President’s directive, inaugurated Enugu State Council on Ease of Doing Business.

    He added that Enugu is one of few states that have fully implemented the programme of the CBN N220 billion MSME Development Fund, by funding over 2,000 MSMEs, adding that the state also “returned about N400 million of the first tranche of N500 million received from CBN”.

    “We praise the CBN on the “Ose Nsukka” (Nsukka Yellow Pepper) Anchor Borrowers Programme as well as other initiatives of the bank in Enugu State.

    “Our counterpart funding with the Bank of Industry (BOI) has produced over 36 SMEs worth more than N399 million in project value.

    ‘’From 2015, Enugu SME Centre, our foremost enterprise development institute, has trained over 35,000 MSME owners and aspiring entrepreneurs including women and youths; and we have empowered more than 2,400 traders with N50,000 each through our raffle program open to all MSMEs in 54 local markets.

    “Our school feeding program is doing well and over 7,000 applicants have benefited from Government Enterprise Empowerment Program (GEEP), otherwise called ‘Market Moni’…”