Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Monday met behind closed doors with the Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He was with the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly matters (Senate), Ita Enang.
The meeting started around 2p.m when the dou arrived the Acting President’s office.
It was still in progress at the time of filing this report.
Details later…
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Monday presided over the weekly Economic Management Team (EMT) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The meeting started at 11:00 a.m. at the Vice President’s conference room.
Ministers with economic related portfolios usually attend the meeting every Monday.
The meeting was still in progress at the time of filing this report.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will tomorrow inaugurate the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Clinic in Lagos State, Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye has said.
The event, billed for today and tomorrow at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, is an initiative of the Office of the Vice President in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and 11 other agencies.
Mrs Oladunjoye said the event would complement the Ambode administration’s efforts to develop MSME.
“As it is evident to all, the present administration in Lagos State is leaving no stone unturned to ensure even development of all sectors and the MSME Clinic will never be an exemption,’’ Mrs Oladunjoye said.
The programme, she said, would raise new set of entrepreneurs while the existing ones would be guided on the best steps to add value to their efforts.
The commissioner added that the state is also providing opportunity for owners of MSME to enhance their capacity building to access financial facility.
“You will recall that the Vice President once commended the state government for establishing the Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) through which loans are granted to small scale businesses and people with business ideas.” She said.
VICE President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday launched the Patient Bill of Rights, noting that Nigeria’s quest to attain universal health coverage goes beyond funding.
He called on stakeholders to join hands with government to deliver quality healthcare to the people.
Osinbajo spoke at the launching ceremony held at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
“Indeed, healthcare is not merely about what we, as government, put into it in terms of funding, equipment and so on. It is also about what the patient perceives that he or she is getting out of it. I would in fact argue that the latter matters more than the former,” Osinbajo said at the event organised by the Consumer Protection Council (CPC).
He said government has demonstrated its commitment to universal health coverage by allocating, for the first time in Nigeria, one per cent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund towards the funding of key health initiatives, in compliance with the National Health Act in the 2018 Budget.
According to him, the Patients’ Bill of Rights would complement government’s policy and funding interventions.
“It will ensure that the increasing funding that is coming into healthcare in Nigeria translates into a direct improvement in the quality of the final output at what one might call the ‘last mile’ phase of healthcare delivery, the very personal arena of interaction between health personnel and the beneficiaries of the healthcare,” he said.
On human dignity, the vice president said there was need to preserve human dignity, even as a patient receives quality health-care.
He described the Patients’ Bill of Rights as a remarkable effort at consensus and common purpose in the face of the many challenges of healthcare in Nigeria.
Minister of Health Prof. Isaac Adewole advised health-care providers to “stop playing god”.
“The right of the patient must be protected while at the same time the right of the providers must be guaranteed,” he said.
The Federal Government has urged capital market operators to rise to the challenges of providing long term capital needed to fund development.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who spoke at the Second Capital Market Stakeholders’ Forum organised by joint Senate and House of Representatives committees on Capital Market and other Financial Institutions in Abuja yesterday, said since capital is extremely important for businesses, it implies that the Nigerian capital market would be very important in enabling businesses to take advantage of the various opportunities that have been created by government to access capital, both long and short.
He said: “Nigeria needs a capital market that would attract investors into various sectors of the economy with the aim of growing and diversifying the economy, creating jobs, improving the quality of life and improving revenue and export sources. In this regard, the Nigerian capital market has a significant role to play in the attainment of these objectives.”
He said financial markets are known to be engines of growth because of the strategic role they play in the flow of funding.
Osinbajo also urged the capital market to “take advantage of the business opportunities that have been created by the government, through various tax incentives, investment in capital and also given the diverse resource base of Nigeria. We must not forget to mention the entrepreneurial capacity of the Nigerian, the demand for capital would certainly increase well beyond the current levels and that implies that the capital market indeed must step up its activities and grow to meet the expectations of the large and sophisticated players who would be requiring the services.”
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo will declare open the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH) Africa Regional Conference slated for September in Abuja.
The event, according to its local organising committee (LOC), will be hosted by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) from September 17 to 19, at the Transcorp Hilton.
The theme of the conference is: “African Ports and Hinterland Connectivity”.
The event, according to its promoters, will draw key stakeholders in port and harbours across the continent of Africa and other parts of the world.
The Chairman of the organising committee, Mrs Ugo Madubuike, said: “The IAPH Africa Conference will assemble key experts and stakeholders in the port logistics and transport industry to provide a deeper understanding of the concept of port hinterland connectivity, assess the present landscape of Africa’s port sector and the challenges faced in hinterland connectivity, discuss the experiences of port hinterland connectivity in other parts of the world compared to Africa, explore possible critical solutions, and recommend best home-grown models that would enable Africa to improve on its port hinterland connectivity and intraregional trade”
The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has assured that the goal of the Buhari administration is to make Nigeria a major global investment destination.
He said this on yesterday while addressing the Christ The Redeemers Fellowship International (CRFI) UAE Dubai Professional Business Summit tagged “Exploring Investment Opportunities in Nigeria and the UAE.”
Osinbajo added that the administration would continually improve and reform the country’s business environment to make it attractive to foreign investors.
He stressed that “our overarching goal is to make Nigeria a major global investment destination by continually improving our business environment.
“The improvements are not merely in numerical rankings, but in the stories and testimonies of business owners and entrepreneurs across the country.”
According to him, government is devoted to that particular pathway and it is a process which involves doing things differently, changing existing ways of doing things.
He noted that the process had been slow but it had grown quickly, especially in the past one and half years.
Osinbajo said “we expect that incremental changes will make a huge difference in the entire business environment as we go forward.”
He highlighted various reforms carried out in the infrastructure, business environment and economic diversification as demonstration of the administration’s commitment to promote foreign investments.
The vice president said that one of the most important economic policy decisions taken by President Muhammadu Buhari was to do all that was possible to improve Nigeria’s business environment and to attract investors on incremental basis.
He stated that “it became critical, especially as we urgently needed to reform our economy to focus on agriculture, manufacturing, services and other non-oil economic activity.
“This is the moment to explore the investment potential in the country, having lost such opportunity about a decade ago.”
He stated that with the International Monetary Fund’s recent upgrade of the economic outlook for sub-Saharan Africa and Nigeria’s exit from recession to positive growth, the trajectory was expected to play in that regional outlook, as the prospects were bright.
He said that the administration’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) 2017-2020 was conceptualised to place the economy on the path to stronger, more sustainable and inclusive growth.
“In Q1 2018, the economy grew 1.95 per cent and is projected to grow by up to three per cent over this year, driven by stronger oil prices, stable production, increased non-oil output and foreign exchange availability.
“Inflation fell 16 consecutive months from 18.72 per cent in January 2017 to 11.60 per cent in May 2018.
“Foreign investment, new investment, rose from 908.2 million dollars in Q1 2017 to 4.1 billion dollars in Q3 2017 over 150 per cent growth from Q1 2017.
“Total fresh capital inflow in 2017 was 12,228 dollars, 24 billion growth of 138.6 per cent in 2017.
“With no restrictions on ownership and guaranteed 100 per cent repatriation of invested funds, a stable foreign exchange market, combined with rising income levels, Nigeria’s external reserves rose to a four-year high of 47.8 billion dollars on May 14, 2018.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday directed security agencies and relevant bodies to commence a 72-hour joint operation to restore order around Apapa and environs with a view to easing vehicular movement in that part of Lagos.
Trailers parked indiscriminately over a long stretch of the Apapa/Oshodi expressway have been causing massive traffic gridlock on the road for several days now.
Osinbajo who made an unscheduled visit to the road to personally assess the situation also asked relevant government agencies to speed up decongestion of the Apapa ports.
Involved in the 72 hour joint operation are the Police, Navy, Army, Air Force, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), LASEMA, Container truck drivers, National Association of Road Transport Owners, NUPENG, Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria are also joining in the operation.
The vice president was flown in a Navy chopper,first to Tin Can Island park.
He was accompanied by Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi and senior Naval and Police officers.
He walked close to the traffic to see the situation for himself and then proceeded to the Five Star Berth at the NPA where he met with relevant officials and security officers.
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari yesterday met behind closed doors with Senate President Bukola Saraki and some All Progressives Congress (APC) governors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The governors, who were around at the President’s office before Saraki arrived the forecourt of the Presidential Villa at 4.18p.m, moved back into the office with Saraki.
The governors at the meeting included Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun, Kebbi State Governor Atiku Bagudu, Zamfara State Governor Abdulaziz Yari and Katsina State Governor Bello Masari.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and the Ekiti State Gov-Elect, Kayode Fayemi were also at the meeting.
At the end of the meeting which lasted about 30 minutes, the Senate President declined to talk to State House correspondents on the agenda of the meeting.
However, Kayode casually said they came to rejoice with the President over his election victory.
Fayemi, who was displaying his Certificate of Return from the INEC, also jokingly said the Ekiti State election had gone and that the All Progressives Congress (APC) will also take over Osun State.
TRADITIONAL rulers’ intervention in the wake of bombing of oil installations by the Niger Delta militants and the secessionist uprising in the Southeast brought relative peace to the two regions, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said yesterday.
He spoke in Abuja while opening the 10th National Development Summit of Nigerian Traditional Rulers.
According to him, the monarchs played crucial roles at the point that the country was threatened by the Niger Delta militants and the separatist group, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Osinbajo challenged traditional rulers to take greater responsibility in resolving conflicts, saying dialogue and engagements were as important as law enforcement in tackling disputes.
He said traditional rulers were better placed “to champion this vision of continuing dialogue and engagement because of the respect you command from the widest possible range of stakeholders and parties”.
Osinbajo said: “Dialogue and engagement are just as important as law enforcement, especially in situations triggered by misunderstandings and disagreements between people and communities who have existed peacefully side-by-side for centuries.”
The vice president also said even though the law enforcement agencies were critical elements in deterring criminality and ensuring that perpetrators were brought to justice, overlooking the place of non-coercive conflict prevention and resolution mechanisms would do a great disservice to the people.
It was in recognition of this critical role of traditional rulers, he said, that informed government’s approach to dealing with Nigeria’s most pressing security issues in the Niger Delta and in the Middle Belt.
He said government has been engaging traditional rulers in the flashpoint regions, counting on the influence they wield to chart a new and collective course of understanding, instead of the default approach of resorting to violence as a way of dealing with grievances.
The vice president said: “As custodians of our rich history, we also believe that you have a duty to remind us of the things we have got right in the past, but from which, for some reason or another, we have departed from, to our detriment…
“May I, therefore, most respectfully ask that you take this as a call to you, as royal fathers, as traditional rulers, as elder statesmen, to commit yourselves to deepening your partnership with government, to achieve our shared goal of laying the foundation of peace and security that will guarantee true greatness for Nigeria.”
But, the traditional rulers at the summit expressed fears that the foundation of Nigeria as established by the founding fathers had been visibly deficient and threatened.
They said the only way the country could be made great was when the leaders and different ethnic nationalities resolve to build a nation on a foundation of equity, justice, fairness, labour and high moral standards.
Chairman of Governing Council of the National Development Summit of Traditional Rulers, His Royal Majesty, Dr. Emmanuel Sideso Abe called for more roles for traditional rulers by the government.
The monarch said it was disheartening that the constitutional review embarked upon by the National Assembly had remained inclusive for over a decade, while resolutions at the recent national conference have not been considered for adoption in the interest of national survival and progress.
Dr. Abe, who is the Ovie of Uvwie Kingdom of Delta State, said the country needs a good leader that will create jobs and build bridges.
He added that as a result of the security challenges in the country, most traditional rulers were unable to attend the summit that started with over 400 members when it was inaugurated by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua 10 years ago.
He added that the country was born with incredible potentials and not meant to crawl or stagnate.