The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Osinbajo

  • ‘Osinbajo not running for presidency in 2019’

    ‘Osinbajo not running for presidency in 2019’

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Saturday disassociated himself from a group known as “Osinbajo Volunteers” which has started campaigning for his election as President in 2019.

    The group, which is recruiting volunteers for the project, wants Osinbajo to stand as presidential candidate in the 2019 election.

    While its website featured the activities of Osinbajo, the group exonerated the vice president, saying: “Note that Osinbajo did not endorse this volunteer group. We have never met him. We are strong believers in the fact that he is the right ruler for Nigeria and must create a people’s volunteer base for him.”

    Distancing Osinbajo from activities of the group the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Vice President, Laolu Akande, said on his Twitter handle “please disregard this website created by faceless people for mischievous purposes. It has absolutely nothing to do with the vice president.”

  • Osinbajo, Atiku, Ekwueme, others extol Maitama Sule’s virtues at book launch

    Osinbajo, Atiku, Ekwueme, others extol Maitama Sule’s virtues at book launch

    VICE President Yemi Osinbajo and former Vice President Abubakar Atiku were among notable personalities that extolled the virtues of Nigeria’s former Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN), the late Dr. Yusuf Maitama Sule, yesterday at the unveiling of a book in his honour.

    Others at the unveiling of the book titled: “Genius Orator,” which took place at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, were Vice President in the Second Republic, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, former President of the Court of Appeal Justice Mamman Nasir and former Anambra State Governor Chukwuemeka Ezeife.

    In his remarks at the event, Osinbajo said Maitama Sule, who held the traditional title of Dan Masani Kano, was an exceptional character, who was motivated by patriotism and selflessness.

    He said: “This was a man for whom material comforts were never a driving impulse. Public service for him was never about amassing wealth and privilege; instead, it was about serving humanity and living true to his beliefs and ideals. Believing in Nigeria was one of those ideals. He was a believer until the very end.”

    He added that Maitama Sule was a gifted orator, who deployed his skills to persuade, to exhort, to inspire,  to set direction and create a vision.

    Osinbajo hailed the book author, Prof. Chike F. Okolocha, for documenting Sule’s “life and views in great detail,” noting that there was need for other scholars to write “these important stories before the principal actors and characters pass on”.

    Atiku described Maitama Sule as “a combination of so many positive attributes: orator, patriot, nationalist, pan-Africanist, humanist, diplomat and educationist.”

    He said as a teacher, the late Dan Masani Kano was also involved in voluntary teaching, where he taught people in the evenings without pay.

    Atiku said Maitama Sule’s political career began in the early 1950s, when he joined the late Mallam Aminu to found the Northern Elements Progressive Union and continued in the Second Republic when he sought to win the presidential ticket of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) but lost to former President Shehu Shagari.

    Others, who spoke at the event, were Justice Mamman Nasir (Rtd), who was the Chairman of the organising committee of the event; Ezeife and former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole.

  • Maitama Sule: Osinbajo, Atiku extol virtues

    Maitama Sule: Osinbajo, Atiku extol virtues

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and former Vice-President Abubakar Atiku were among notable personalities that extolled the virtues of Nigeria’s former Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Late Dr. Yusuf Maitama Sule on Thursday at the unveiling of a book on the late elder statesman.

    Others at the unveiling of the book titled: “Genius Orator,” which took place at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, were Nigeria’s Vice President in the Second Republic, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Mamman Nasir and former Governor Chukwuemeka Ezeife of Anambra State.

    In his remarks at the event, Osinbajo said Maitama Sule, who held the traditional title of Dan Masani Kano, was an exceptional character who was motivated by patriotism and selflessness.

    He said: “This was a man for whom material comforts were never a driving impulse. Public service for him was never about amassing wealth and privilege; instead it was about serving humanity and living true to his beliefs and ideals. Believing in Nigeria was one of those ideals. He was a believer until the very end.”

    He said Sule was a gifted orator, who deployed his skills to persuade, to exhort, to inspire, to set direction and create a vision.

    Osinbajo commended the author of the book, Prof. Chike F. Okolocha, for documenting Sule’s “life and views in great detail,” noting that there was need for other scholars to write “these important stories before the principal actors and characters pass on.”

    Atiku described Sule as “a combination of so many positive attributes: orator, patriot, nationalist, pan-Africanist, humanist, diplomat and educationist.”

    He said as a teacher, the deceased was also involved in voluntary teaching, where he taught people in the evenings without pay.

     

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  • Unlocking the likes of Osinbajo

    Until the current coming of Yemi Osinbajo as Nigeria’s Vice-President, the man was holed in the medieval age of our history…  Professor Osinbajo is the father of modern day bureaucratic jurisprudence of Lagos State… He was discovered by Bola Tinubu… He went on to become the state’s first Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General in the Third Republic in 1999… He undertook notable reforms in grassroots judicature and in court room procedures… Through his prudent counsel coupled with Tinubu’s own smart politics, Lagos successfully launched the historic creation of 37 local councils and floored the mighty federal resistance of Olusegun Obasanjo’s government… The councils have come to stay due to the firm substructure Osinbajo laid… Later, the annals continue, he was retrieved from political retirement again by Tinubu to play a role in the central government in the current dispensation… And on and on we have played the old history of Yemi Osinbajo.

    But let us be clear about this: this same history isn’t going to rate Osinbajo on Lagos only in the long run. The ruthless history we all know would demand more from Osinbajo. Had he stayed quietly in the background after his campaign in the old federal capital, he might have tamed the extinct records to favour him. However, having succumbed to the temptation to stage a comeback at a higher level, he must wrestle with the dialectics of politics of an upward plane. History is clad in an iron creed: to whom a higher measure of responsibility is given, less can’t be demanded.

    So we should not dwell too much on the past of the vice-president, even if that is what he and his loyalists might fondly desire. In my opinion though, he has delivered himself from the grip of these former times by attempting to present a new Osinbajo. It can’t be denied that he has emerged from the younger Osinbajo we knew in Lagos in Tinubu’s cabinet. We should help him to sustain that process of extrication and discovery of a new-look Osinbajo. In this second coming, if truth be told, he has exceeded expectations, especially in his days as acting President.

    A commentator said during a radio programme the other day that he didn’t know Osinbajo had such large streak of appetite for work and integrity to drive a country in a state of slough in the absence of her ailing President without triggering fears of an own ambitious agenda. He said Osinbajo seemed to have a dog’s chances of survival in the midst of starving lions.

    It was another way of saying he underestimated the Ogun State born law professor, despite the sterling performance of the man in Lagos years back. He appeared to be saying that Osinbajo might not be able to repeat the feat as an acting President.

    Now, until we gave Osinbajo (by default) the task of running the presidency in a restricted capacity, we little thought he had the quality to do it in spite of his history. We believed the professional politician might do better than a professional in politics. How tragically wrong this has turned out so far! And the nation has suffered fatal consequences because of this dim view of respect only for the professional politicians.

    There are a thousand and one Osinbajos similarly waiting to be unveiled for heroic national service. But we hold them down through a system that sees us concentrate on an effete cabal of choices. It is a process that has thrown up the cycle of the same set of people from a political family and lineage. We don’t look beyond that group to recruit our leaders and representatives. In the advanced countries of the West (UK and USA), this arrangement is called cronyism: the rule in perpetuity of the elite and their families and friends.

    Nigeria cannot secure the real change we so desperately need for a complete turnaround if we focus on this strange law of motion that sees us do a lot of running without leaving the spot of activity, without progressing. It is a barren law of motion. We talk much about transitions from military to civil rule, from a third to a fourth republic, a seventh to an eighth National Assembly, and from a centripetal to a centrifugal federalism. They are mere talk without substance if we don’t slough off the same set of operators we have had for the past four decades or thereabouts. Just do a check on the personalities in charge from day one of our existence as a country. We come face to face with the same small group of handlers working at solutions to problems they gave the country. It will be impossible to get transforming change if the agents of the procedure are always dredged from the past for a mission to launch you into the future. What they will offer is what we are having in Nigeria: a systemic petrification that has drained life out of a potentially vibrant nation.

    This is the reason the challenges of several decades ago remain with us. Read the Nigerian newspapers of the 1960s through the 80s, and the decades after; you won’t find yourself back in time. Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s fans marked 20 years of the death of the legend early in August 2017, and his music was played all over the country and abroad. Most commentators said the biting lyrics composed scores of years ago to lampoon the failings of government, are still valid as a critique of today’s society and the government. They sound like they were waxed last night.

    The way out I think is to bring in new hands from outside the political arena. In the elections to come, we should not behave like the snake that drops off its skin while retaining its venom. Let us do away with the deceptive new skin, the snake and its poison. We need to have more bureaucrats, apolitical figures, professionals and lettered artisans in the executive and legislative arms of government. Politics must no longer be left exclusively in the hands of politicians. Let’s go for an affirmative action policy that gives between 40% and 50% of lawmakers, cabinet members, and public office holders to the plebeians and the man and woman in the backwaters of the land. My thesis is that if we make governance all-inclusive to accommodate the educated hoi polloi, we shall be unlocking the potential of the entire society to serve Nigeria. Hidden in the recesses of the common people and our professionals is the key to refreshing and oxygenating the dying polity. The present political class is a hollow force. They can’t reinvent themselves for new ideas to redeem Nigeria.

    Yemi Osinbajo amply proves the thinking that we’ve been losing all along in not reaching out to the vast reserves of our human resources. We have counted on a class which has long entered its age of diminishing returns, the same way crude oil is moving into a cul-de-sac as a jaded economic lever.

     

    • Ojewale is a writer in Ota, Ogun State.
  • Flood: Osinbajo arrives Benue

    Flood: Osinbajo arrives Benue

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has arrived Markudi, Benue State capital to inspect the flooded areas.

    The International Market camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Makurdi has so far registered 4,775 persons, the Camp Manager, Mr James Iorhuna, said.

    He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Makurdi that the camp was in compliance with international standards.

    The camp was set up following flood which displaced more than 100,000 persons in Benue and affected
    21 local governments.

    Iorhuna said a total number of 4,775 persons, including children, women and men were so far registered at the camp.

    He added that “we have so far registered 1,387 male children, 1,349 female children, 531 men, 642 women,
    585 children under the age of five, 92 pregnant women, 115 nursing mothers and 74 physically challenged persons.”

    The camp manager said UNICEF had already provided water and 40 toilets at the camp, while other basic needs of the IDPs were being met.

    Mrs Joy Leva, a mother of twins living at the camp, appealed to government, donor agencies and individuals to assist her in feeding the children.

    Leva, however, said that her children who were suffering from catarrh as a result of the flood and their stay in the camp were responding to treatment after being attended to by medical team at the camp.

    She added that “I have four children in all out of which two are twins. We were first displaced from the Airforce area as a result of the Jukun/Tiv crisis few months ago before we relocated to Gyado villa where our house was flooded.

    “We were sleeping when the incident occurred and we were unable to take anything out of our thatch house before it collapsed.

    “At the moment, the only thing we have were items giving to us by camp officials.

    “My husband works as labourer, while I have no hand work. I want to appeal to government to help me in feeding my children as I am overwhelmed with the situation.” (NAN)

     

    Osinbajo in Benue to inspect the flood
  • Lessons from Buhari, Osinbajo team work

    Lessons from Buhari, Osinbajo team work

    A few days ago, in reply to a tweet by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), a Nigerian named Abubakar, wrote, “Working together is a sign of good leadership the country needs both of you for the next six years and may the almighty God grant him (President Buhari) health”.

    Similarly, another Nigerian, tweeting with the handle, @sebastineadele, wrote, “Thanks for holding forth for the President. You did very well while he was away. May God continue to grant you both the wisdom to govern Nigeria.”

    These tweets may have succinctly captured the feelings of many Nigerians about the performance of Osinbajo as Acting President in the 104 days President Muhammadu Buhari was away on medical vacation.

    During this period, Osinbajo was a study of commitment to national service and united leadership under a one-government system. From Abuja, Bayelsa to Borno, Osinbajo showed dedication to upholding the vision of the Buhari presidency to make the country better for Nigerians through its various programmes.

    Osinbajo’s personal and leadership qualities have not only endeared him to Nigerians, they have also helped in steering Nigeria in the right direction in a time when critics and naysayers stoked controversies over the duration of the President’s medical vacation.

    It is pertinent to say that the criticisms were unnecessary as the President did the right thing by giving Osinbajo powers constitutionally to oversee the presidency in his absence.

    There has been quite a few misleading assumptions and misrepresentation regarding some of the dynamics precedent to the VP assuming acting president status and roles.

    For instance, in trying to explain President Buhari’s letter to the National Assembly transmitting powers to Osinbajo as Acting President, some claimed that there was “controversy ‘raging’ over the exact designation of Osinbajo’s role as Acting President. This couldn’t be farther from the truth.

    The bottom line was that the President did what was right and fully in accordance with the constitution. Section 145 of the 1999 Constitution states: “Whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary such functions shall be discharged by the Vice-President as Acting President.”

    In the same vein, there were such claims that ‘another controversy broke out on who would sign the 2017 budget’; distorting facts by misrepresenting a statement erroneously credited to the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed.

    As a matter of fact, the Acting President’s delay in signing the budget was simply because he was not yet satisfied with it, nothing more. This was also clarified by the Senior Special Assistant, Media and Publicity, to the Vice President, Laolu Akande, in a tweet on May 17, which stated that Osinbajo would assent to the 2017 budget when he was satisfied with it. “Just so we are clear: when the time comes, everything is set, and he is satisfied, Ag. President Yemi Osinbajo will assent to the 2017 Budget,” Akande had tweeted.

    Similarly, this was the same line of thought for the Acting President in delaying the swearing in of the two ministerial nominees after their screening on May 3. Due process had to be followed, both in law and in clarity. For the record, the two ministers, Stephen Ocheni and Suleiman Hassan, were assigned portfolios as Minister of State in the Ministry of Labour and Productivity and Minister of State, Power, Works and Housing respectively.

    What Nigerians have come to realise about the VP is the seriousness, devotion, care and diligence with which he hands his constitutional responsibility, either as Vice President, his substantive role, or as Acting President, while the President was away.

    Some have even erroneously described the Vice President’s meeting with state chairmen of the ruling All Progressive Congress at the Presidential Villa on August 2 as one of “purely partisan political party meeting” was nothing short of mischief.

    Like the APC, many Nigerians, including chieftains of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, have commended Osinbajo’s forthrightness in service and competent leadership while the President was away.

    Despite the misrepresentation by some critics of the government, alluding that the Acting President had to travel to London to get approvals before making some decisions, it is clear that Osinbajo and President Buhari are working together united in their resolve to make the country better for all Nigerians.

    Mr. Akande noted that, “Interpreting reasonable and regular communication between the acting president and the president as teleguiding of one by the other is simply curious in the least or perhaps pure mischief. These two gentlemen have always worked together as a team and will continue to do so.”

    Unlike what happened in similar circumstances in the recent past, the Buhari and Osinbajo presidency has shown that it is united and one that follows due process and uphold the nation’s constitution in leadership by example.

    In his over 100 days as Acting President, Osinbajo recorded numerous achievements for the Buhari presidency.

    As Acting President, Osinbajo’s visit to the Niger Delta has contributed to the peace in the region. His tour to the oil-rich region also further communicated the significance of President Buhari’s New Vision for the Niger Delta, a comprehensive peace, security and development plan that will ensure that the people benefit fully from the wealth of the region, as well as the environmental clean-up of Ogoni land, which started last year.

    Speaking on behalf of PANDEF after a meeting with Osinbajo in August, Chief Edwin Clark had noted that they were happy with the Federal Government’s commitment to improving the fortunes of the region. PANDEF, which joined the Federal Government’s Inter-Ministerial Group tasked with the implementation of the vision, commended Osinbajo “for his genuineness, truthfulness and forthrightness”.

    In terms of the economy, there have been significant improvements in manufacturing, agriculture, technology and innovation around the country. Osinbajo recently noted that there would be more improvement in several areas of the economy, as well as in the business environment and the ease of doing business in the country. “I think that there are so many areas where there is going to be greater efficiency and delivery, we are at a point where I think we are taking off quite well and we will soon see significant improvement in the lives of people,” he said.

    Similarly, more jobs are also being created nationwide through the Buhari administration’s Social Investment Programmes, which recorded numerous successes under the Acting President, and will expectedly continue under the Buhari presidency.

    The SIPs are the N-Power, which selected and engaged 200,000 unemployed Nigerians graduates for a volunteer job programmers, the Conditional Cash Transfer being implemented now in nine states, General Economic and Empowerment Programme, GEEP-a micro credit scheme that has given almost 60,000 loans out already, and the National Homegrown School Feeding Programme, where 25 million meals have been served and almost three million schoolchildren in 14 states so far are being fed, with 33,895  cooks engaged.

    The economy, is gradually bouncing back from recession, because of the commitment of this administration through its Economic Recovery and Growth Plan which built on the foundations laid by the Strategic Implementation Plan of 2016.

    “The plan has set forth a clear vision for the economic development of Nigeria. The impact of our Ease of Doing Business work is gradually being felt by businesses, small and large; its successful take-off has allowed us to follow up with the MSME Clinics -our Small Business support programme, which has taken us so far to Aba, Sokoto, Jos, Katsina, and we expect to be in all other states in due course. Let me note, at this point, that several of our initiatives are targeted at our young people, who make up most of our population, from N-Power, to the Technology Hubs being developed nationwide,” Osinbajo noted in his Democracy Day address to the nation on May 29.

    Again, it must be emphasised that the Buhari and Osinbajo administration have recorded milestones in the three focal points of the administration, namely security, corruption and the economy.

    Recently, the Vice President noted that, now that the President is back, Nigerians should expect an even stronger leadership.

    Indeed, despite its challenges, with such committed and united leadership, the future of this country certainly looks very bright.

    Many Nigerians have also praised the Vice President for his unflinching loyalty to the President in discharging his duties as acting president.

    Commenting on Facebook, Boniface Denim Ortese, described Osinbajo as the ‘definition of loyalty’. He added, “I’m really awed by your leadership style. I think I have found a role model in you. God bless your efforts so far and may he give you more strength to handle all circumstances others can’t handle together with our dear president”.

    “Loyalty is rare,” wrote Tayo Akinyele, adding that, “I want to commend Mr. Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, for holding forth while Mr. President was away”.

    Another Nigerian, Modupe Olaiya Shopeju, echoed Ortese’s views. “I’m so humbled and awed at your leadership style in the absence of our President. You were so true and exemplary in your conducts as the Acting President”, she wrote.

    “Loyalty extraordinaire! You’re an epitome of what true leadership is about. Another bar of Vice-Presidency in Nigeria has been set,” Dee @DeeDan30, wrote on Twitter.

    Similarly, another commenter, Mustapha Sule, in a tweet, thanked the Vice President for his “services to the country during the President’s absence. He also expressed gratitude to God for the President’s return in good health.

    • Nnadozie sent the piece from Abuja
  • Osinbajo denies taking over ASUU negotiations

    Osinbajo denies taking over ASUU negotiations

    Reports that Vice President Professor. Yemi Osinbajo has taken over negotiations with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to end the strike is “untrue,” according to his spokesperson Laolu Akande.

    Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige was quoted after the Federal Council Meeting (FEC) on Wednesday to have said Osinbajo will henceforth lead the negotiations with ASUU. 

    Ngige said,  “At Council today, the Vice President has taken over some of the aspects of the negotiations and discussions.”

     “So, we are continuing the meeting in his office and when we finish meeting, we will get back to ASUU for another round of meeting and we are hopeful that we will be able to go to an appreciable extent to solve some of the outstanding issues that are preventing them from going back to work.’’

    However, early Friday Osinbajo retweeted a tweet by Laolu Akande, his media aide, debunking the reports.

    The tweet read: “News reports that VP Osinbajo has taken over ASUU negotiations is untrue & inaccurate. Labour & Education Ministers continue to lead d talks.”

    ASUU has been on strike for about two weeks demanding implementation of previous agreements, full payment of salaries and improved government funding of universities.

  • Osinbajo: private sector vital to economic growth

    Osinbajo: private sector vital to economic growth

    The only feasible means to achieve a robust social and economic development is to enable active involvement of private sector players and investors, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said.

    Public sector resources, he said, cannot independently bridge the infrastructural, power supply, technical and technological gap without core partnership with private sector resources.

    Speaking at the launch and ground breaking ceremony  of the three million tons BUA cement plant in Okpella, Edo State, Osinbajo said the establishment of the plant agrees with the expectation of the government from private sector.

    He lauded the investment of BUA Chairman, Abdulsamad Rabiu, saying the production capacity already attained was a testament  to the country’s self-sufficiency drive and a big boost to her export capacity.

    Osinbajo assured that the government would go the extra mile to support the private sector in growing the economy,  adding that efforts were on to implement the industrial policy that will assure economic stability.

    “In the economic recovery and growth plan,  launched by the president, he made it clear that the Nigeria economy emancipation must be private sector led and driven. There is simply no public sector resource that can match the resources, drive and commitment of the private sector. Doing all we can to encourage investment of this kind is not just a good idea, it is the cornerstone of our economic policy. There is no other way to grow this country without the active management and participation of the private sector,” he said.

    Also speaking, the state Governor, Godwin Obaseki expressed delight in the developemntal effect the factory has brought to the statee.

     

    He said the  facility was a response to the diversification measures of the administration from the oil and gas sector. He said besides its rich deposit of limestone, the state government is opening explorations in  oil and gas deposit and mineral resources.

    He said: “I’m delighted today that this commissioning is at the heart of very strategic transformation of our state economy. A state where large scale industrialisation   driven by the private sector capital is helping to create empowerment and impacting lives. Our value and approach may have made some people uncomfortable but I can assure you that our reforms and innovation will produce long lasting results that will grow the Edo economy.”

    Rabiu said the citing of the $3million cement factory in the state was because of the availability of the best limestone in the state. With the plant, Nigeria would have grown from a nation of 3million tons production capacity to 45million tons capacity by next year.

    According to him,  the combined total of investment both in Sokoto and Obu plants would have reached over $2billion by next year while the capacity would nail a total of 7.5million metric tons.

    He said: “This has not only made Nigeria self sufficient in cement production but also a net exporter  of cement. The cement sub sector today represents 90 per cent of the Nigeria mining sector and employs 30,000 people directly and over 200,000 people indirectly. It also serves the Nigerian economy over $2billion in foreign exchange annually.

    “The success and impressive efficiency of the first line of Obu plant which in the first year of production was over ninety per cent in terms of capacity utilisation in the industry while efficiency was at 60per cent led BUA to commence the construction of a second cement plant line of three million tonnes.

    “We are completing another greenfield project in Sokoto which is 1.5million tons per annum which costs over three million dollars and by the time we are done, a combine capacity of our cement in Edo and Sokoto will be in the region of about a billion tonnes.”

     

  • Osinbajo assures on FG’s commitment to UN road safety campaigns

    Osinbajo assures on FG’s commitment to UN road safety campaigns

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday assured on Federal Government’s commitment to the United Nations campaigns to address the challenges of road safety in Nigeria and the African continent through adoption of international best practices in road safety management.

    He gave the assurance at the 7th Annual Lecture Series of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Osinbajo, who was represented by the Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing, Suleiman Hassan, said the federal government would leave no stone unturned in its readiness to address the menace.

    “That’s why we are evolving policies and programs capable of making Nigeria what a road safety nation should be,” vice-president said

    According to him, the government has increased capital and overhead budgetary allocation to the FRSC in the last two years to make it more efficient.

    He also said that government has provided massive logistics to the FRSC, approved the incorporation of road safety education into the nation’s school curricula and supported the use of crash helmet, seat belts as well as the setting up of national speed limits to check over-speeding by drivers.

    Osinbajo said Nigeria was concerned, as the largest black nation on earth, that the developing world has a disproportionate share of the 1.29 million of global deaths resulting from road accidents  annually.

    He said Nigeria activated the UN Decade of Action on Road Safety in 2010 under the auspices of the FRSC and was the first African nation to do so.

     

  • Crisis: Osinbajo meets community leaders in Taraba

    Crisis: Osinbajo meets community leaders in Taraba

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday charged governments and leaders in the country to provide security and food for the people, saying those were the pressing need of the citizens.

    Osinbajo made the call at a meeting with government officials and community leaders as part of efforts at resolving the lingering dispute between farmers and herdsmen in Mambilla Plateau.

    The meeting took place at the executive council chambers of Government House in Jalingo, Taraba.

    The vice president said: “It is our role as leaders to ensure that all our people are safe and secure and that we provide that security as much as we can.’’

    He commended the state government and community leaders in the affected area for their commitment in finding lasting solutions to the crisis.

    He said the meeting was important but expressed pleasure that the crisis had abated and the situation was improving.

    “I want to thank you all for the leadership that, all of you, the leaders from that local government, have shown,’’ he added.

    While urging the people to embrace and live in harmony, Osinbajo assured all stakeholders in the state of government’s commitment in ensuring that permanent peace returned to the troubled area.

    Earlier, the state governor, Darius Ishaku, had thanked the vice president for his commitment in ensuring that peace returned to parts of the state plagued by crisis, especially the Mambilla Plateau.

    He assured the Federal Government of the state government’s cooperation in ensuring that peace was restored to the area.

    The governor, his deputy, Mr. Haruna Manu; the Senator representing the zone, Sen. Abubakar Yusuf and Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Sen. Aisha Alhassan, attended the meeting.

    Also at the meeting were the Political Adviser to the President, Sen. Babafemi Ojudu and some top officials of the state government.

    NAN