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Tag: Osinbajo

  • Osinbajo, Fashola, Okojie for award

    Vice President of Nigeria, Prof Yemi Osinbajo;  Minister of  Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Raji Fashola;  National Commandant of Peace Corps Nigeria, Ambassador Dickson Akoh;  Retired Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Olubunmi  Cardinal Okogie, among others have been billed to receive awards at the 13th anniversary of the African Foundation for Peace and Love Initiatives (AFPLI) holding on May 20 at Ostra Hall, Alausa, Lagos.

    Other awardees include the Osolo of Isolo, Oba Kabiru Adelaja, Akran of Badagry Aholu Wheno Menu-Toyi 1 and Olu of Agege.

    AFPLI’s President, Rev Titus Oyeyemi, said the aim of the award was to encourage individuals working to promote peace and unity in Nigeria.

  • Pipeline attacks: Osinbajo meets security chiefs, others

    Pipeline attacks: Osinbajo meets security chiefs, others

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday night met with some stakeholders about the attacks on pipelines in the Niger Delta region.

    He first met with some security chiefs, including Navy and Army and the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, and some government officials.

    The Vice President later met separately with Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson; and the Amayanabo of Toun Brass, Bayelsa State, King Alfred Diete-Spiff.

    Osinbajo, in the company of Dickson and Diete-Spiff, met with representatives of some oil companies, including Shell, Total, AGIP, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) and Chevron.

  • FG targets 7,000MW in 18 months – Osinbajo

    FG targets 7,000MW in 18 months – Osinbajo

    Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo said on Monday that the Federal Government was planning to generate 7, 000 megawatts of electricity for the nation within the next 18 months.

    He stated this at the presentation of a book “Nigeria: The Challenges of Growth and Development, an In-Depth Analysis by Experts,” held at the Trenchard Hall, University of Ibadan, Ibadan.

    Osinbajo stated that power remains a major challenge the federal government had been facing and which the government was determined to solve.

    He said the most important part of the budget would focus on ensuring that the weak aspect of the power value chain was restored.

    The vice president said the nation was faced with the problem of conveying gas to the power plant, adding that the pipeline, which remained the easiest method, is frequently vandalized.

    “Early in the life of this administration late last year and early this year, power generation was possibly at its best.

    “Nigeria, for the first time was actually generating 5,000megawatts, which was the first time it will happen in the history of the country.

    “On February 14, the Forcados Export Terminal was blown off, effectively ensuring that 40 percent of our gas that goes for power is no longer used for the purpose.

    “This situation led to the immediate loss of 1,500 megawatts of power. It is our priority that the pipeline project is completed so that gas will be adequately supplied to the power plant,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the vice president as saying at the forum.

    He said President Muhammadu Buhari two weeks ago ordered full mobilisation of the military for the protection of pipelines in the country.

  • $15b lost to security equipment fraud – Osinbajo

    $15b lost to security equipment fraud – Osinbajo

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said Nigeria lost about $15 billion to fraudulent and corrupt practices in the security equipment spending during the last administration.

    He spoke on Monday at the book presentation of the Ibadan-based elite group, House of Lords, which just published an in-depth analysis by different experts titled “Nigeria: The Challenges of Growth and Development, ” at the University of Ibadan.

    Noting that the Buhari presidency has kept on a sustained fight against corruption, Osinbajo said the country simply cannot sustain the shocking level of public sector corruption in particular.

    The vice president, in a statement  issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, said: “When you look at the sheer amount of money that have been embezzled, the sheer amount of money lost from any of these various cases of corruption, you will find that far too much has been lost.

    “It was discovered a few days ago that the total amount of money lost just to corruption in the provision of security equipments in the military is closer to $15 billion.”

    While the nation’s foreign reserves is now about $27billion, Osinbajo, noted that the $15 billion figure “is more than half of the country’s current foreign reserves.”

    He then told the audience made up of top Nigerian elites drawn from academics and business that what the Buhari presidency is “trying to do is to ensure that there are consequences for corruption and we try to send a message that anyone who is found to have been corrupt would not only dislodge the property they have stolen but will also pay for it in terms of the sanctions of the law.”

    “I believe strongly that it is important to send a message that no public officer can steal the resources of this country and expect to escape. I hope the message would be loud and clear and it will inform behavior in the future.”

    “By the grace of God in the next few days we will begin the implementation of one of the most ambitious budgets in our history. Ambitious not just in its size but more in its broad range of fiscal and other socio-economic policies,” the vice president added.

  • 2016 budget will become operational in ‘few days’, says Osinbajo

    2016 budget will become operational in ‘few days’, says Osinbajo

    •Innovation Fund to be established for youths
    •Ezekwesili says no to ‘archaic economic policies’

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday gave an assurance that the 2016 budget will become operational “in the next few days” as Nigerians anxiously await action from the National Assembly on the budget which was returned to it by the presidency for correction.

    The reconciliation committee of the National Assembly on the budget is currently working on lapses noted by the executive after details of the budget were submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The lapses prevented the president from assenting to the bill.

    But Vice President Osinbajo said yesterday that   once Buhari signs the appropriation bill into law, government will get cracking to cover lost grounds.

    He spoke at the annual conference of The Platform, a non-denominational conference organised by the Covenant Christian Centre, Abuja.

    Former Minister of Education and social critic, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, who also spoke at the forum, deplored the economic policies of the federal government, saying they are similar to the same ones he introduced during his tenure as military head of state between 1984 and 1985.

    Ezekwesili said the policies are not only encouraging massive corruption and abuse of power, but are also hurting the poor they were intended to help.

    Osinbajo said the budget will tackle adequately the problem of electricity in the country as government plans to resume work immediately on power projects left uncompleted by the last administration.

    For the umpteenth time the vice president responded to criticism that government has abandoned the change agenda.

    He said the agenda is still firmly on course and that critics are just being impatient with government.

    His words:”Nearly a year on, there are many problems and many have asked where is the change? Is this the change we voted for? Even some fifth columnists in our midst have suggested bring back corruption.

    “The government of President Muhammadu Buhari is completely and irrevocably committed to change. We believe that though it may not be easy, though the early signs may be confusing and sometimes discouraging, there has never been a better opportunity than now to turn the country in the direction of success.

    “Today we have the best opportunity in decades for profound change. It is an opportunity in a generation. A revolution whose time has come! Everything around us tells us that the moment is now! Can this change happen? Yes it can! Yes it must! What do you have in your hands to make it happen? We have a country that is tired of corruption, tired of leadership without values, tired of an economy that is neither designed to accommodate enterprise, nor to create opportunity and wealth for the majority. ”

    He said that the “new day in Aso Rock” is that of a Presidency that is committed to ensuring a departure from the past culture of corruption and profligacy in government.

    Osinbajo added: “We have a leadership, a leader that is ready to challenge the rotten system, one that has said he is ready to kill corruption rather than let corruption kill us.

    “We believe that though it may not be easy, though the early signs may be confusing and sometimes discouraging, there has never been a better opportunity than now to turn the country in the direction of success.”

    He announced the coming of an Innovation Fund this year which would deploy significant resources for the aim of creating opportunities for the youth to access fund for innovation and entrepreneurship.

    He highlighted other plans as:

    *Establishment of technology innovation hubs across the country; two super hubs (in Lagos and Abuja) and six regional hubs in the six geo-political zones in partnership some major technology companies;

    *65,000 young Nigerians to be trained in hardware and software services and in animation;

    *to create a reservoir in technology capacity that can be exported annually abroad like the case of India;

    *on June 23, 2016, Federal Government would launch a Presidential Technology Innovation Initiative targeted at 50 Nigerians engaged in innovative start-ups to be mentored by major technology innovation companies

    *bursary award to 100,000 STEM undergraduates developing their interests in programming, robotic and animation technology, in addition to deploying technology in the training of the 500,000 teachers that are expected to be employed under the social investment of government this year,

    *VP’s Office to institute a literary prize in poetry and short stories during independence anniversary to encourage field of humanity/arts

    Speaking on the Buhari Administration’s economic policies, Dr. Ezekwesili said government will have to adopt a pragmatic approach in dealing with the nation’s economic challenges.

    She said: “During the first coming of this our new president, a command and control economic system was adopted. During that era, inflation spiraled. During that era, jobs were lost. During that era, the economic growth level dipped. That era wasn’t the best of eras in economic progress.

    “What did not work in 1984 cannot possibly be a solution in a global economy that’s much more integrated. In over one year, the president is still holding to the premise that command and control is the only way out. In a year we have lost the single digits inflation status we maintained in past administrations.”

    She added, “The president comes into this economic philosophy on the premise that he does not want the poor to suffer. I can relate to that, a leader must not allow the poor to suffer, especially a leader who knows that most of his votes came not from the elite but from the poor.

    “The problem though is that the intention and the outcome are diverged. The weakest and the most vulnerable suffer the impact of inflation the most. Enormous power is being abused as a result of opaque economic policies. Companies are suddenly finding themselves unable to produce because they’re unable to access foreign exchange.”

     

  • Osinbajo unveils 50 waste management tricycles in Kano

    Osinbajo unveils 50 waste management tricycles in Kano

    Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has inaugurated 50 waste management tricycles procured by the Kano State government. The equipment are part of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje administration’s efforts to fulfil its promises on sanitation and management of solid waste in the state.

    Osinbajo unveiled the tricycle-based solution when he visited the state  last week. He praised the government for taking the initiative in order to ensure that effective waste management reached all parts of the state.

    The waste management solution was developed by Simba Motors Ltd, manufacturers of the vehicle, and the Kano State government. The waste disposal solution is built on the body of a ‘Kary-Go’ Tricycle, with significant local content in the production process.

    The Managing Director of Kano State Refuse Management and Sanitation Board (REMASAB), Group Captain Muhammad Kura, said: “The Kary-Go Waste Management Tricycles have been procured to cater for areas where bigger vehicles cannot get access, and are expected to work in tandem with our heavier machines. We have deployed these tricycles because they are compact, easy to drive, economical and safe to use.”

    REMASAB oversees the disposal of solid waste centrally for the state.

  • 18 rolling mills operational in Nigeria, says Osinbajo

    18 rolling mills operational in Nigeria, says Osinbajo

    •Govt committed to reviving Ajaokuta steel plant

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said yesterday that 18 of the 30 steel rolling mills in Nigeria are operational, producing 2.8 million metric tonnes per annum from melting scraps.

    He added that the 30 existing steel rolling mills produced about 6.5 million metric tonnes per annum.

    Osinbajo spoke at Gimba-Oja, Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State at the foundation ceremony of Kam Integrated Steel Project.

    He added that the world steel, the global iron and steel estimated demand is worth $ 9.6 trillion per annum.

    The vice president said: “Within the next few years, Nigeria will be importing approximately 250 million tonnes of processed steel and aluminum products and associated derivatives per annum at the cost of $45.5 billion. All this can be saved.

    “Nigeria is the 12 largest iron ore resource nation in the world and second largest in Africa with N2 billion metric tonnes of iron ore reserves.

    “However, 70 per cent of this deposit is yet to be made towards the bankable products of these industries and appropriate financing.

    “The government is well aware of this issue and looking at the options to resolve this challenge, including synergising government capacity and private sector competences for certifying existing deposits.”

    He added: “At the current rate of consumption, given the demand of steel builders, especially construction companies, automotive assembly, owners of refineries, investors in tile and rubber plastics and projects and textiles, the steel needs of this country are immense.

    “We must be extremely ambitious in our industrialisation effort in this area. Indeed, the need for increased levels of investment in these areas has never been more demanding than this time, steel plays pivotal roles in the industrialisation and infrastructure plan of the Federal Government.

    “This administration is committed to fast-tracking Nigerian industrialisation and committed  to ensuring that there is a conducive environment not just for industrialists but in particular for the steel industry.”

    The vice president said the Federal Government would encourage investors like Kam Industries to participate in the country’s industrialisation efforts and to ensure that Nigeria become sufficient in steel products within the shortest possible time.

    “We have found that one of the ways to achieve this goal is by making Nigeria more business-friendly and attracting local and foreign investment, thereby creating much needed jobs,” he said.

    Minister for Solid Minerals Development Dr. Kayode Fayemi said President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration was committed to the revival of Ajaokuta Steel Plant.

    Fayemi said: “The presence of the vice president is a demonstration of the government’s commitment to an economic diversification strategy. This enabling environment is what has given Kam Industries the muscle to do this project.

    “Two weeks ago, I was in Okpella in Edo State for a similar foundation-laying ceremony, where the Dangote Group was also putting on the ground a billion dollar cement factory and that clearly shows that the policy thrust of Kam is mirroring what this government is all about.

    “We want to ensure that we achieve the backward integration that you highlighted in your policy thrust. We are committed to ensuring to put in place import substitution that will reduce the foreign exchange expenditure of the country on import.

    “We are also committed to ensuring that we revive the Ajaokuta Steel Plant and we want to work with you in achieving all of these objectives.”

     

     

     

     

     

  • Osinbajo tasks Africans on tax administration

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Friday urged African tax administrators to develop a more robust tax administration systems.

    Osinbajo spoke when he received a delegation of the African Tax Administration (ATAF) Forum, led by its chairman, Mr. Gershem Pasi, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    He said taxation plays a critical role in defining government accountability and directs the society in a positive direction, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

    Osinbajo also commended the existence of such a forum.

    “People don’t pay taxes, it also means they do not hold the leadership accountable.’’

    He added that when people don’t pay taxes “they don’t often feel a sense of entitlement to the resources and corruption is allowed.”

    Osinbajo explained that the business of taxation is a compact between the government and the people.

    He observed that countries that export commodities and are involved in the extractive industries, such as Nigeria, had focused only on the revenues from such sources and had not benefitted from taxation.

    He stated that people should be made to appreciate that government will do what it is supposed to do by providing services and creating an enabling environment.

  • Osinbajo faults police handling of confessional statements

    The Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has faulted the police over its handling of suspects’ confessional statement.

    He said the poor handling confessional statements has accounted for increased number of trial.

    Osinbajo, however, said the number of trial can be reduced if the Force leadership implements a provision in the Criminal Justice Act of 2015.

    The vice president, who was represented by Dr. Yomi Dipeolu spoke on Friday during the Inaugural Inspector-General of Police Strategic Police Management Conference in Abuja.

    He said: “I would like to touch on an aspect of custodial violence which is confessional statement. I have found out that most defendant challenge the voluntariness of their confessional statements, leading to protracted trials within trials and occasioning significant delay in the administration of criminal justice.

    “I have also found that in a large number of cases, judges often ascribe little or no weight to confessional statement where corroboration is lacking. Counter intuitive as it may sound, it is my view that the current way in which the police take confessional statement is the reasons for one of the main causes of delay at trial – the phenomenon of trials within trial.

    He also noted that confessional statements in most cases, occasion more harm than good to the case of the prosecution.

     

  • Fuel supply: Osinbajo, PETAN back modular refineries

    Fuel supply: Osinbajo, PETAN back modular refineries

    •Let private investors run refineries

    The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has endorsed the building of modular refineries to solve the recurrent fuel scarcity in the country.

    He spoke at the two-day 2016 African Modular Refinery seminar in Lagos. Osinbajo, who was represented by Ambassador Jide Olu, in his goodwill message, highlighted the need for modular refineries, noting that they will not only address the fuel scarcity problem but move Nigeria away from being a net exporter of crude oil to a big producer and net exporter of petroleum products.

    He said there was no better time to start than now because of changes in the global oil and gas space. Rather than merely extracting crude oil and exporting it and importing finished products, Nigeria should take full advantage of the oil and gas sector by refining crude and exporting it. That will mean full use of the oil and gas resources, he added.

    He said: “The advent of shale oil and gas is a technological revolution that has changed the oil market, moving to an era of long low oil prices. We, therefore, need to add value to our oil and gas resources to remain competitive.

    “It is in this regard, the Federal Government will prioritise the adoption and execution of a National Oil and Gas Master Plan later this year,” adding that Nigeria and Africa should think of modular refinery in the content of regional value gains and market sizes since production is increasingly coordinated across various geographical locations.

    The Chairman of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), Mr. Bank-Anthony Okoroafor, also agreed with the Vice President on the need to build more modular refineries to enable self-sufficiency in fuel production.

    Okoroafor urged the Federal Government to allow the four refineries it owns to be run by private investors to make them operate and produce optimally.

    In a chat with reporters, he said government has no business running refineries but to make policies that would drive business activities. “Refinery business is a business on its own. Governments do not run such businesses. It was good at the initial stage for government to kick-start such investments and be able to build capacity.Government has no capacity to run refineries,” he said.

    The PETAN chief criticised giving jobs in onshore and swamp terrains to foreign oil companies when competent indigenous companies are available. He said that the association is keen to achieve value added local content to Nigerians.

    He said PETAN’s goal is to bring jobs hitherto exported to other countries back to Nigeria, create a hub for oil and gas service in-country. He said before now, Nigeria loses $380 billion and two million jobs to capital flight on oil and gas service jobs.

    He said there is a Nigerian Content Law, which states that 100 per cent onshore, swamp jobs should be given to Nigerian companies.  “So any job that can be done by PETAN company or by a competent Nigerian  should not be given to somebody outside the country, it is criminal,” Okoroafor said.

    However, where there is skills gap, PETAN encourages alliance with foreign companies, primarily to grow capacity. He said at the height of militancy in the Niger Delta, expatriates fled the region while indigenous companies’ workers continued with the jobs without fear of being kidnapped.

    “Nobody can develop our country better than we can do. But anywhere that the capability does not exist in the country, anybody can do the job. But where the capability exists, it has to be done by the  Nigerian company,” he said.