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Tag: VP

  • I’ve no ambition of becoming VP, says Radda

    I’ve no ambition of becoming VP, says Radda

    Katsina Governor Dikko Umaru Radda, has denied nursing vice presidential ambition, insisting he remains focused on serving the people of Katsina State.

    Radda, who made the denial during a working visit to the Dutsin-Ma Development Forum in Katsina, said he is not behind the campaign posters on the alleged ambition.

    According to him: “I’ve seen posters and messages suggesting I’m pursuing another office. Let me be clear: I sought your mandate to serve as Governor of Katsina State, and that is my only focus. 

    “I am not behind any campaign to contest elsewhere. My duty is to fulfill the trust you’ve placed in me.”

    At the development campaign forum the Governor also oversaw the distribution of 600 bags of maize and ₦5,000 cash to each victim of banditry attacks.

    Read Also: Radda lauds heroes of democracy, urges citizens’ participation in governance

    He praised the Dutsin-Ma Development Forum for organising the compassion-driven initiative.

    Radda further acknowledged Aminu Dan Arewa, member of House of Representatives,who contributed N6m for additional victim support 

    He said:  ”Today demonstrates our shared values—caring for one another and standing together through tough times,” the governor remarked, describing the gesture as rooted in empathy and humanity. 

    “This is the kind of leadership Nigeria needs—one that leads with action, not just promises.”

  • Obasanjo’s attack on TraderMoni reflects ignorance, mischief, says VP

    VICE President Yemi Osinbajo has described as unfortunate the attack on the Federal Government’s TraderMoni  microcredit scheme by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

    Prof Osinbajo, who reacted through a statement by his Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, said the former president was misinformed to have described a programme designed to lift Nigerians as “idiotic”.

    The alleged comments by the former president “smirk of outright mischief as it regurgitates blatant falsehood”.

    In the response to media inquiries regarding the former president’s comments over the weekend, Akande said: “It is either that the former leader is ignorant of the true workings of Trader Moni and the role of the Vice President in its implementation or perhaps he is on a mischievous mission.”

    According to him, the former President has demonstrated “a surprising but complete misunderstanding of the workings of TraderMoni, that is if we assume there is no mischief intended.

    “Firstly, the Vice President does not personally distribute money during his visits to the markets. He goes there to assess the progress of the implementation and to create awareness for a programme designed to meet the financing need of two million petty traders across the country in the first instance.

    “Secondly, while one will not bother to further address the issue of timing of the implementation since such issues are now known to be political posturing, it is important to note that TraderMoni is being actively implemented across all states of the federation and the FCT. It is not only in Lagos and Abuja as was insinuated.

    “These petty traders at the bottom of the economic ladder, with an inventory often less than N5,000, are beneficiaries of the TraderMoni scheme which provides N10,000 collateral/interest-free loans to them, empowerment that improves their small businesses, their families, while also contributing significantly to the economy.

    “Thirdly, in what is certainly a curious comment, the former President has also been quoted as describing the TraderMoni scheme as idiotic. To label such people-friendly scheme as idiotic is not only an absurdity, it is also an affront to the sensibilities of these hard working Nigerians, the beneficiaries of the micro-credit scheme.

    “For emphasis, the Bank of Industry implements the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, (GEEP), one part of our Social Investment Programme. Enumeration Agents have been engaged to visit the markets and other points where petty traders are found to confirm that they are traders and also take their biometric information for recording purposes. After the enumeration, the N10, 000 collateral free loans are then disbursed electronically through the petty traders’ phones.

    “TraderMoni is designed to meet the needs of the larger population of petty traders at the bottom of the pyramid who do not meet the more stringent criteria of BVN, bank accounts, market associations, cooperatives, required for bigger Market Moni loans.

    ”Under GEEP – which has MarketMoni, FarmerMoni and TraderMoni, at least 1.5 million Nigerians are already beneficiaries of the three-pronged approach of GEEP, while N-Power has created jobs for 500,000 young Nigerians graduates, besides non-graduates. Also, almost 300,000 Nigerians have benefitted from the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT), which is given to the poorest and most vulnerable among us, and over 9.2 million school pupils are being fed a free meal daily in 26 states under the Home Grown School Feeding Programme.

    “It bears repetition that higher economic growth potentials are associated with lower income inequality. This makes a most overwhelming case for welfare payments like the social investment schemes like the TraderMoni/MarketMoni schemes. Such a micro-credit scheme provides a higher rate of inclusion into the financial bracket and is crucial in lifting hardworking people out of poverty as has been the case in other countries like India and Brazil.

    “Fourthly, the former president also rehashed discredited claims suggesting that TraderMonibeneficiaries were required to tender their PVCs, and questioned the timing of the implementation.

    “Let me, therefore, state again that beneficiaries of TraderMoni are not required to show their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) or any document indicating their political affiliations to qualify for the loans.

    “This is why the enumeration is done in the open markets and wherever the traders ply their trade. This issue has been addressed several times by the Presidency in the public space. Therefore, the former president’s alleged comments smirk of outright mischief as it regurgitates blatant falsehood.

    “Equally, if the former president had conducted a simple act of diligence, he would have found that the National Assembly had approved this programmes and budgeted for them duly.

    ”When President Muhammadu Buhari came into office, one of the major hinges of this administration was to uplift the common man out of poverty and ensure the welfare of ordinary Nigerians.  TraderMoni is  one of such schemes conceived in 2016 under the Social Investment Programme of this administration.

    “Being a former president, Chief Obasanjo ordinarily should appreciate the impact of such far-reaching social investment schemes, which has provided what is now the largest social safety net for millions of Nigerians and is unprecedented in the nation’s history.

    Read also: Attack on TraderMoni: PDP, Fayose rehashing falsehood, says Presidency

    “Again, the former president’s attack on TraderMoni and the person of the Vice President is an indicator that he may be wittingly or unwittingly playing to the sinister script of the opposition party to spread falsehood and attack the social investment programmes of the Buhari administration, which champions such impactful schemes, and which is now attracting the praise and commendation of Nigerians everywhere.

    “It is pertinent to state that the false allegations against  TraderMoni  raised again by the former president, is sadly a rehash of baseless claims previously made by leading chieftains of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), whose record of profligacy, corruption and mismanagement clearly show it has no agenda to uplift the common man or improve the lives of Nigerians.

    ”Finally, attacks such as this on a scheme that benefits the masses of our people is a direct attack on the people and this kind of conduct does not reflect very well on a former president but is only self-denigrating and of no public value.

    “As is already now obvious, the generality of the Nigerian people will not only reject that attack but will also condemn its source. We, therefore, urge the former president to be far more circumspect and more public-spirited in his utterances going forward.”

  • VP, ex-PDP Chair Muazu meet at Aso Villa

    Former People’s Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman Adamu Muazu yesterday met with the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

    The meeting, which was held at the Vice President’s office, lasted for about one hour.

    At the end of the meeting, he declined to speak with to State House correspondents on the purpose of his visit to the Villa.

    It was, however, gathered that the visit was to thank the Vice President, who attended the former PDP’s daughter wedding recently.

  • VP won’t run in 2019

    VP won’t run in 2019

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said that he will not run for president in 2019.

    He spoke yesterday in London at the Financial Times Africa Summit .

    When he was asked whether he would be running, Osinbajo was quoted to have said: “None of that is on the card.”

    According to a copy of the speech released to reporters in Abuja, the vice president said the administration specifically carried out extensive ‘ease of doing business’ reforms, in addition to on-going investment in infrastructure.

    “After a continuous slide in growth since 2014, the trend of growth in GDP has turned around with a modest growth of 0.55 per cent in the second quarter of this year.

    “Inflation, though still somewhat high, has declined from its peak of 18.7 per cent in January 2017 to about 16 per cent today,” he stated.

    The Vice President noted that ‘’the outlook going forward is quite positive based on improvements in oil prices and production and the trend of leading indicators such as positive purchasing managers indices, a revived stock exchange and increasing foreign exchange reserves’’.

    Highlighting some of the efforts of the administration in agriculture and power, the Vice President drew attention to the significant progress achieved in the ease of doing business initiative.

    “In the first stage, reforms were introduced under a 60-day national action plan focused on eight areas that make it easier to register businesses, obtain construction permits, get credit, pay taxes, get electricity, trade across borders, facilitate entry and exit of people and register property.

    “Practical examples of success include leveraging the use of technology to fast track business registration and payment of taxes, a functioning, tried and tested 48-hour electronic visa procedure, and an Executive Order mandating greater transparency and efficiency across all government agencies.

    “The reforms have led to reduction in cost and time, as well as greater transparency for small and medium sized enterprises in particular.

    “Following the 70 per cent success rate achieved in the first phase of the ease of doing business reforms, we recently embarked on a second national action plan which will have 11 areas of focus and will run for 60 days from October 2017,” he added.

     

     

     

  • Fed Govt to decide on VP’s residence, says Presidency

    Fed Govt to decide on VP’s residence, says Presidency

    •Osinbajo: Aguda House okay for me

    Acting President Yemi Osinbajo said yesterday that the Federal Government is to decide what to do with the new Vice President’s House under construction.

    A statement by Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity Laolu Akande quoted Prof. Osinbajo as saying that “he is satisfied with living in Aguda House,” the official residence of the vice president.

    The statement said the new house for the vice president which already has 14 buildings almost completed was not the idea of this administration.

    He said: “For the umpteenth time, we like to clarify that the proposed plan of the immediate past administration to build a new official residence for the occupant of the Office of the Vice President, including the controversial gatehouse preceded  this administration.

    “The project which started in 2010, was initiated and funded by the immediate past administration,  but had never featured in the two budget proposals of the Buhari administration: neither in the 2016 nor the 2017 spending plans.

    “Any suggestion therefore that this project benefits our administration or that it reflects our spending style or preferences is not only misleading but blatantly false.

    “Besides, the incumbent Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has said publicly that he considers Aguda House, which he currently occupies, a befitting official residence for the Vice President and sufficient for his needs.

    “While the project  is now about 85 per cent complete, the Federal Government, in the circumstances, will decide at the appropriate time what is the best use for the 14 buildings already on the project site.” he said

  • VP’s new residence

    •After spending N6 billion, the government should strive to complete the project

    The latest excitement in town is unsettling — what to do, or what not to do, with the new official residence, still under construction, of the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    After already sinking N6.21 billion into the project, over an eight-year period, the government cannot possibly abandon it now, can it? Still, in the last five years, work reportedly had stopped, thus prompting troubling questions.

    First, that the level of work is allegedly far lower than the money so far sunk into it, thus raising the spectre of fraud and sundry corruption.

    The contract was awarded in 2009, at a cost of N7 billion, out of which N6.215 billion was allegedly paid the contractors.

    To start with, ab initio shelling out 89 per cent of a project cost would appear suspect, if not reckless. That didn’t show a government with a serious fall-back plan to protect itself, against any attempted sharp practices.

    Indeed, the House of Representatives Committee on FCT is claiming only a half of the job is done, even if the contractors had collected almost 90 per cent of the project cost.

    Then, there is the issue of an alleged five-year abandonment, simply because the Senate and the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) could not agree on project variation. A N13 billion variation was first proposed, then lowered to N9 billion and finally to N6 billion.

    Even if N6 billion variation had been accepted, that would have jacked up the price to N13.21 billion. How then could a well-conceived and soundly costed project flare so badly in such little space of time?

    That again has raised an alarm over possible impropriety in the costing process. The question is: did this result from an honest mistake? Or was it a deliberate ploy to fleece the common purse? The government should get to the roots. However, that stalemate, over project variation, would appear to explain the five-year abandonment of the project.

    That unfortunately, as things stand today, can only escalate costs, with the free fall in the naira’s parity to the dollar. So, it can be tempting, citing the current economic recession, to suspend or even abandon the project. But that would be the stiffest cost of all — and that is why it must not be an option.

    Clearly, the new official quarters of the vice president is one of the many problematic projects the Buhari administration inherited from the Jonathan presidency. But in the interest of the taxpayer, the present government should do whatever it takes to solve the conundrum.

    To start with, it should re-appraise the project. This it should do by investigating its history and progress — or lack of it— so far. If, along the way, it found out any sharp practices, whoever are involved, no matter how highly or lowly placed, should be made to face the music.

    Still, the government should approach the exercise with an open mind, particularly, the contractor demands.

    To be sure, it remains highly suspicious that a project initially generously funded, almost to the tune of 90 per cent, should come back to seek a major variation, when speed at completion ought to have motivated the initial blistering funding. It is not, therefore, impossible that those involved could be playing games, knowing they have a careless government exactly where they want it, and are determined to exploit the situation to the fullest. If that is the case, the government should not hesitate to squarely deal with the situation.

    If however, after five years, the contractors are found to have a genuine case, the government should hammer out an agreement, so that the project can be completed.

    The Buhari administration should take the project very seriously. It could, for instance, adopt phased completion as a strategy, to channel future funds.

    Even with the economic strains, the official residence of the vice president should not join other abandoned projects.

     

  • Happy birthday my beautiful wife- VP

    Happy birthday my beautiful wife- VP

    Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo on Friday congratulated his wife on her birthday.
    Through his twitter handle ‏@ProfOsinbajo, the Vice President wrote ” At my side. My support. My wings. Happy birthday to my beautiful wife, Oludolapo.”

  • Fed Govt to create 3 million jobs, says VP

    The Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo yesterday said  the Federal Government is planning to create about three million jobs in the next three years.

    The three-year job plan, he said, is expected to come from the technology, wholesale and retail, construction and agro-allied sectors of the  economy, while the 700,000 jobs which would be private sector driven, would come from the agro-allied sector.

    A statement endorsed by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to Vice President, Laolu Akande, explained that the job projections was contained in the report of an implementation of job plan titled “Strategic Framework & Implementation Plan for Job Creation & Youth Employment in Nigeria, submitted to Prof Osinabjo by the Job Creation Unit (JCU) of the Presidency and the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Receiving the report, the Vice President said: “We are in a situation now when the only way is up.” He thanked the NESG “for working so hard on this project.”

    Osinbajo who expressed excitement and hope recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had set job creation as the central focus of government policy when he instructed that policy planning must address the question of “how many jobs would the policy create.”

    Stressing that job creation might be “painfully slow,” Osinbajo assured Nigerians that President Buhari was addressing the constraints that businesses face including regulatory and institutional delays.

    He said government and the private sector needed to work together to produce positive results.

    “I am extremely excited at all that is available. We really have everything we need, we just need to get it right,” he said

    Speaking earlier at the meeting, NESG Chairman, Mr. Kyari A. Bukar said: “NESG is honored to be part of the Committee, and we commit to collaborate with the JCU whilst leveraging our vast private sector network to collectively solve the unemployment challenges Nigeria faces.

    “We have had the opportunity to review the Strategic Framework & Implementation Plan for Job Creation developed by the JCU, with the support of Dahlberg, and understand the urgency in addressing unemployment in Nigeria.”

  • Osinbajo rejects multi-billion new VP residence

    Osinbajo rejects multi-billion new VP residence

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said yesterday that the building of a new residence for the nation’s number 2  is a waste of public funds.

    The VP’s current residence – Aguda House – according to him is sufficient and up to standard.

    Interacting with Pastors and Leaders Retreat of the Fountain of Life Church, Ilupeju, Lagos,Osinbajo described  the N6 billion already spent on the project as a misapplication of fund although he said  that with the level of construction already done, government would have to complete it and find a different use for it.

    “There is no need for a new Vice President’s house; it is a kind of waste; we are now in a situation where we cannot abandon it; it has to be completed and used for a different thing,” he said.

    On the controversial State House Medical Centre, Osunbajo said it is  for the use of all Nigerians hence the need to equip it with  all the medical facilities available.

    He also said the education sector lacked not only standards but adequacy of institutions which led to Nigerians sponsoring their children abroad for tertiary education.

    He explained that while 1.8 million Nigerians sit for university entrance examination yearly, only about 300,000 are offered admission due to dearth of universities.

    He said the government was planning to convert many of the existing universities into centres of excellence and support the private sector in the running of universities to enable more Nigerians to have access to tertiary education.

    He said infrastructure development was key in the administration which informed the voting of 30 per cent of the 2016 appropriation to capital projects.

    Pastor Taiwo Odukoya, the leader of the Church, asked Christians to continue to pray for the administration as Nigeria had a great future.

    He said the present administration would lead the people to a more prosperous and secure nation.

    Osinbajo had earlier in the day preached at the burial service for his childhood friend, Bola Omotesho, at the Olive Parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Banana Island, Lagos.

    He urged Nigerians to lead good lives to rest in peace as there was actually no peaceful rest for a bad soul in spite of the earthly prayers offered for the soul.

  • Banire, a man of clear vision, says VP

    Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo has described the National Legal Adviser of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Muiz Banire (SAN) as a man with a clear vision and passion for excellence.

    He said Banire was among those who laid the foundation for a new Lagos owing to his uncommon dedication to work as Cabinet member during the tenure of former Governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    Prof Osinbajo spoke at the weekend in Lagos at an event held in honour of Banire who was recently admitted into the league of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

    He said it was a proud moment for him as Banire’s colleague in Bola Tinubu’s cabinet and teacher at the University of Lagos.

    In his message, Tinubu said the admission of Banire into the rank of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria was well deserved.

    Osun state Governor Rauf Aregbesola said the role of the judiciary is crucial at this moment of the nation’s history.

    Speaking on behalf of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) who graced the occasion, Ladi Williams said he was impressed by Banire’s hard work and intellectual capacity.

    Senator Ganiyu Solomon who spoke on behalf of his Constituency in Mushin disclosed that he has proved people who believe the area is only famous with violence and criminality wrong.

    Responding, the new Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Banire promised to do more in the support to the less privilege in the state.

    The Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee conferred the rank of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria on 21 Nigerians on July 10.