The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Yemi Osinbajo

  • Osinbajo, South East APC governorship candidates meet in Aso Rock

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday evening met behind closed doors with some All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidates from the South East.
    The meeting, which was held at the Vice President’s office, lasted for about two hours.
    Those at the meeting included the candidate for Imo State, Hope Uzodinma, candidate for Abia State, Uche Ogah, candidate for Enugu State, Ayogu Eze, and candidate for Ebonyi State, Sunny Ogbuoji.

    Read Also: High fertility rate a problem for Nigeria – Osinbajo

    Speaking with State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, Ayogu Eze said “It is a purely private visit to the Vice President. These are the candidates of the APC in the South East. There is nothing unusual about our coming to confer with our leader. Just a personal visit and we are done.”
    Asked what extra effort they are doing to deliver the South East for APC, he said “The South East is already APC. If you come to the South East, you will know that we don’t need any effort to deliver the South East, the South East is already delivered.”

  • Okorocha, Amosun behaving like poor students of history- Oshiomhole

     Says Obasanjo inviting God’s anger

    National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress  (APC),  Comrade Adams Oshiomhole said on Wednesday that the governors of Imo and Ogun State,  Rochas Okorocha and Senator Ibikunle Amosun  were behaving like poor student of their own history who had forgotten  that they lost elections before winning on the platform of the APC.

    Oshiomhole who spoke while receiving APC women leaders from Edo State and the FCT also hit at former President Olusegun Obasanjo saying the former Nigerian leader was inviting the anger of God upon himself by supporting former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for the Presidency after severally saying the God will not forgive him if he supports his former deputy. 

    Oshiomhole was however confident that the APC is stronger now  in IMO and Ogun states  despite grievances of their governors as a result of the outcome of the party primaries where their preferred candidates lost out.

    But supporters of the governor’s have since left the APC for other parties with both governors who are Senatorial candidates of the party promising to work against the party in the governorship elections. 

    Oshiomhole said “The real headline today is that we win in Ogun state and we will deliver Hope Uzodinma in Imo state.  Our popularity in Imo state today are increasing, what we don’t know and Nigerians always make this mistake that once you are a governor, you have electoral value.

    “Yes we have overwhelming majority of APC governors who has electoral value and we also have some few electoral liabilities. I can tell that in Imo state today we will more votes. Politics is about numbers and I am looking at the average Imo voters because on that the governor will have one vote and his Son-in-law will also have one vote, those market women, artisans, mechanics and farmers will also have their vote.

    “Those who think our political future is tied to them; they are poor students of their own political history. Some of these people who talk as if they are invincible, they have forgotten that they have run elections in the past and lost until they abandoned their parties and joined us. So if they return back, history will repeat itself.

    “In Imo state today, APC will win more votes. My focus is on ordinary Imo voters because on that day, the governor would have only one vote, his son-in-law would have only one vote while his Commissioner for Happiness would have only one vote.

    “But artisans, traders, teachers and workers whose salaries are not being paid have the same weight of vote and they are excited about the renewed possibility of a new government coming with fresh ideas free of all the encumbrances of the present system. So in Imo I’m very confident.

    “Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is from Ogun State. The state is one of the most enlightened States in Nigeria. They have a huge history; they are not in a political kingdom headed by one person.

    “If they were looking for true reconciliation, they wouldn’t have done what they did (defection of aides). That is not how democracy works. Nigeria must grow beyond this syndrome ‘I’m the governor, I will decide.’ You have only one vote. With due respect, I was once a governor. Overall APC is much stronger now.”

    Read Also: Imo APC crisis irreconcilable – Okorocha

    Oshiomhole asked former President Olusegun Obasanjo to remember he swore that God should punish him if he ever supports his former vice to become the president.

    “We know there are people across the divide who are fighting back. There is a gang up by those who are used to sucking the system without adding any value but Nigerians will not allow that,” he said.

    He expressed confidence that the 2019 election would be a smooth sail for President Muhammadu Buhari and APC because ethnic and religious sentiments that characterised the 2015 election lost by former president Goodluck Jonathan would have no play this time around.

    “The two candidates are from the North and they are both Muslims. People are now going to look at character. Nobody has ever said Buhari is a thief. But who said the other person (Atiku) is a thief? it was his boss (Obasanjo).

    “When you are working with me and I said you are a thief, God will punish me if I support you. And when you are confused because your supply line has been chopped off, you now turned around to support the same person. That God that you called with your name to punish you if you support the person is about to go to work. And he will go to work in February and HE will punish him thoroughly and the person he is supporting, in favour of Nigeria.”

    Speaking further on Buhari’s chances in 2019, he said: “My hope is that Buhari will win. He will have more votes than he got before because some of those who misused religion, for that was the most potent weapon that was used very recklessly, by people who have no issues in 2015. 

    “This time around, they will have to speak to the issues because the two main candidates are Muslims. Again, the issue of North-South, Buhari maintained the key support in the North, that was because people voted on the basis of son of the soil, this time, the two main candidates are from the North so these things will not be there. So we are now going to look at character. 

    “Who can say Buhari is a thief, nobody has ever said so. But who said the other person is a thief, it is the person he was working with. Because if I you are working me and I say you are thief, God will punish me if I support you, and when you are confused because your supply line has been chopped off, and you enter a new deal and you come back to say I now support you, that God that you call with name that He will punish you if you support this person, that God is about to go to work and He will go to work in February, next year. He will punish him thoroughly and punish the person he is supporting in favour of Nigeria”.

    Turning to the women,  he said “Yes, the women are going to play a key role in the elections, they are going to compare notes,  those of them who were about 20 year’s old in 1999, by the time they were 36 years, they know all that has happened.

    “They won’t forget that the PDP promised that in six months they will provide stable power, 16 years they did not. They will not forget that PDP spent $16 billion, they will not forget that PDP spent so much money on rail and workers will not forget that under the PDP industries have been shut down.

    “Some people recently said that Atiku was one of the most powerful Vice President Nigeria ever had, so he would not say that he didn’t know what was going on on in goverment. So he was a central player and you know all the issues of corruption in goverment then, especially the allegation that sums of money ranging from N50 million was being share to National Assembly members for the third term, all coming from the system. So we can return to those eras of locust.”

  • High fertility rate a problem for Nigeria – Osinbajo

    With over 180 million population, the country’s fertility rate poses a problem, the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, has said.

    Osinbajo who spoke in Abuja Tuesday at the opening of the 5th National Family Planning Conference in Abuja, warned that the nation risks having additional 68 million people by 2030.

    The Vice President who was represented by Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, said “if Nigeria’s prevailing annual population growth rate 3.2 percent persists, we will have an additional 68 million people by 2030, and will be the third most populous country in the world by 2050.”

    Read Also:Osinbajo challenges lecturers, administrators on state of education

    He explained that apart from Federal Government’s economic policies aimed at making lives comfortable to the nation’s population, the administration is committed to making family planning commodities available to those who need them.

    The nation, he noted failed to plan for its future when it raked in fortunes from oil and other revenue sources in recent past.

    “In the absence of basic social safety nets, and pro-poor policymaking, tens of millions of our people were left stranded, observing the statistics of economic growth from a distance, completely untouched by it…The sad reality is that for most of our history as a country, periods of economic growth have somehow managed to leave out the majority of our population.

    “Between 2011 and 2015 when Nigeria enjoyed some of the highest revenues in history, and overtook South Africa to become the largest economy in Africa, there was no commensurate impact in poverty alleviation and improvement of wellbeing,” the Vice president said.

    Speaking on the theme of the conference: Investment, Innovation and Inclusiveness, he said: “This is how I see the three “I’s”: Investment, innovation and inclusiveness are three very critical keys for unlocking the very beneficial contributions of family planning to Nigeria’s ambition of reaping all of its potential demographic dividend.

    “This demographic dividend is of course the catch-all term for the benefits and potential realizable from attaining the optimal age structure in a population. In the case of Nigeria, this optimal age structure would mean a combination of declining fertility and a simultaneous rise in the working age population.  Our main challenge, evidently, is with our current fertility rates.”

    He said investing in family planning has been proven to be smart, cost-effective, and life-saving; and is especially critical in a country like Nigeria with a very young and rapidly growing population.

    He added that estimated 63 percent of Nigeria’s population is below 25 years; with a significant segment of the population being sexually active and needing education and guidance to wisely navigate the issues of equality, choice and contraception.

    He argued further that achieving the SDGs and Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 depends significantly on how well sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and young people are prioritized.

    He said the nation must clearly insist on including young people at the very heart of its policies and its deployment of resources to achieve these policies.

    While urging participants at the conference to develop evidence-based approaches to population management, Osinbajo noted that time was no longer waiting for the nation. “We must act and move fast, because our challenges themselves are not simply sitting and waiting around to be solved. They are evolving and adapting in increasingly complicated forms, and our responses and solutions must keep up.

    “Family planning and population management generally are not just life-saving interventions but actually critical tools for economic and social development.”

    The three day conference has representatives of local and international organizations working on family planning, experts from medical field, government delegations among others.

     

  • Osinbajo challenges lecturers, administrators on state of education

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said the current state of education in the country and in Africa generally cannot be divorced from the roles played by the lecturers and university administrators.

    He said many times people blame the government, the parents and even the students for the decay in the system but often ignore the contributions of lecturers, staffs and administrators of the institutions as important stakeholders in the educational sector.

    Prof. Osinbajo made the remarks while delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the 13th Regional Conference of Higher Education Research and Policy Network (HERPNET).

    The event which was organised in collaboration with the Nigerian Institute of Social And Economic Research (NISER), Ibadan with the theme “managing corruption in African higher education systems”, held at NISER’s conference hall, Ibadan.

    Represented by a member of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, Prof Sadiq Radda, the Vice President said corruption starts with basic things such as not doing the right thing at the right time to condoning unethical and criminal behaviour within the institutions.

    He said “Perhaps the discussion here today may start with everyone accepting the fact that the responsibility of killing corruption from our institutions rest on us.

    “Many times, we pass the buck. We blame government for underfunding higher institutions and the students for not being diligent enough. We blame parents for the rot in our higher institutions while we ignore the fact that as lecturers and administrators, we contribute to the state of education in our countries.

    “Corruption starts with basic things such as not doing the right thing at the right time to condoning unethical and criminal behaviour within our institutions. Worst still, when we allow such to become the order of the day.

    Read Also: Osinbajo: we’re closer to ending AIDS epidemic

    “If we must address the issue of corruption and find an enduring solution to it, we ought to pay particular attention to basic things such as the admission process, our commitment to students wellbeing; how we adhere to lecture timetable, examine scripts marked and when results are released, when students get their certificate after graduation, the employment process, promotion, training opportunities for academic and non-academic staff,

    “Relationship between students and the lecturers, effective complaint mechanism and the protection of the complainant, due process in the award of contract and so many other things.

    “These may appear basic but are strong indicators of a functional educational system which places any institution at an advantage to compete at the global level.

    “When limited resources are well managed for the benefit of our institutions, when staff have a sense of belonging and students are optimistic about their prospects because everyone is committed to their wellbeing, when the quality and consistency of information received and research carried out are certain, our institutions in Africa will stand out.”

    In his address, HERPNET President, Professor Olukolade Odekunle said the group is so sensitive to government laudable policies and programmes gear towards sustainable development and the thinking is how corruption can be effectively managed through the instrumentality of higher education.

    “This topic is coming at a very crucial period when African countries including Nigeria are focusing their attention on the best strategies to eradicate corruption in all sectors of the economy including education”, he said.

    Director-General, NISER, Dr Folarin Gbadebo-Smith who declared the conference open noted that although he was initially reluctant in hosting the conference because of paucity of funds, he was persuaded by the conference theme and his passion to ensure the development of research and educational sector of the country and the continent at large.

    While expressing doubt on if there is any institution in the country and continent that is free from the menace of corruption, the DG urged the participants at the conference to come up with workable solution that would help address the issue of corruption in the tertiary institutions and make them grow as a fast as they could when compared with their peers in across the globe.

    Dignitaries at the event include, Prof Muhammad Akaro, the Immediate Past Vice Chancellor, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, who gave a keynote speech and Professor Antonia Okoosi-Simbine of the Independent National Electoral Commission who presented the lead paper.

    The weeklong conference attracted participants from countries from across the regions as well as from London and UK.

  • More traditional rulers will go if found backing banditry – Yari 

    Zamfara State Governor, Abdullaziz Yari on Monday said that more traditional rulers will be dethroned if found backing banditry activities in the state.

    Security of lives and properties have become a great challenge in the state in recent times following increased banditry activities.

    The governor had at the weekend dethroned seven traditional rulers in the state over the issue.

    Read Also:Osinbajo, Yari meet in Aso Rock

    Speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, Yari said “What we are trying to do is to kind of teach them a lesson because the problem we have in Zamfara State in the North-west is kind of a peculiar problem that some of the traditional rulers are supporting the banditry activities or taking advantage or taking money from them or having relationship that is very dangerous. To give you trust to manage people through tradition and then you are taking part, directly or indirectly, so that is not acceptable.”

    Asked how he was going to address the issue, he said “Anyone that we find wanting in this, definitely he must face punishment. And we are trying to use every avenue that we have to ensure that we fish out those that are within us – within the traditional rulers and outside.

    “That is why we hired intelligence; we hired the civilian JTF and all of them, so that they can help us by giving us the details.

    “For instance, we have about 2600 men and women that are working against these bandits but still it is not enough because of the terrain.

    “The terrain is not known to them, so we have employ sons of the soil that will lead the security agencies to their doorsteps and we have been getting very serious results to our advantage.”

    When asked if more traditional rulers will go if found wanting, the governor said “Of course! Absolutely! If you are talking about general public we are almost getting to 5 million and the total number of traditional rulers is about 300, so if we find any one! Anyone! Underline the word ‘anyone,’ found wanting, he would go!”

    On how many AK47 he has recovered, which he promised to pay N1 million each, he simply said “About ten”.

    Speaking on the purpose of his visit to the Vice President, he said “It is about the NEC, discussing of the good date for the NEC, because this is the end of the year and usually we used to have extended NEC and looking at who and who should be invited for the NEC, being the last year for the election.

    “That is what we discussed and we agreed that the NEC is going to be held on Friday, December 14. The NEC is to discuss the economy and to review the performance of the economy from January 2018 to date.

    Asked if he was doing anything about the report that Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun and Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha’s preferred candidates defecting to other parties, he said “If you want to discuss politics, you can go to party secretariat.”

    On the call for the declaration of a state of emergency in Zamfara state following the killings of policemen in the state, he said “Are there no killing of security officers anywhere else in Nigeria, except Zamfara? Why shouldn’t they call for that in the other places?”

     

  • ‘Buhari deserves second term’

    A group ‘Buhari/Osinbajo Re-Election Group(BOREG) has said that various achievements recorded by the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari would be a catalyst to guarantee its re-election in 2019.

    The group disclosed that it had concluded plans to penetrate every part of the state for extensive mobilisation towards the victory of  Buhari and his deputy,Prof Yemi Osinbajo.

    The group comprises of various campaign platforms with leaders of All Progressives Congress(APC)  and campaign groups from the 18 local governments as members.

    It noted the giant infrastructural development and commitment to good governance under President Buhari which have brought a new lease of life to the Nigerian Populace.

    BOREG therefore urged Nigerians to encourage President Buhari in his effort to consolidate on the gains of the last four years in the country.

    At a meeting held in Akure, the Nigerian Envoy to the Republic of Togo, Sola Iji eulogised the commitment of  Party leaders towards ensuring the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

    Read Also: Buhari to critics: I’m the real Buhari

    He urged them to be acquainted with various projects and life changing initiatives of the Federal Government as they embark on the massive campaign across the state.

    In support of the group for Buhari,-Osinbajo victory, Iji donated 14 giant billboards, 12 cars and four buses for the use of the campaign group.

    The meeting also resolved to have various sub-committees for the smooth take-off of the campaign,while appealing to many members of the Party that were  aggrieved over issues  to forget the past and forge ahead as they move to the ‘next level’.

    Among APC stalwarts at the forum were  Dr Segun Ayodele, Wale Akintimehin, Dr Jide Owoka, Musa Kareem (MHA) Capt. Oyepata (rtd).  Rahman Rotimi (Board member, UNICAL Teaching Hospital).

    Others are Samson Ojetayo,Chief Idris Elemeje, Peter Omoogun, Chief Demi Osedimbola and Mrs Grace Animola.

    NAN

  • We will work for Buhari’s victory in Ondo

    A group ‘Buhari/Osinbajo Re-Election Group(BOREG) on Friday said it had concluded plans to penetrate the nooks and crannies of the state for extensive mobilization towards the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo in the 2019.

    The group which is a combination of various campaign platforms had leaders of All Progressives Congress(APC)  and campaign groups from the 18 local governments as members.

    It noted the giant infrastructural development and commitment to good governance under President Buhari which have brought a new lease of life to the Nigerian Populace.

    BOREG therefore urged Nigerians not to let off the guard,as they strive to consolidate on the gains of the last four years in the country.

    Read Also: Buhari to attend climate change conference in Poland

    In his goodwill message at its meeting in Akure yesterday, the Nigerian Envoy to the Republic of Togo, Ambassador Sola Iji eulogized the commitment of  Party leaders towards ensuring the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

    He urged them to be acquainted with various projects and life changing initiatives of the Federal Government as they embark on the massive campaign across the state.

    He consequently announced a donation of 14 giant billboards, 12 cars and four buses for the use of the campaign group.

    The meeting also resolved to have various sub-committees for the smooth take-off of the campaign,while appealing to many members of the Party that were  aggrieved over issues  to forget the past and forge ahead as they move to the ‘next level’.

    APC stalwarts including Dr Segun Ayodele, Wale Akintimehin, Dr Jide Owoka, Musa Kareem (MHA) Capt. Oyepata (rtd).  Rahman Rotimi (Board member, UNICAL Teaching Hospital),b  Samson Ojetayo,Chief Idris Elemeje, Peter Omoogun, Chief Demi Osedimbola and Mrs Grace Animola were at the meeting.

  • Osinbajo presides over FEC meeting

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday presided over the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The meeting started around 11.03am when Osinbajo arrived the Council Chamber.

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday visited Borno State as part of efforts to sympathize with soldiers, who recently lost colleagues and friends and loved ones to deadly attacks by the insurgents, Boko Haram.

    About 18 ministers and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, were in the Council chamber during the rendition of the opening National anthem.

    Read Also: Education must be prioritized – Osinbajo

    The National anthem was followed by Muslims prayer offered by the Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, while the Christian prayer was said by the Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah.

    Among the issues scheduled for consideration is biometric presentations by some government agencies.

    Stakeholders to make the biometric presentation during the closed doors meeting include the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and the Federal Ministry of Health.

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

  • Education must be prioritized – Osinbajo

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday said that the education sector must be given the needed attention at all times since it is critical for the development of any nation.
    He made the remark during the opening of two-day workshop on sustainable funding of Nigeria’s education sector at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
    Osinbajo, who was represented by Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, said that government must give priority to funding of education and how to deliver quality education to its citizens.
    “Education is very important. It is critical to the development of any nation. Therefore, all governments must give priority to how best to achieve quality education,” he said.
    According to him, adequate funding and strategic planning are knitted and must be pursued together.
    He said that the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has perpetually increased funding for the education sector.
    He said: “We have consistently supported the education sector by raising its budget every year since we came on board. For instance in the first budget that we did, we took up the capital allocation for education to N35.99 billion in 2016.
    “Then in 2017 we took it up to N56.81 billion and this year 2018, the current capital budget for education is N102.9 billion” he said
    The Vice President also urged participants to come up with innovative ways by which increased funding of education can be achieved in Nigeria.
    The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu said that there was need to also focus on teachers’ training to make the profession more attractive and to enhance the quality of education at all levels.

    Read Also: Fed Govt committed to PIB passage, says Osinbajo

    Adamu emphasized the need for adequate funding and planning, in the quest to move the education sector forward, adding that sustaining the sector is a responsibility of all.
    “The main problem actually is, if a teacher doesn’t get a very good pre-service training, he is not likely to offer anything useful to his pupils or students. Education is a responsibility of all and I call on the State and Local Governments, our agencies, parastatals and indeed all Nigerians to join hands, so that we will be able to raise the funds needed to fund education,” the Minister appealed.
    Speaking earlier, Mr Harnas Chandy, who gave a goodwill message on behalf of the World Bank, commended Nigeria for taking timely steps that will help determine Nigeria’s education plans and spending.
    He said countries have to move fast to improve the quality of education by making the right investments on education.
    He said Nigeria is a global key player that has to play its critical role at all times.
    “The world needs to improve. There are some key players in the world and Nigeria is a key player in the world; Nigeria is a key global player and for the world to do well, Nigeria has to do well,” he stressed.
    Chandy however lamented that fifty percent of children in school across the globe were not getting the needed education.
    The workshop was attended by critical stakeholders in education from the thirty six states of the federation.

  • 2019 : Group backs Sanwo-Olu/Hamzat

    Also Buhari/Osinbajo, other APC candidate

     

    An independent political campaign group in Lagos, ‘Project LOUD’ has endorsed the All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship/deputy governorship candidates in Lagos, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu/ Obafemi Hamzat for the 2019 election.

    The group also endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and all other APC candidates in the forthcoming election.

    Convener of the group, Prince Kenny Bakare made the call at a press conference he addressed at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island. ‘LOUD’ is an acronym for: ‘Lagos Of Our Dream’.

    While urging Nigerians to make conscious effort to see that the journey to 2019 is peaceful and orderly, Bakare called for a situation “where all parties and partners freely discuss their weight and justify their hopes on fair grounds,” adding that the journey should be raucous free and violence should be shunned.

    “Government, politicians, electorates, electoral bodies, observers, securities, all have a cogent and pivotal role to play in ensuring the journey is successful and hitch-free,” Bakare said.

    According to him, “Project LOUD goals and objectives are set in accordance with good vision and mission of All Progressives Congress contestants, the vision geared towards progress and development for the country and in the interest of the citizens alone”.

    Read Also: Sanwo-Olu: I will focus on the poor

    Adding that the love for the country should be paramount and be made to suppress others aspirations, “we should disallow doubling the wealth of naysayers and bad wishes by comporting ourselves in the right direction”.

    Saying the group was officially endorsing all the APC candidates, the convener said, “ostensibly, the change maker (Buhari/Osinbajo) is here with another next level of moving Nigeria forward to the desired level of recognition in political development and sustainable society.

    “Sanwo-Olu is all about good governance, an all inclusive government, a listening government that would listen to everybody and respond swiftly,  a Lagos that would be good for all”, he said.

    Speaking on mobilizing and sensitizing voters especially at the grassroots, he said there are already structures in place in all the 57 local councils in the State and that by December 1 when governorship campaigns kick off they will all go into action.

    He called on all voters to collect their Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, “obviously it is less than 90 days, the country would be ready to elect new leaders, as such, as law abiding citizens, it is imperative for us to have our our Permanent Voters Card for the purpose of positive next level in the country”.