annamomodu:
•On 4 October 2020, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo summoned the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, over rising concerns of brutality, assault and killings by members of the now disbanded police unit – Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS) and the general police force.

•After the meeting, VP Yemi Osinbajo addressed the press and described the situation as deeply unpleasant. He stated that you cannot have a situation where SARS says they are investigating cybercrime by arresting young men and women carrying their laptops and phones. “Cybercrime is an electronic crime. I don’t see how you can investigate that by seizing people’s phones in a taxi or in their cars.”

•After meeting with VP Yemi Osinbajo on 4 October 2020, the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, officially suspended the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and other tactical units from all routine activities. Full details: https://npf.gov.ng/information/pressdetails.php?news_id=475

•On 7 October 2020, VP Yemi Osinbajo met with the Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammad Dingyadi, Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, Director-General of State Security Services (SSS), Yusuf Bichi and the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Anthony Ojukwu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. The meeting was based on discussions on how to end police brutality and reform the police force in Nigeria.

•On 9 October 2020, the Vice-President took IGP Muhammad Adamu to meet with President Buhari and discuss all the plans and decisions made from the previous meeting they held with other security stakeholders on 7 October 2020. President Buhari endorsed the plans and gave authority, in his position as the President, for the disbandment of SARS and the implementation of reforms in the Nigerian police force.

•Based on the authority conferred by President Buhari to execute all necessary plans on police reforms as discussed by VP Yemi Osinbajo and IGP Mohammed Adamu, the IGP officially disbanded SARS on 11 October 2020.

•On 12 October 2020, President Buhari officially spoke and affirmed the disbandment of SARS at the launch of the Presidential Youth Empowerment Scheme in Abuja with VP Yemi Osinbajo also in attendance. The President noted that the disbandment was only the first step, adding that the police reforms will ensure the police’s primary duty remains protection of lives and properties and that all culprits of police brutality are brought to justice.

•That same day after President Buhari spoke on the disbandment of SARS, VP Yemi Osinbajo also spoke with the press and restated the government’s commitment. He said, “I think the clear message is that there is a government commitment to ensuring that the process of reform is done and those who have committed wrongful acts are duly investigated and prosecuted. And whatever replaces SARS is something that is acceptable, first of all, in its compliance to all the tenets of the rule of law and human rights.” FULL DETAILS: https://www.yemiosinbajo.ng/osinbajo-to-anti-sars-protesters-government-is-committed-to-prosecution-of-rights-violators-holistic-police-reforms/

•On 15 October 2020, VP Yemi Osinbajo chaired the National Economic Council meeting and directed the immediate establishment of Judicial Panels of Inquiry in each state of the country and the FCT. These Judicial Panels of Inquiry are to investigate all issues of police brutality or related extra-judicial killings petitioned to them and proffer justice to all victims (or their families) of the dissolved SARS and other police units. FULL DETAILS: https://www.yemiosinbajo.ng/nec-to-governors-take-charge-of-police-tactical-units/

•On 16 October 2020, VP Yemi Osinbajo tendered a heartfelt apology to Nigerians for the heightened level of insecurity and brutality by members of the police force. He highlighted all the measures taken to meet the demands of ENDSARS protesters which involve the setting up the Judicial Panels of Inquiry and a Victims’ Support Fund to compensate victims and their families for any consequences of police violence they may have suffered. Twitter link: https://twitter.com/profosinbajo/status/1317225271922184192?s=24

•On 21 October 2020, VP Yemi Osinbajo tendered his apology to Nigerians for the incidence at the Lekki toll-gate and the loss of lives and properties across the country. Twitter link: https://twitter.com/profosinbajo/status/1319044704353345537?s=24

•By 23 October 2020, 13 states had set Judicial Panels of Inquiry to bring justice to victims of SARS/police brutality. As of 3 November 2020, 28 states had set up the Judicial Panels of Inquiry.

•On 26 October 2020, another emergency National Economic Council meeting was held and a committee was set up to engage the youths, representatives of Civil Society Organizations, religious and traditional leaders, on employment, social safety net programmes, security, empowerment programmes and national unity among other key issues of concern. The committee will be chaired by VP Yemi Osinbajo and will consist of governors representing the six geopolitical zones. FULL DETAILS: https://www.yemiosinbajo.ng/fallouts-of-endsars-protests-nec-sets-up-committee-to-engage-youths-others-on-employment-social-safety-nets-national-unity/

•In furtherance of the resolution of an emergency meeting of the National Economic Council last week, the Ad-Hoc Committee set up to engage with youths, civil society organizations, and different strands of leadership across the nation in the wake of the recent protests have swung into action. On 3 November 2020, VP Yemi Osinbajo inaugurated the National Economic Council Ad – HOC Committee Meeting created to engage with youths, civil society organizations and different groups across the nation on the deeper issues ascertained from the post-ENDSARS protests. FULL DETAILS: https://www.yemiosinbajo.ng/fallouts-of-protests-nec-committee-to-engage-youths-others-swing-into-action/

murecool:
As reactions continue to trail the reported Senate debate about the Azura-Edo Independent Power Project (IPP), management of Azura Power West Africa Ltd – the plant’s parent company, have said the contract for the project signed with the Federal Government between the periods of 2013 and 2014 was binding and in force at the time the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) was signed in April 2013.

This clarification is coming against the backdrop of reports that an indemnity agreement signed in 2015 was what effected the PPA. Differing on that score Azura management said PPA signed in 2014 was legally enforceable then.

The company also stated that the terms of all the agreements signed for the project are not inimical to the development of the country, as erroneously alluded to in some media report.

The company’s position is contained a statement released on Monday July 27, 2020, ostensibly to properly situate the debate about the signing of the contract and the conditions therein.

According to the management, “in the preceding weeks, a number of media outlets have published articles mentioning the Azura-Edo IPP. As the facts and dates cited therein are occasionally incorrect or misleading, we thought it might be helpful to issue a brief guide to the project’s chronology.”

The company said what the Buhari administration did in 2015 was to execute the legal opinion but added that without it the PPA was already in force.

Re-emphasizing the company’s position on the matter in an interview on popular television station, the Managing Director of Azura Power West Africa, Mr Edu Okeke insisted that negotiations between government representatives and other parties in the contract started long ago and culminated in the signing of the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) in 2013 which was later amended and signed in 2014. He said by then the agreement had legal force and was already in effect in all considerations.

According to him, “the journey for Azura started a long time ago, this is something the founders and promoters started in 2009. After the feasibility study was completed, the negotiation with the Nigerian government started in 2010. That was a very long process because before then, Nigeria had not had an Independent Power Plant. It was always being built by the government.

“To get that process going, a lot of parties had to be involved, it was about the Nigerian government, it was about lenders – most of the lenders were development financial institutions from different parts of the world. That negotiation took quite a long time, also the World Bank was actively involved, and it culminated to the signing of the PPA in 2013 and this was later amended and signed in 2014.

“The process started after the signing of the contract in 2014 and it ended some time in December 2015. In the process also, part of the conditions precedent was, getting a legal opinion. So, government being a continuum, the Buhari administration continued with the process that started long before it came into office, they saw the merit of the project and executed the legal opinion and that led to the financial closing in 2015.”

mrvitalis:
Osibanjo is not a saint ...is a man without integrity that has been proven time and time again

Even if it was the turn of South West no body would vote him

Why do most south west leaders have bad history
From tinubu to gbajami ...what ever his name to their Lagos speaker to Lagos governor to fayemi...I can go n on and on ...why na

TheRareGem1:


https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/06/n2-3trn-stimulus-package-president-gives-osinbajo-authority-to-monitor-implementation-of-nesp/amp/

murecool:
His Excellency Vice President Presides Over The Presidential Power Reform Working Group

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBDszMZgFrl/?igshid=gix7qesza2l6

murecool:
Punch under attack over unethical practice - Columnist Admits Error,Indiscretion, Begs Secretly*
_
____Barely ten months after being accused of blaspheming the Holy Bible, Punch newspapers has come under ethical headwinds following allegation of suppressing a rejoinder by one of the nation’s finest female legal icons against an offensive publication.

In the correspondence under reference, Chief (Mrs) Folake Solanke expressed strong exception to a particular piece written by Punch’s columnist, Ms. Abimbola Adelakun, on April 2 entitled, ‘No God is Punishing us with Covid-19’, describing it not as only distasteful but also libelous of the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, including her good self.


Ms. Abimbola Adelakun

The highly esteemed octogenarian, who is the first female to be decorated a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), rose in stout defense of a junior colleague, a fellow SAN and presently Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr. Festus Keyamo, SAN who Ms. Adelakun had portrayed in “disgusting” lights.

Chief Solanke copied Punch Newspapers, the columnist as well as some people.

We sighted a copy of Chief Solanke’s two-paged rejoinder and it reads in parts:

“That quoted disparaging reference to the TITLE (SAN) is pure and unmitigated insult. No, most certainly NOT, the title is not a tag by any definition. Rather, it was designed as a decorative and prestigious rank bestowed upon a lawyer in recognition of his or her outstanding performance, after years of professional training, a decade or decades of arduous and impressive legal practice, and superior and compelling advocacy in the law courts and elsewhere. Indeed, the preferment is the apex for a practicing lawyer.”

In concluding her statement, 88-year-old Solanke pointedly demanded, “With all due respect, I enter a CAVEAT: This REBUTTAL should be published VERBATIM in The Punch. It is already edited. Thank you.”

However, in a petition, a social advocacy group named Justice Network of Nigeria (JNN) accused Punch Newspapers of suppressing the publication of Chief Solanke’s Right of Reply by shirking the obligation to not just publish but give equal prominence to her rejoinder in line with global best practices.

“Rather, our investigations revealed that Ms. Adelakun went behind to plead with Chief Solanke to forgive her and forget, admitting that she committed an error. But we strongly condemn this shameful antic of attacking defenseless people in the public with the foulest of language and going behind to beg them secretly,” said JNN in the statement signed by its Executive Director, Mr. Ayo Awojobi.

“We find this unbecoming of a newspaper like Punch that prides itself as the champion of ethical journalism. This is certainly inconsistent with the shining legacy of high integrity bequeathed by Punch’s founder, late Chief Olu Aboderin, and its past administrator, Chief Ogunsola,” JNN added.

Concerted efforts to get the reaction of either Punch newspapers or Ms. Adelakun were unsuccessful before the deadline for this publication.

Interestingly, Ms. Adelakun was also at the center of a blasphemous article last year for which Punch tendered a public apology aside from sacking two editors and a cartoonist.

In the said article, a cartoon of someone peeing on the Bible was used to illustrate an article by Ms. Adelakun.

Following public outrage at the publication, the newspaper sacked its Daily Editor, Martin Ayankola. Also asked to resign was the Saturday Editor, Olabisi Deji-Folutile over the same issue.*


https://www.monsmedia.com/

murecool:
On a good day, Abimbola Adelakun is a compelling read. But writers do have dry days, when the muse fails the quill abysmally. Such must have been the misfortune of the columnist in her April 23 outing.

The tragedy was however not her failure to deliver; the real catastrophe was actually the pedestrian intellection unwittingly exposed within a spell of creative drought.

In the said Punch column entitled “Why are Nigerians still so poor?”, Adelakun resumed her pillory of just any institution, idea - just anything Nigerian, other than her own fancy. The raging Coronavirus pandemic would seem to present yet another opportunity to mercilessly pound her favorite of all - the Buhari administration.

In the service of mischief, facts can, of course, either be creatively twisted or exaggerated mindlessly. The more outlandish the easier to hit a target. So, an official directive to the Central Bank that a category of importers be denied forex allocation for food staples on which local farmers were thought to have achieved market saturation was generalized audaciously by Adelakun to mean a national claim of total food security!

Well, such has to be established as the theoretical foundation, however ramshackle, for a premeditated bombardment.

Her entire fulmination can, in fact, be winnowed into two broad submissions. One, she pounced upon the latest reports of “hunger in the land” within three weeks of lockdown of a section of the country, to boldly underline the falsity of her earlier self-manufactured claim of “national food security“ in an orgy of brazen intellectual masturbation.

Hear our emergency economist playing to the gallery thereafter: “How did we go from a country that said it had achieved food security to one where thousands of Nigerians are now unabashedly slamming their bank account number on social media and begging for alms from strangers? We have always been a poor country, that much is certain, but how did things get this bad for us?”

Seriously?

By the referenced pedestrian claim, the columnist only succeeded in giving herself away as utterly bereft of the real issues. At a time when even kindergarten pupils are forced to stay at home on account of the rampaging Coronavirus that has disrupted the pre-existing social order, how amazing that a supposedly informed columnist fails to realize that what is at play is the telltale sign of economic shut-down.

The art of wealth-creation consists of the exertions of both skilled and non-skilled workers, all things being equal. Lockdown means demobilizing the engine that creates wealth. Even secondary-school Economics students know this.

So, if Adelakun truly hears and understands the mob she is so eager to incite in Nigeria, she would know that the cry is essentially about empty pockets, not scarcity of food. Which is not surprising for a national economy still operating at the subsistence level. Most folks live from hand to mouth. Added to this unfortunate population are the unemployed, the beggars and others. So, not having the chance to eke a living means they are no longer capable of the means to purchase goods and services available.

Against this backcloth, it therefore becomes easier to recognize the gravity of the danger posed to society by the propagation of falsehood or misinforming the multitude. The kind constituted by those willfully inflicting their point of view with the zealotry of the biblical Pharisees with virulence as deadly as the dark pathogens of Covid-19.

By the way, Adelakun is known to be ensconced in faraway United States, from where she regularly launches her missiles against moving and immobile targets in Nigeria.

In what looks more like act of commission than oversight, it is observed that, in this particular literary misadventure, the columnist uncharacteristically avoided drawing foreign parallels. (An obsession to often relativize Diaspora and homeland without regard for cultural contexts simply to validate pre-conceived notion of fatherland Nigeria as “hopelessly useless”; a fixation shared unfortunately by a countless others offshore who, in truth, are actually afflicted by a neurosis that can be diagnosed roughly as acute inferiority complex arising from sustained neo-colonial brainwashing.)

But one can, at least, assume that the columnist has access to television or internet to view the world from whichever part of America the ongoing lockdown caught her. One then wonders how she will classify the over 26 million Americans who had already filed for economic benefits (at this writing Thursday, April 23) within the three-week lockdown? Or the growing food queues all over the acclaimed “God’s own country” for that matter? Would Adelakun also interpret that to mean “hunger” or the end of “food security” in America?

At this writing, the Trump administration was proposing fresh $1 trillion for small businesses aside another $2.5 trillion already appropriated in a massive stimulus package to save businesses and jobs as a result of unprecedented challenges brought about by Covid-19 pandemic.

The second leg of Adelakun’s diatribe was to discredit in its entirety the social investment programme (SIP) including the “conditional cash transfer” to the aged and poorest of the poor.

By her own warped notion of economic re-engineering, beneficiaries of Tradermoni and Marketmoni ought to be financially fortified by now to be counted among those beyond the “hunger” unleashed by Covid-19 lockdown.

Hear our economic guru again: “By that calculation, those that were given N10,000 loan in September 2018 should have had their lives significantly improved enough to be repaying a N30,000 loan by now. Their standard rate of living should have, statistically at least, gone up by 200 percent and that should have had an appreciable multiplier effect on the rest of the country. Yet, here we are, people are too poor to adhere to a pandemic-mandated lockdown for even a few days. How come our system cannot withstand even a month of disruption?”

(Again, it is unknown what Adelakun will tell us why America where she is holed, often touted the biggest economy with understandably one of the highest incomes per capital in the world, therefore a giant compared to the ant misnamed Nigeria, too unraveled within the same time-frame such that over 26 millions had fallen on the dough.)

Of course, nothing can be more reflective of a poor understanding of the SIP idea and the succor intended to bring to the most vulnerable in the society. For clarity, what inspired Tradermoni and Marketmoni from outset was a thought to proliferate and drive entrepreneurship. While sums ranging from N10,000 to N100,000 may be peanuts to the likes of Adelakun, it is a quite a big deal for lots of folks out there without property or asset to put down as collateral to loan sharks.

Ultimately, the objective of the programme is to spare the petty traders such ordeal. Note, contrary to the estimation of the likes of Adelakun, the process of lifting a vast number from crushing poverty is unlikely to be completed within one election cycle.

History teaches that such lofty aspiration can only be realized not just through the honesty of leadership but also policy consistency over a reasonable time-frame.

From Muhammad Yunus we learnt the power of micro-credit loans. The Bangladeshi banker began by offering as little as $20 (less than N8,000) loan to local people, mostly women, to begin a trade in the 80s, propelled by a vision to “create economic and social development from below”.

With consistency, the scheme succeeded in transforming vast number of hitherto excluded, if not complete destitute, into entrepreneurs, thereby helping to transform the communities and banish poverty. So transformative was Yunus’ effort in birthing a new generation of entrepreneurs that he was found worthy of the award of Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.

But in their desperation to throw the baby away with the bathwater, intemperate enemies of Tradermoni and Marketmoni like Adelakun fail to proffer a viable alternative given our very peculiar circumstances, as against the option of sustaining the old culture of pocketing the national budget by a few.

Of course, no sane mind would entirely dismiss Adelakun’s concern over the integrity of the list of beneficiaries. Let a national conversation continue with a view to formulating a mechanism for a more scrupulous oversight. But from the insights provided recently by Mrs. Maryam Uwais (Special Adviser to the President on SIP), we should, at least, recognize that among those bad-mouthing the SIP all along are those who had failed in their bid to parlay the power of the legislature to force its handlers to “carry them along” (euphemism to share the money or be allowed to name those to benefit in their constituencies).

Indeed, these are extra-ordinary moments in human history when patriotism should compel national solidarity to proffer workable solutions against a common enemy. We have, so far, seen worthy examples of sacrificial contributions and public spiritedness from all walks of Nigerian life, both in the public and private sectors.

Contributions to this national effort should however not be material alone. Freelance mischief-makers peddling falsehood and career hate entrepreneurs can also join the ongoing national effort by simply engaging in one civic rite: either resting their hyper-active dane guns in the rafter or quarantining their mouths from the public space.

* Louis Odion is the Senior Technical Assistant on Media to the President.

Kakaakinews:
https://thenationonlineng.net/covid-19-osinbajo-imf-world-bank-representatives-meet-on-economic-stimulus/

Tocynone:
It's not only about the meeting but the result Sir

kettykin:
Worthless meeting. All na wash wash

Esseite:
The chadian army victory really made people see the war for what it is at the Nigerian end...

Despite less Soldiers
Despite less Armoury
Despite less War budget

They were able to deal a major blow recognised by the world, that brought the same shekau which ours have claimed to kill multiple times from hiding
- without ransom payment,
- without propaganda,
- without overbloated cash request,
- without expecting fighter plane in 2021,
- without Dubai weapon company from Munguno
- without amnesty,
- without kidnapping of school children,
- without repelling repelling and repelling..
- without seizing gun trucks..
- without levelling sambisa..
- without soldiers casualty..
- without mama bokoharam negotiating..
- without technically winning the war..
- without capturing only flag..
- without rehabilitating terrorists..
- without requesting for BH agency from NASS.
- without pictures of burnt okada..
- without military contract to South Africa and US
- without shutdown of chad..
- without importing clerics from saudi Arabia..
- without declaring fasting for the country..
- without IDP camps..
- without bandit claims..
- without hundreds of BH NGO's setting up daily
- without NEDC (North East Development com)..
- without snakes and press - ups..
- without kyari balloon boat contract..
- without $2.1bn Dansuki gate..
- without building Army college in Bornu..
- without NEMA N5Bn fund..
- without suicide bombers..
- without pictures of Governors & terrorists..
- without holding down a single street in chad..
- without seeking loans..
- without court marshalling its soldiers..

Words and English would not solve our problem, we know our problem.

murecool:
"The President today constituted an Economic Sustainability Committee he asked me to chair, on how to implement strategies to alleviate sufferings of Nigerians at this time,"_ VP Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, said at a Google Hangout where young Nigerian tech innovators discussed impact of COVID-19.

The Committee is to take care of the economic challenges and fallouts of the pandemic and consequential restrictions.

Best hand for the job. Simply the best. Expect great results.

Besides developing further palliatives, the committee will also develop a sustainability plan on repositioning the economy and growing the non-oil sector.

Members include Ministers of Finance, Budget and Planning; Industry, Trade and Investment; Labour; Petroleum Resources - state; CBN Governor, GMD NNPC, with the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation as Secretary.

The Google Hangout was organized by HACK COVID-19 Call Center in Abuja, earlier today.

*Laolu Akande,*
Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Vice President of Nigeria,
Prof Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, GCON.
30-03-2020.

murecool:
VP Osinbajo yesterday at the office conducted his meetings via video conferencing, while observing social distancing. Today, he continues his work from the home office, as he is in self-isolation in accordance with NCDC protocols - Laolu Akande

murecool:
OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT
PRESS RELEASE

WHY WE MUST TAKE QUANTUM LEAP IN HEALTHCARE, BY OSINBAJO

*VP flags off free nationwide Integrated Medical Outreach Programme in FCT; 409 LGAs to benefit in first round

*Urges Nigerians to continue to observe hygiene advisories on coronavirus


President Buhari’s vision of taking 10 million Nigerians out poverty every year for the next ten years is on course and will be largely actualized by the quantum leap in our human capacity development attainments especially healthcare, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.


Prof. Osinbajo stated this on Monday at the flag off of the nationwide Integrated Medical Outreach Programme (I-MOP), at the Bwari Area Council Primary Health Centre, FCT.


According to the Vice President, “Mr. President has repeatedly asserted that his vision of taking ten million Nigerians out of poverty every year for the next ten years depends so clearly on the quantum leap that we must make in our human capacity development attainments especially healthcare. This is why this integrated Medical Outreach Programme is a crucial feature of our overall human capacity development effort.”


Speaking on the significance of the programmes especially in impacting the population in the rural parts of the country, Prof. Osinbajo said “…despite our best efforts, there is a significant gap in bringing public health services to vulnerable populations especially in the rural, mountainous, riverine, peri-urban and other difficult to reach areas in the country.”


“So this attempt to take basic healthcare services, health education, basic surgeries and screening for diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, tuberculosis, HIV – AIDS and cancer to these under-served and difficult to reach areas is an eminently sensible and practical plan.


“Not only does it provide free health services to communities that had never in the past enjoyed these sorts of services, but it also provides our public health institutions with invaluable disease identification opportunities and outreach lessons.


“So today, here in Bwari, we will flag-off the conduct of the first round of the Integrated Medical Outreach Programme (I-MOP) for the unreached, under-served and vulnerable communities in 409 selected LGAs in the 36 states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory.


“The I-MOP intervention is aimed at strengthening and scaling up access to routine immunization and other primary healthcare (PHC) services in selected low performing LGAs,” he said.


On the efforts made by the Buhari administration in containing some vaccine-preventable diseases, the Vice President said “in a few months Nigeria and indeed the African continent will be formally declared polio-free by the World Health Organisation (WHO)”.


According to him, “Our routine immunization programme has also improved from 33% in 2016 to 50% as measured in the 2018 National Demographic Health survey.


“The Federal Government of Nigeria maintains a policy to provide immunization services free to all against all vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs).”


Continuing on the I-MOP project and other efforts by the Federal Government in collaboration with other stakeholders in improving the country’s healthcare system, Prof. Osinbajo called on Nigerians including all residents of selected communities to take advantage of the programme.


He said “Nigerians and all other nationals residing within the country are really encouraged to take their children especially those under two years to the nearest health facilities for screening and administration of all due antigens.


“All others age groups are also encouraged to visit designated medical outreach centers, and we have one per senatorial district during the five (5) days (23rd to 27th March, 20th – 24th April, and 1st – 5th June 2020) of the I-MOP implementation for basic general medical and even surgical consultations/operations.


“The Federal Government is fully responsible for providing the required immunization vaccines in collaboration with our global partners to ensure consistent and sustainable availability of life-saving vaccines for all eligible children in Nigeria.”


He added that “we would ensure in the next couple of months, that Rotavirus and Human Papillomavirus vaccines are introduced into the national immunization schedule to prevent childhood diarrhoea diseases and reduce the incidence of cervical cancer in women.


“It is the firm commitment of the Federal government that no child or individual should be without access to life-saving vaccines and primary health care services.”


Speaking on the efforts so far taken by the Federal Government to contain the Coronavirus pandemic, Prof. Osinbajo said the threat to Nigeria was not yet over hence the need for Nigerians to continue to observe hygiene advisories.


He said “…the threat is not over and as you know only a few days ago Mr. President directed that a readiness review be undertaken covering both the economy and healthcare services and that report has been submitted to him. We are also examining the readiness of our healthcare facilities for whatever eventualities may arise.”


Earlier in their separate remarks, the representative of the Senate President, Sen. Chukwuma Utazi; the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire; and the FCT Minister of State, Hajiya Ramatu Tijjani, commended the support and leadership provided by both President Buhari and Vice President Osinbajo in improving Nigeria’s healthcare system in the past few years.


Other dignitaries present at the event include the Senator representing FCT at the National Assembly, Sen. Philip Aduda and the Executive Director, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, the representative of the World Health Organisation, amongst others.



Laolu Akande

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President

16th March 2020.

murecool:
Earlier today, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, flags off the Nationwide Integrated Medical Outreach Program, on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari, by administering the Oral Polio Vaccine.

Excerpts from his speech.

In a few months, Nigeria and indeed the African continent will be formally declared polio-free by the WHO. Our routine immunization programme has also improved from 33% in 2016 to 50% as measured in the 2018 National Demographic Health survey. Mr. President has also repeatedly asserted that his vision of taking ten million Nigerians out of poverty every year for the next ten years depends so clearly on the quantum leap that we must make in our human capacity development attainments, especially healthcare. This is why this integrated Medical Outreach Programme is a crucial feature of our overall human capacity development effort. But, despite our best efforts, there is a significant gap in bringing public health services to vulnerable populations, especially in the rural, mountainous, riverine, peri-urban and other difficult to reach areas in the country.

So this attempt to take basic healthcare services, health education, basic surgeries and screening for diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, tuberculosis, HIV – AIDS and cancer to these under-served and difficult to reach areas is an eminently sensible and practical plan. Not only does it provide free health services to communities that had never in the past enjoyed these sorts of services, but it also provides our public health institutions with invaluable disease identification opportunities and outreach lessons.

So today, here in Bwari, we will flag-off the conduct of the first round of the Integrated Medical Outreach Programme (I-MOP) for the unreached, under-served and vulnerable communities in 409 selected LGAs in the 36 states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory. The I-MOP intervention is aimed at strengthening and scaling up access to routine Immunization, and other primary healthcare (PHC) services in selected low performing LGAs. The first round of the I-MOP implementation is planned for between the 23rd to 27th March in the selected 409 LGAs in the 36 states and FCT. The second round is planned for 20th – 24th April 2020; and the third round for 1st – 5th June 2020.

klbakare:
that still would not make like osinbajo. he is a weakling.

welder available for onsite work nationwide.
burglaries,gates,trusses,carports,tank stands etc.

payment on delivery available/Milestone payment option.
trust us with your job, we'll trust you with our money.

murecool:

*Praises for VP in Twitter #OsinbajoTheFixer trending for days

It is almost impossible to ignore the outpouring of encomiums from Twitter users across the world, especially in Nigeria, since Thursday as the hashtag, #OsinbajoTheFixer, trended for days on social media to celebrate President Muhammadu Buhari’s deputy, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, days to his 63rd birthday.
The Twitter users expressed their admiration towards the former university lecturer, commending his leadership style, his timely interventions and calling attention to the many assignments the President entrusted in his care as his deputy. It would be recalled that since the re-election of the Buhari/Osinbajo ticket last year, the President himself and other prominent Nigerians have been praising Prof Osinbajo for one thing or the other. Some of these include the N-Power, MarketMoni, TraderMoni, Homegrown School Feeding, MSMEs Clinics, Cash Transfer, GEEP, supervising many other intervention programmes like the Niger-Delta intervention, and the unveiling of 59 strategies for economic recovery in Nigeria.
The notable delivery of some of these social initiatives, which VP either introduced or promoted obviously has won the hearts of many. By noon Friday, there were already over 10,000 tweets on #OsinbajoTheFixer.
A day before, there were over 3,000 tweets on #OsinbajoThrowback as well about midday also. Since the re-election of the Buhari/Osinbajo ticket last year, Nigerians seems to have been on a firm lookout for Mr President and the Vice President. Many have pointed at the VP’s positive influence on this administration especially in his effortless engagement with the common man and his exceptional interest in the youth which as earned him trust amongst Nigerian youths The Vice President who chairs over twenty councils and committees that includes: National Economic Council (NEC), Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) among others, have many times received public appreciation and acknowledgement even from Mr President himself.
Some of the Tweets say it is no news that Osinbajo has worked and thrived in many capacities including as Attorney General (in Lagos State) -where he revolutionized the judiciary. As Acting President – he proved he was capable with stellar records. As Vice President – many have described him as the most active and accessible.
Here are some of the tweets…
Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/03/nigerians-express-confidence-in-osinbajo-ahead-of-63rd-birthday/

murecool:
The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, His Lordship, the Most Rev Ignatius Kaigama, has commended Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s demonstration of love and solidarity with Nigerians, including the Church at all times.
Archbishop Kaigama gave the commendation in his sermon at the opening mass of the first 2020 plenary meeting of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) held at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Abuja on Sunday.
The cleric, who spoke apparently against some agitation in the country, expressed happiness with the presence of the vice president at the event, declaring that he had always been in solidarity with Nigerians and the Church through thick and thin.

The vice president, on the invitation of the CBCN, attended the opening mass which is a prelude to the plenary meeting of all Catholic Bishops of Nigeria annually.
“I am so happy that our vice president is here; it is not just being here but there is a very profound sacramental blessing that he is here; when you are with us and we are suffering, we are together but when there is a gap with you, there is a feeling of insensitivity.

“We need to have access to our leaders; we need to have access to the president and to the vice president; to the ministers; they need to be closer to the people that elected them. This is very important,” he said.
While further commending Prof Osinbajo’s uncommon love and concern for the development of society, the Archbishop, said, “so much is happening in our country today that is why we need more patriotic Nigerians to help overcome some of the issues.”

According to him, “We need to also work together to eradicate or at least reduce the level of poverty; the level of diseases, sickness and ignorance, unnecessary deaths and other issues affecting us. So much is happening and that is why we need more patriotic Nigerians to come forth and help address these issues.”

He said the primary task of religious leaders was to steer the people to conversion and holiness, but for reasons of poverty and hardship being suffered by the people, “preachers are forced to become miracle workers or political revolutionaries, throwing verbal bombs, missiles, grenades, poisonous gas and all sorts of things at political leaders from the pulpit.”
“Now if you go to preach anywhere, all they want you to do is to abuse the authority for causing the poverty and social deprivation that we have but that is not the message of the Gospel,” the cleric said.

“Yes, we must denounce evil; we must denounce corruption; we must denounce reckless spending that cost the poor of their dignity; we must do that at all times. But why should Churches become the altar and the Mosque become places where we antagonise our leaders instead of seeking solutions?” he queried.
Kaigama, therefore, urged the Church to continue to pray for political leaders at all levels for the progress and development of the country, even as he urged the government to collaborate more with faith-based institutions in order to deliver the basic needs of the people.

Dignitaries at the meeting include the Governor of Imo State, Sen. Hope Uzodinma; Ministers of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, his counterpart in Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, among others.

https://tribuneonlineng.com/bishop-lauds-osinbajo-for-his-love-solidarity-with-nigerians/

goodnessme1:
Trust a yoruba man at your own peril.

NextD18:
This Yemi Osibanjo of a boy no wan get sense.

Them dey talk A, he dey talk Y.

Wtf!!!

murecool:
CONTINUATION

In the world of medicine and healthcare, there is LifeBank, owned by a young Nigerian lady. This is a health tech startup, which also uses drone technology to facilitate blood delivery to various health centres. We could highlight another called 54gene, a firm that is harnessing genomic data from African DNA to revolutionize the drug industry, and change the future of medicine. Even in the usually conservative legal profession, which I am the chairman, entrepreneurs are disrupting old trends. There is a digital legal research company called Law Pavilion, the company’s digital tools help lawyers to do legal research quickly and efficiently and even answer legal questions. Judges and lawyers subscribe to it and the usage is a very lucrative value addition to legal practice. Yet the founder and CEO of the company is not even a lawyer.

So today there are opportunities for entrepreneurs to build their businesses around traditional professions without being professionals themselves. The most widely read online publications are neither owned nor run by trained journalists. Some of us are familiar with the news aggregation platform called Nairaland which was started by two Obafemi Awolowo University students while still in school. Today it is one of the most successful online platforms we have. Even many of the most successful online advertising or PR companies have no formal training in these disciplines, most are self-thought. My nephew, who is a lawyer, is establishing an organic farm and poultry after taking lessons online. His only knowledge is derived from taking a few classes from somebody in Kano State offering online training for people interested in poultry farming.

But let me direct your minds to the new areas for job opportunities being created today. Data Science is one big area. Currently, we leave vast amounts of personal data online and in the near future, companies will need data scientists to go through it all and generate answers to business questions and make recommendations based on their findings. Many businesses already spend time and money going through people’s data so that they can sell their products. This is a new area of opportunities for jobs.

A big area today is Content Production - 3D/2D animation, Virtual Effects and Special Effects, as well as Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality. The use of animation in education, entertainment and media is growing in leaps and bounds. Those who can create content with animation are being and will be much sought after in the years to come.

According to a recent survey by the US Bureau of Labour Statistics, multimedia artists and animators are among the highest-paid within the US workforce. This has translated to more jobs for animators in emerging economies such as India, Vietnam and now Nigeria. The average pay of a 3D animator in Nigeria who has just started out after learning his trade could be in the region of N300,000 - N500,000 monthly. In our training of N-Power beneficiaries, we set aside a fair amount of money to train animators. We have carried out two sets of training; one in the North and one in the South of Nigeria. In total, we have trained over 25,000 young men and women in animation.

Also, remember that content is becoming more in demand with the streaming wars that have engulfed Netflix, Apple, Disney Plus, HBO and only recently, Airtel, the telecommunications provider, launched its own streaming service in Nigeria.

Then we have the whole range of Cybersecurity, another big area of opportunity. Today, there are new opportunities for cybersecurity specialists. How is that? With each technological advance comes the implied addition of more security risks just to store and keep the information secure. Therefore, cybersecurity will continue to be a growing sector. In this sense, each country will have its own specific regulations just as we have and many other international regulations, which will ensure that professionals with an advanced technological background capable of nullifying new threats posed to both technology and people, will be in demand all the time.

How about 3D Printing? 3D printing is becoming an area of great need. It will become even more relevant and fundamental in the future when compared with Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. Experts in 3D printing must possess creative skills with the ability to improve the profitability and applicability of models. Also, they must have computer skills and knowledge of 3D printing tools. The Federal Government established a humanitarian hub in Adamawa State about two years ago. In that hub, young Nigerians are making artificial limbs with 3D printers for people who lost their limbs in the conflict in the North East. This is a growth area which will continue to grow because 3D printing can be applied in different ways and for many purposes. It doesn’t take a year to learn how to use 3D printers.

The technical revolution from the last few decades have considerably changed the business and cultural world. Currently, we live in an “application economy” as a result of the amount of technology and mobility that surrounds us with our smartphone applications that we depend on for everything, from mobile banking to even health monitoring. As such, it is difficult to find a reason why one shouldn’t try to find a career related to technology, especially when we consider that it is already present in everything we do; from our professions in our companies to our personal lives as consumers. This means computer programming in one shape or form of the other, will continue to be an important skill for those seeking viable employment and a decent pay.

So today, the most successful businesses are those able to add value, even our culture can become a great wealth creator, but only if we add value. So just doing traditional dances is not enough, to put together 8 or 16 barefooted young men and women dancing when foreign guests are visiting cannot make enough money. Organizing dance dramas, on the other hand, can make money. When a whole drama outfit is created with our culture and our songs, where we are able to employ a director, scriptwriter, a composer and an arranger, then it is possible to make money from our cultural dances.

In our future, there is truly something for everyone. We should all take advantage of digital technology, especially social media and the various platforms on offer, to grow a customer base, gain traction and advance businesses. You can write a blog, develop a website to sell your products or even your ideas – whatever it is you know how to do best. People are running fully-fledged commercial businesses on Instagram without a single physical shop, an opportunity only made possible by the internet. We are an entrepreneurial people, a society of multitaskers who, thanks to the virtual economy, can make a real opportunity out of anything we are passionate about.

The question for many of our young people today is: what is your passion? How can you take the skills that you have, and add value to the world around you? The future is going to depend a great deal on what we do with our passions and how we can sell what we are passionate about to millions of people around the world.

I have seen videos tutorials on how to make the best soups or bake the best cakes, getting hundreds of thousands of views on Instagram and YouTube, and people advertising on them. YouTubers like Dimma Umeh are showing us how to do makeup, how to master that highlight and contour, and she told us in one video that she made her first million from YouTube! I have also seen videos of people teaching young women how to keep their husbands, very interesting videos!

Thanks to the social media age, whatever ideas and skills that you have can be leveraged for benefit. Your knowledge is of immense importance and you have to find creative ways to take advantage of it.

While it is easier than ever to sell your knowledge and skills, it has also become easier and cheaper for you to acquire them. “The Mobile Prof” in Lagos, for example, is teaching people how to code from their mobile phones, you don’t even need a laptop anymore!

The future is about self-education, self-development. It is important for us to invest a little in the incredible opportunities for online education. Years ago, it was impossible to do a specialized course in a leading international university without getting an admission, paying a lot of money and then travelling abroad. Today, you can sit in the comfort of your home and get an Ivy League education. Universities such as Harvard University and Dartmouth College, for example, offer full-time online courses on Data Science and Linux Programming through an online learning platform called EdX.

This means you can learn a whole new programming language in a year, for less than it would cost you to even get to America! There are new means of self-education and they are more accessible than you might have thought.

There is no question that an exciting future lies ahead. There are breakthroughs in radical technologies, capable of disrupting whole industries, and perhaps even our very conception of work itself. For higher institutions who are getting graduates ready for the world of work, for the graduates, and new and near graduates who are here today, what does the disruption of the workforce by emerging technologies signify for both livelihoods and employment?

Today, there are several important implications related to the fields of Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies that will change the way we work and our economies. So, we have seen for example that much of what is considered analytical work by lawyers, investment bankers, accountants, and other age-old professions will be performed better by machines in a fraction of the time that humans can. There is a need to train these professionals differently, and with these new opportunities and challenges in mind.


With the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the Internet of Things, the world of work is in a state of flux, changing as never before, driven by inexorable forces that have an impact, not only on professional services but on manufacturing and trade, global supply chains and the digitalization of the global economy to name just a few. So, for example, the supervision work that managers do is changing rapidly and there may be no more need for it. A young lady who owns a clothing store in Abuja and Lagos, who lives in Abuja was showing me how she can remotely see all that is going on in her shop in Lagos on her laptop in real-time. And she can speak to all her employees from her laptop in real-time. In other words, she can supervise her store herself from anywhere in the world. So, the type of manager you will need going forward will be a different type.

Education today must be education for employability, the sort of education that makes us employable and relevant in the technologies and opportunities that present themselves today.

So, our university curricula must be versatile and dynamic. The focus must be on innovation, critical thinking, interdisciplinary thinking, design thinking, synergizing and collaboration with others across the world to solve problems.

The era of cramming the teacher’s notes and regurgitating for high grades is over. The graduate of the future is a problem solver, a thinker, an entrepreneur. Our educators, policymakers, schools, universities must now adapt their curricula, policies and projects to improve the skills that enable the graduate to nimbly and constantly respond to the ever-changing face of the economy and the workplace.

A student of humanities today equipped with the right skills and mindset will be a crucial part of the collaboration required to build an application that will redefine an aspect of business. In other words, a student of History, English, Languages, without any previous scientific training or knowledge, can with the right skills being taught today, with self-teaching, develop applications that will change business and industries, earn a lot of money. Applications are developed through collaborations; there are those that are scientists, there are those who come from the point of view of imagination and others from the point of view of design; all of them collaborating together.


Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, was more of an artist than a computer scientist. Yet he developed some of the most incredible applications that we have ever seen and made the kind of profit that makes people wonder whether they are not in the wrong profession.

A man or woman of ideas, no matter your degree, can become, in collaboration with others, the designers or owners of the next application that will make billions and create jobs for millions. This is the exciting future ahead of us, the opportunities are limitless.

I want to urge all of us, especially the young people who are here, to note that we are in the best times in the history of mankind. Let nobody tell you about the good old days. I said before, and I am quoting someone, I'm not so sure who he is, he said that "those who remind us of the good old days are probably suffering from memory loss." We must not allow them to keep talking about the good old days. We are in the best times possible today. And the reason why these are the best times is that we are in the most technologically advanced human history.

This is the most technologically advanced moment. This is the most advanced moment in the history of mankind, we have never been advanced as we are today. It was Fareed Zakaria, the CNN journalist, who said and I'm quoting him that, "the smartphones that we have today, have more computing powers than all of the computing power that took men to the moon on the spacecraft, all of the computing powers that were in that spacecraft, we now have a hundred times of that computing power in the smartphone that we carry about today."

So, we are living in a time of sheer magic! We must take every advantage of it and I know the young people today, especially those in this Federal University Dutse, are rearing to go. The future is certainly bright!

stanbillion200:
This our VP that I only remember him during elections and controversies

Davash222:
President Abba Kyari don relegate our Star boy to Minister of Technology.
Inside life.

murecool:
*Prelate Uche: “We are proud of the Vice President”
The responsibility to ensure harmony amongst people of different religious and ethnic backgrounds in Nigeria and elsewhere depends largely on the contributions and sacrifices of faith leaders, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.
Prof. Osinbajo stated this on Friday when he received on a courtesy visit to the Presidential Villa, a delegation from the World Methodist Council led by its President, Rev. Dr. Jong Chun Park, and the Prelate of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, His Eminence, Most Rev. Samuel Uche.
While noting that the Methodist Church in Nigeria had played an important role in maintaining harmony in the country, the Vice President said “in most societies that have been seamless, you will realize that a lot of it has had to do with what men and women of God did.
“I think that the role of the church in bringing that harmony is crucial. The political leadership is one, but the solutions to the world’s deepest problem lies in Gospel and I believe that we as the body of Christ hold the key to several of the problems.
“So, the question is how we deploy the resources that God gave to us to unite people. Obviously, it requires tremendous sacrifice and it is really about the sacrifices that we are prepared to make.”
Speaking further about the need for collaboration between government and other stakeholders in promoting harmonious coexistence in Nigeria, the Vice President said “I believe that religious harmony is possible and it is our duty to promote same”, the VP emphasized, while thanking the visiting global religious leader for underscoring the important point.
According to Prof. Osinbajo, “we should try and bring our communities together. We have a large Muslim and large Christian populations, and we can’t do anything without collaboration. Religious leaders can’t wish that away.
“Our Constitution guarantees religious freedom not just in words but in practice in Nigeria, again it is a duty that we accept this reality.
“Despite all the various challenges that we face as a country, we are all resolved that this country is one that is fair for all, that there is justice, equity and that we give everyone a chance to realize the objectives that they set for themselves,” the Vice President added.
He then commended the contributions of the Methodist Church in the development of society noting that “the Church has not just contributed to the salvation of souls, but also to human capacity development, education, and health care.
Earlier in his remark, Rev. Dr. Park commended the role played by the Vice President in promoting religious harmony through his numerous engagements and activities across the country.
He also prayed for the country and its leadership, expressing optimism that the leadership and wisdom exhibited by the Vice President would enable Nigeria achieve its objectives.
The World Methodist Council leader added that by working together both President Muhammadu Buhari and the Vice President are demonstrating a commendable and harmonious governance.
Said he:” I feel touched by your harmonized way of governance. May God bless President Buhari and you, the Vice President.”
Dr. Park further prayed that God will bless Nigeria, “and all Christians and our Islamic brothers and sisters to live together in harmony, peace and love.”
In his own remarks, the Methodist Prelate who introduced Rev Park both as a priest and University Professor expressed satisfaction with the work of the Vice President saying “we are proud of you” adding that this is also “because you attended our school”. He was referring to Igbobi College which was founded by both the Methodist and Anglican Churches.
Also at the meeting were Archbishops, Bishops and priests of the church in Nigeria.


https://www.yemiosinbajo.ng/how-to-attain-religious-harmony-in-nigeria-by-osinbajo-world-methodist-leader/

Blazebond:
So they couldn't send the senate president or The foreign affairs minister,if the uproar over this Sundays massacre of innocent Nigerians by terrorist couldn't stop this v.p from travelling,then nothing will.

Slimboo222:
hope he asked for permission b4 travelling

NigeriaIsDoomed:
Aso Rock errand boy

NigeriaIsDoomed:
Aso Rock errand boy

murecool:
Photos: VP Osinbajo Arrives Kenya For Funeral Of Former President, Daniel Arap Moi

murecool:
Tonight some contacts on WhatsApp have forwarded to me a video of a Channels news broadcast of some 400 Boko Haram members arrested in Abia State by the army.

More than 20 folks have forwarded this to me under two hours. This clip was grim and it is capable of driving fear into anyone. From the clip one could wrongly conclude terrorists are about overrunning the country. Snippets of accompanying pieces, mostly fake, are circulating as well.

One even claimed Nuhu Ribadu accused President Buhari of creating banditry and terrorism. I remember Nuhu came out two years ago in a press statement to deny this.

A professor in a WhatsApp group I belonged even pushed the narrative . Academics are supposed to reference whatever they publish but this professor will not even adhere to this simple rule guiding his calling- no reference, just emoting!

Today, people are making the Channels news piece look like it happened yesterday or even at noon today. Many have been scared beyond reason.

One cannot but ask if some people somewhere want to set fire on Nigeria, cause disharmony and ultimately war. They want to set us on the path of Rwanda, Sudan, Somali and Syria. I hope they know the consequences of their action.

Yes there are securities challenges in our country just as there are in other places ( see Thailand today where an individual slaughtered 26 people in a mall ) but the way we exaggerate ours and broadcast falsehood is alarming.

Lagos and Abuja based on 2019 statistics on violent deaths are far safer than New York and Houston according to UNODC and the NBS. Yet no American is maligning America for insecurity.

I have done a check and also did content analysis and found that that Channels broadcast was made in 2013.

Even at that it looks unprofessional to me. It was an era of hysteria. It was a period when bombings were common in Kano, Kaduna, Abuja and even Nasarawa and Kogi. The military was under funded and small capital meant for arms were looted by Dasuki and shared with CAN. Even media houses got their share and they whipped up divisive hysteria to engineer election wins that never came. Thank God.

Let us assume 400 persons were intercepted by the army, how did those who apprehended them come to the conclusion they were members of Boko Haram ? Did they wear a lapel button indicating that? Did they wear uniform or carry identity cards, or had an inscription on them showing they were members of this terrorist group? Even the man parading them illegally on TV was not identified as a personnel of the Army. He was not in uniform nor was his name, rank or title mentioned. He was barely intelligible.

When I was an editor these and more are the questions I would have asked my reporter before broadcasting such news. It was irresponsible journalism at its best. And somehow those who sought to use it for divisive purpose filed it away for seven years like an ammunition to be weaponized when they needed it.

But then, why is our instincts always go bad mouth our country? Why is our thumb fast to spread bad news even when fake about our country? Where is our patriotism to question unwholesome news about Nigeria? Why is our thumb so itchy to destroy our unity rather than to build it?

Now when foreign countries seize on this fake reports and pronounce ban on Nigerians from visiting their countries we will rage at everyone but ourselves. We are seriously demarketing our country and we shall be the one to pay the price for doing so.

We are the biggest and largest economy in Africa. Our citizens are the best educated in the United States among immigrants. Lets promote that instead of fake news that destroy the fundamentals of our beautiful country. Change starts with you, stop forwarding before you verify. Ask yourself, does this build or destroy Nigeria? If it doesn’t, then quit!

Senator Ojudu is Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters

murecool:
Prof. Sagay, PACAC commend Buhari administration, calls VP 'sterling' deputy*

To underscore its commitment to the fight against corruption, the Buhari administration will continue to ramp up efforts in this area and engage more with anti-corruption agencies to highlight the progress recorded by the administration, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

Prof. Osinbajo stated this on Friday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, when he received a delegation from the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), led by its Chairman, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN).

The Vice President noted that Government will ramp up efforts to ensure that there is better synergy among anti-corruption agencies and other government agencies so as to push out the correct narratives on the fight against corruption.

"Nigerians are definitely familiar with the anti-corruption drive of this administration," the VP noted while stating that efforts to enlighten the public within Nigeria and beyond would be ramped up significantly.

In his remarks, the Chairman of PACAC, Prof. Sagay, noted that the administration has recorded significant achievements in its fight against corruption.

Prof. Sagay, renowned for his uncompromising stand in the fight against corruption by the Buhari administration, also expressed confidence in the sterling leadership role played by the Vice President in the achievements recorded so far by the committee.

He said, “We want to assure you of our confidence in your leadership, not only in the supervision of PACAC, but as a leader in this country. We also want to assure you that we have noted with pleasure your sterling performance as Vice President, and we regard you as a very successful co-pilot with President Muhammadu Buhari in steering the ship of this nation.

“We have absolute confidence in your leadership and will continue to associate with you and will look for your supervision and leadership role in what we are doing.”

The PACAC Chairman noted that a data and information synergy with the anti-corruption agencies would help to further highlight the efforts of this administration in its anti-corruption drive.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
7th February, 2020

Kakaakinews:
- Abdulrasaq Yusuff

When you happen upon an online article by an unknown author who is trying to take a shot at his 15 minutes of fame, courtesy demands that you give it a good read. The literary gems one expected to unearth in an essay that started out with inferences to an old English poem, seems to disintegrate into long ramblings that end up telling the reader nothing new.

The author chooses to frame his words with clear but subtle mischievous intent as can be seen from his use of English. I actually did a Google search for these words “Osinbajo there is little to show for it” and as you can guess it was only in the long essay of misinformation and misinterpretations by Banji, that we find those exact words attributed to the VP online.
One would expect an elder from Yorubaland would be a bit more honorable than this, given the much educated eloquence he tries to display.

Every pessimist would see a candid project update as a negative verdict. No government on this earth has infinite resources, so you cannot reasonably expect all funds to go into welfare while other pressing areas of concern get neglected.
A report giving details of the work in progress is not a damning verdict by any standards. Hence one wonders what grouse the writer has with this administration, concerning the same Social Investments Programmes that have consistently won awards and accolades from across the world, for the Buhari-Osinbajo administration.

Nobody ever became rich or wealthy by living on welfare anywhere in this world. The erroneous and fallacious narrative the author tries so hard to sell is that the beneficiaries of Conditional Cash Transfer should become rich after all the “naira showers”. This is a disgruntled educated man trying to be clever by half, hoping that his audience will not scratch beyond the surface to see his distortion of facts.

Banji comes across as a relic of years gone by, when the only yardstick of tangible government impact on the lives of the citizens was based on how much free money was in circulation, for practically doing nothing. The lowest income segment of the society are the beneficiaries of these social investments, so it is quite bewildering to see someone sitting on his cushy sofa at home, castigating programmes for which he is not eligible. Talk about sour grapes of the highest order.

He has clearly never taken his time to read a word of the straightforward description given on the State House website, and free for public consumption, albeit for those who want to know the true details. The NSIP focuses on ensuring a more equitable distribution of resources to vulnerable populations, including children, youth and women. Since 2016, these programmes combined have supported more than 4 million beneficiaries country-wide through a fair and transparent process supported by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, and other notable MDAs with aligned goals.

For a programme that has remained as largely electronic, in terms of onsite mobile registration, data collation, cashless disbursement via registered bank accounts only, that is for the site targeted at the petty traders, one would be amazed at the degree of extreme extrapolation that would make him label social investments as an “archaic notion of raw money being the answer to the needs of the poor” like he puts it.

This exposes his underlying intent, as a disciple of the infamous “share the money” refrain. It is a sad day for intellectual discourse when the one who is meant to enlighten the readers, decides to deliberately obfuscate the simple facts, all for the sake of playing to the gallery. This play is however heavily bereft of an audience, as a cursory search of his online articles posted as a columnist with a national daily, shows up 75 posts with zero comments. This goes to show how toxic a writer/journalist can be, for his works not to evince any response, we are not even asking for meaningful responses.

The same justice and equitable redistribution of communal wealth and opportunities, that he claims to champion as what the underprivileged require, are what we find at the heart of all the programmes initiated by Yemi Osinbajo as VP since 2016. Having been steered these to a solid footing, they are now institutionalized in the new ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, which was recently created to ensure continuity beyond the tenure of this administration.

It is quite foolhardy for him to cheekily hide behind Davos 2020 to castigate the government and labour for working towards better minimum wages as a start. You cannot expect countries that got it right with social welfare almost a century ago, to be at par with those who have only started less than 5 years ago. This is why their citizens can rightly look beyond good salaries.

No government is expected to enforce on its citizens how they should live their personal lives beyond matters of the law, so why should citizens wait for the government to give them a mission and meaningful activity before they will set out to make their personal lives productive. This is a thinly veiled attempt at encouraging laziness and an entitlement mindset.

I am just wondering where he places the importance of entrepreneurial activity. Banji seems to not understand that these skin-level interventions as he calls them were altogether absent before 2016. Are we expected to suddenly go from zero to a million without building the requisite social institutions that can withstand the test of time? Nigeria remains a work in progress, within the diverse confines of our national yearnings and shared identity.