₦airaland Forum

PRESS RELEASE

N540 Billion Recovered Through Whistle Blower Policy - Minister

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said
the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFFC) has so far
recovered over 540 billion Naira through the Whistle Blower Policy.

The Minister disclosed this on Tuesday at the 71st General Assembly of
the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) in Port Harcourt,
Rivers State.

“To this end, as at May this year, the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC, through the Whistle Blower Policy, has recovered
over N527 Billion, $53 million, and £122,890,” he said.

Alhaji Mohammed, who was represented by the Director, Public Relations
and Protocol, of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Mr.
Sunny Adejoh Baba, said the EFCC also successfully launched a major
onslaught on the seeming high–and–mighty in the society (including
senior military officer and their civilian accomplices), who had
soiled their hands with shady deals, leading to the recovery of choice
assets across the country.

He therefore enjoined the media to align itself with the policies and
programmes of the Buhari Administration, aimed at ridding the country
of the cancer of corruption, in order to free funds for development
projects, which will uplift the standard of living of the citizenry.

“This effort should not be seen as the sole effort of Mr. President or
the Government alone. The media has a duty to ensure that the
programmes of Government, meant to uplift the lots of the citizenry,
are projected as a national cause and not just as that of Mr.
President or the administration,” the Minister said.

Alhaji Mohammed, who said the BON General Assembly is taking place at
an auspicious time in view of the forthcoming general elections,
charged the broadcasting organizations not to yield their platforms to
the purveyors of hate speech and fake news.

He said the broadcasting outfits should instead promote the unity,
stability and the development of the country.

“Anything short of this would amount to a criminal abdication of a
sacred duty which could spell doom for our collective national life.
We have had enough sordid examples to learn from that we ought not to
allow a repeat at this critical time of our national development.

“It is therefore of utmost importance that the media and specifically,
broadcast media, do not allow itself to become a purveyor of fake news
and hate speeches,” the Minister said.

He restated the Federal Government’s commitment to allowing the press
to carry out its assigned watchdog roles, even as government expects
the press to be guided by national interest above every other
interests.

Alhaji Mohammed said the launch of the Digital Switch Over (DSO) in
Jos in April 2016 underscored the Administration’s determination to
democratize the right to know, the right to knowledge and the right to
be informed.

He noted that the changing media landscape and the advent of digital
technologies have fundamentally altered the nature and function of
media in the society, at times circumventing traditional media and
challenging its privileged role as gate-keeper of news and
entertainment.

The Minister therefore urged companies in the broadcasting value-chain
to take the advantage of the market and build local stations that
would not only create employment for a diverse segment of the
population, but would also lead to a transfer of technology and free
the creative dexterity of the young population.

Segun Adeyemi
SA To Hon Minister of Information and Culture
Abuja
27 Nov. 2018

WHY THE FOCUS OF BUHARI’S ADMINISTRATION IS ON WELFARE OF COMMON NIGERIANS, BY VP OSINBAJO

*Adds: “the money that we make as a country must not be stolen by a few people”

President Muhammadu Buhari’s sole concern is that the resources of Nigeria must be used for the man and woman who need it the most and this explains the focus of the administration’s entire economic policy, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

The Vice President stated this today while monitoring the ongoing disbursement on the N10,000 collateral & interest-free loans under the Trader Moni Scheme in Dutse, Jigawa State.



He explained that all the Federal Government had tried to do in the past few years was to give hope to the common Nigerian through the various schemes for women, men and youths, regardless of their backgrounds.

According to him, “Mr President’s sole concern is that the resources of our country must be used for the man and woman who need it the most, the people in our society who are working hard, the farmers, the traders, and all of the young people who need jobs, that is the focus of Mr. President’s entire economic policy. It is on giving the common man hope so that they can live decent lives, they can provide shelter for themselves, feed and live well.”

While recalling the mindless stealing of resources that characterized previous administrations, Prof. Osinbajo said, “If the money of our people was not stolen, there would be enough for us to do what we want to do, the money that we make as a country must not be stolen by a few people”.

He said despite the challenges associated with the fall in oil prices, President Buhari is still committed to giving hope to the poorest Nigerians hence, the implementation of the various components of the Social Investment Programmes.

He said: “Under the Trader Moni Scheme, we are giving 2million people across Nigeria, N10,000 collateral-free loans with the possibility of increasing the amount within six months.

“Here in Jigawa, we have given 30,000 petty traders and only today, we gave extra 2,000 to 5,000 traders, and all together, we have given about 35,000 people the loans in Jigawa alone.

“We also have the Market Moni scheme which is another initiative for traders that are bigger than the petty traders and we start from N50,000 to N350,000.”

Speaking further on the Conditional Cash Transfer scheme, the Vice President said, Jigawa State has the highest number of beneficiaries nationwide.

According to him, “This is the state where we have given the largest number of people, we have given 37,000 beneficiaries in this state, and every month these people receive the transfers.” The Conditional Cash Transfer is a N5000 monthly provision for the poorest and most vulnerable Nigerians.

Continuing on the gains made so far under the Social Investment Programme in the state, he said “under the School feeding programme, 434,000 children are being fed every day as 4000 cooks have been engaged to prepare the meals while 14,368 graduates have been engaged under the N-Power job creation scheme.”

On the State Government’s efforts in empowering young people, the Vice President said: “it is a fantastic evidence of the concern and planning in taking care of those who need help the most.”

“Let me say to you that the Governor and the Government of this State are working in line with the vision of Mr. President. He has always been concerned about the common man.

“The State Government is supporting all of the Federal Government programmes, it has given out motorcycles to those supervising the various programmes, it has also given them 100 android phones,” the Vice President added.

After the courtesy call on the Emir of Dutse, on arrival in Dutse, the Vice President proceeded to Kasuwan Tipa market to monitor the ongoing disbursement of loans under the Trader Moni scheme, and later also went to the Dutse Modern Market.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo also attended the 6th phase of the Jigawa State Youth Empowerment Scheme held at the Aminu Kano Triangle, Dutse, where he praised the State Government for the initiative.



Laolu Akande

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity

Office of the Vice President

November 27, 2018

Group petitions DSS, Police to arrest Fani-Kayode over Fake News


A political group in Nigeria has petitioned security agencies over the continuous spread of Fake News by former aviation minister Femi Fani-Kayode, warning that, it is a security risk to the country leading up to the 2019 election.



The Initiative to Save Democracy warned that if Fani-Kayode and his kind are allowed to peddle false news it could lead unsuspecting Nigerians to believe that this news is true.



President of the group, James Akinloye who said he will drag Fani-Kayode to court, explained that people must be forced to face the consequences of their actions.



“There are laws in this country and if anyone thinks they are bigger than the law, then we have a problem. The law enforcement agencies should do their job and arrest the likes Fani-Kayode, Deji Adeyanju and others for their hate messages and fake news."



Quoting the 2015 Nigerian Cybercrime Act, Akinloye noted that Fani-Kayode had breached certain provisions and should be arrested and charged. “The Act forbids the distribution of racist and xenophobic material to the public through a computer system or network (e.g. Facebook and Twitter), it also prohibits the use of threats of violence and insulting statements to persons based on race, religion, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin. Persons found guilty of this are liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of not less than 5 years or to a fine of not less thanN10million or to both fine and imprisonment.”



Akinloye explained that the Act also outlaws cyber-stalking and cyber-bullying. Anyone convicted of these could receive a N2 million minimum fine and/or at least 1 year in prison. More severe offences could attract a penalty as high as a N25 million minimum fine and/or up to 10 years’ imprisonment, depending on the severity of the offence.



He explained that the group will petition Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms as deterrent to others who are emulating Fani-Kayode on their platform, stressing that, it is a national security risk. “They need to know how divisive his messages are, and they need to understand why his accounts should be deleted immediately.



“We have a fragile but steady democracy and we should protect it with all our hearts and this includes halting fake news and hate speeches. We have seen what these kinds of things can cause, and we do not wish it on our country."



Akinloye urged politicians to approach the election with maturity and caution, noting that, Nigeria belongs to everyone. “Who wants to rule over a country that is in turmoil,” he asked, “We should strive to ensure peace at all times.”

Anti-corruption war: Jonathan's absolute lies

In his memoir 'My Transition Hours' , which has been described as a glorified fiction, former President Goodluck Jonathan, tried to rewrite history and turn logic on the head when he claimed that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is not fighting corruption and that it has made corruption worse. But the facts of the matter do not agree with that assertion. Sometimes, if you don't quickly call a thief by his name, he will try to seize the initiative and call the property owner the thief.

~Over N794 billion, $261 million, £1,115,930.47, €8,168,871.13, and 86,500 CFA, have so far been recovered from people who looted Nigeria dry under Jonathan. Parts of the monies were used to fund critical infrastructure in the 2016 and 2017 budgets.

~Hundreds of properties such as filling stations, petroleum products, land, jewelleries, automobiles, real estate, vessels, hospitals, company shares and heavy machinery and broadcast equipment have also been seized from the same set of 'Jonathanian' looters between 2015 and 2018.

~Over 703 convictions of corrupt elements achieved by the EFCC alone in the last three years which is unprecedented in the country’s history.
 
~These convictions include graft cases involving former governor of Taraba, Jolly Nyame, and that of Plateau, Joshua Dariye, as well as Joseph Nwobike (SAN), all of whom were hitherto considered untouchable.

~The EFCC has also commenced extradition proceedings from UK for the fugitive ex-minister of petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke, who under Jonathan's supervision smashed global records and set new landmarks in kleptomania. She has been implicated in some of the most ambitious cases in the global history of official graft, worth of hundreds of billions of dollars.  

~The present administration has also recovered some 322 million dollars Abacha loot which the Jonathan's administration could not recover because of its integrity deficit (of course the World Bank knew it would have been re-looted). The money is now being used to fund parts of the masses-friendly Social Investment Programme (SIP) of the present administration.

~The Whistle blower policy, a signature initiative of the Buhari administration has helped to recover over 500 billion naira from 'Jonathanian' looters.

~The implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) by the Buhari administration is saving for the country about 24.7 billion naira monthly that would have been lost to the private pockets of unscrupulous government officials and their bank accomplices. Meanwhile, the Jonathan's administration could not implement the policy due to its lack of courage and romance with corruption.

~Over 200 billion naira has also been saved through the elimination of ghost workers from the federal government 's payment system.

Osinbajo: A trailblazer and Reformer

It takes an intuitive, engaging, analytical mind and high sense of imagination to truly understand and appreciate the beautiful mind of a man like Osinbajo who in his capacity as Vice President conducts himself responsibly and dutifully.

Close associates and those who have personally encountered him can attest to the fact that he is stickler for hardwork, passionate about service to humanity and a trusted ally and team leader. Even those who disagree with him can hardly question his intellectual strenght, moral uprightness and capacity to deliver on tasks assigned to him.

Above all, when we carefully peruse the minds of Osinbajo’s students and those he has led in the house of God before he became the Vice President, we will come to attest to the professor’s sense of purpose, humility, godliness, loyalty and brilliance.

Amazingly, Osinbajo’s family is an epitome of humility, godliness with full of simplicity worthy of emulation.Teach your children humility, contentment, respect and the fear of God; they will not depart from them when they grow up, so say the holy book. These are the fine attributes that define the man Osinbajo.

Meanwhile, one of the qualities of Osinbajo that is dazzling to mind is his undeterred and unfettered emulative spirit that is unattractive to little minds. The ingenuity he brings to bear in handling crucial state matters is top-notch and has made him the darling of most Nigerians.

Given his deep understanding of life, Prof. Osinbajo scorns the finer things in life and ensconces himself in moral values, frugality and simplicity. He carried out the business of government with much candor, respect and to the admiration of all. Check out the ease with which he relates and interacts with market women, traders and Nigerians alike.

There is hardly any part of Nigeria that Prof. Osinbajo hasn't visited in the last three years. He sees nothing wrong or difficult in leaving his comfort zone to fraternise with Nigerians across states, towns and villages.

Truth is, apart from Osinbajo’s managerial skills, pastoral and leadership qualities, this erudite lawyer and professor is a frugal and disciplined family man who’s always in tune with the reality and existentialism of everyday life.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo's urbane nature, pristine academic and professional backgrounds, patriotic disposition, love for God and humanity as well as his avowed determination to contribute to Nigeria's growth are attributes that keep him far ahead of his contemporaries, both within and outside politics.

OSINBAJO WILL NOT BE DISTRACTED– PRESIDENCY


*Recent attacks on VP contrived, Says Sen Ojudu

Recent desperate attempts to smear the person and reputation of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo will not deter or distract him or the Buhari administration from the work of protecting and empowering every Nigerian.

This view was expressed by Senator Babafemi Ojudu, the Presidential Aide on Political Matters, while responding to press inquiries about information circulating in the social media on plots to target the Vice President hatched at the meeting of a major political party abroad, regarding 2019 election.

Sen. Ojudu said the recent NEMA probe report which social media account say may have been outlined at that meeting in a foreign country, was one of such efforts plotted to attack the Buhari administration by tarnishing the image of the Vice President.

“We have read reports in the media that the meeting in a foreign country of the major opposition party was centered on trying to attack the Buhari administration by targeting the Vice President using different tactics.

“It is now evident through the NEMA report, that the opposition is indeed making frantic efforts to tarnish the image of the Vice President,” he said.

He explained that even after Hon. Ali Isa, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness had publicly admitted that the Vice President was not mentioned in the report, the opposition still found it expedient to continue, baselessly, to attack the reputation of Prof. Osinbajo by claiming without proof or any shard of evidence that fraud was committed in the N5.8b Emergency Food Intervention Fund for North-East.
Giving more insights on the issue, Sen. Ojudu said, contrary to insinuations in some quarters, there were no violations in approval of N5.8b Emergency Food Intervention Fund for North-East and the then Acting President did no wrong in approving fund for the emergency intervention.

He insisted that the presidential approvals were well within the clear constitutional authority of the then Acting President.

“First of all, the action was in response to the threat of hunger and starvation based on strong warning received from the United Nation World Food Programme in April, 2017. The organization had issued a warning that it would be reducing its vital support to about 1.8 million IDPs by as much as 85%, due to the corresponding reduction in funding by the donor countries. Around the same time, the United Nations Commission for Refugees in Geneva also warned of the growing risk of mass deaths from starvation among people living in the conflict areas.

“Secondly, it is also important to note that the procurement process was not ignored in the release of funds, as alleged. Section 43 of the Public Procurement Act makes provision for emergency procurement, in which case the procuring entity is allowed to engage in direct contracting for goods and file a report thereafter with the Bureau of Public Procurement.


“Also, the BPP issued a ‘certificate of no objection’ to NEMA on the emergency procurement, and this addresses all issues relating to the alleged breach of due process,” Sen. Ojudu said.

The presidential aide said the action of the opposition in the ensuing political drama indicates that the NEMA probe report is being politicized and only a lame attempt at ruining the good works of the Buhari administration.

He said the Vice President will however not be distracted by the naysayers’ actions to discourage the Buhari administration from providing for the common man or to abandon the Social Investment Programme which it has budgeted half a trillion for in the past two years.

Sen. Ojudu added that the administration will continue to cater for Nigerians especially those at the bottom of the ladder, regardless of the antics of the opposition party.

“We know what is happening, but the administration will not be distracted. Our goals and objectives to put Nigeria on the solid path of greatness is now unstoppable and Prof. Osinbajo will not relent in that effort,” the presidential aide concluded

FACT SHEET ON EMERGENCY FOOD INTERVENTION FUND FOR NORTH-EAST



-In accordance with the National Disaster management framework, the function of the NEMA Governing Council which is chaired by the Vice President is as follows:


As chairman of the NEMA Council, the Vice President shall ensure that

(b) Subject to the provisions of the NEMA Act, make, alter and revoke rules and regulations for carrying on the functions of the Agency;

(c) Fix the terms and conditions of service, including remuneration of the employees of the Agency after consultation with the Federal Civil Service Commission; and

(d) Do such other things which in the opinion of the Agency are necessary to ensure the efficient performance of the functions of the Agency.

-There were no violations in approval of N5.8b Emergency Food Intervention Fund for North-East


-The presidential approvals were well within the clear constitutional authority of the Acting President.

-The action was in response to the threat of hunger and starvation based on strong warnings received from the United Nation in April, 2017.

-The procurement process was not ignored in the release of funds as alleged.

-Section 43 of the Public Procurement Act makes provision for emergency procurement, in which case the procuring entity is allowed to engage in direct contracting for goods and file a report thereafter with the Bureau of Public Procurement.



-In any situation where the companies were considered under emergency and alleged to have fake documents, the liability lies on the owners of the companies to prove otherwise.

-Still on alleged violations; NEMA wrote to BPP for “No Objection Certificate”. The BPP replied, confirmed that the situation was Emergency and did not fault our action in any way.

-On the issue of documentation of the companies, the submission to BPP was made with the available document submitted to NEMA during the procurement process.

-Prof. Osinbajo did not approve the release of N33 billion but N5,036,644,933.26, after excluding bagging costs and this was pursuant to the recommendation that bagging, transportation and other logistics were best handled by NEMA.


-The then Acting President personally supervised the process from planning to distribution. He held several meetings on strategies for distribution some of which were attended by representatives of the National Assembly like Senator Abdulaziz Nyako.



-Prof. Osinbajo subsequently accompanied by relevant stakeholders inspected the electronic truck-tracking unit established in Maiduguri for the purpose of monitoring the transportation and flagged off the food distribution on the 8th of June, 2017.


-No product or grain meant for the IDPs got rotten.

-Probably the Reps’ call for the resignation of the NEMA DG might have been as a result of their inability to corner contracts for themselves as allegations of contract award beyond the DG’s limit are false.

-The NEMA Act requires that the DG should secure an approval from the President, which he did before the award.

-The suspension of the six NEMA directors was based on the findings of the EFCC interim report on the agency.

-They were suspended to pave way for a smooth and full-scale investigation as there were findings that related to questionable transactions on accounts linked to them.

Contradictions in Atiku's policy document

Given the level of noise and chest-thumping that preceded the release of Atiku Abubakar's policy document one had expected something fantastic and novel. Sadly, like most things ever linked to him, the document is filled with contradictions and outright lies.

~Atiku says if elected he would sell more national assets including our petroleum refineries and the NNPC. Can we ever trust a man who sold NEPA, NITEL, Nigeria Airways, Tafawa Balewa Square etc to his friends and cronies? Never.

~ Atiku Abubakar as Vice President for 8 years was Chairman of the National Council on Privatization. Strategic national assets were sold under controversial circumstances. Nigeria was shortchanged in the process.

~Atiku promised to finance his infrastructure plan with the same Sukuk interest free bond introduced by the APC government. The noble thing to do is simply to commend the Buhari administration before stealing his idea.

~His party, PDP, had consistently criticized the Sukuk bond option as an attempt by the APC to Islamize Nigeria, even though Britain, which is not an Islamic country, has since embraced the idea.

~Atiku promised to create 3 million jobs per year, which is going to be another scam. This is a man who recently claimed to have 50,000 people on his payroll and within days claimed again that the figure was 100,000. He and his surrogates took cover under darkness when they were asked by Nigerians to provide evidence of the claims.

~He also promised to lift 50 million people out of extreme poverty by 2025, among other unrealistic things he wants to do by that year. He must have forgotten that he had repeatedly promised to serve for only one term, if elected, and that one term expires in 2023.

~He made a lot of wild claims about security challenges around the country without acknowledging that the present administration has done a lot to arrest the situation in recent months. He also failed to remind Nigerians that militancy in the Niger Delta was at its peak when he was Vice President and that kidnapping which later became a thriving business, started with the Presidency-backed kidnapping of Governor Chris Ngige of Anambra state in 2003.

7 Things You Should Know On Then Acting President Yemi Osinbajo’s Approval For 5.8 Billion Emergency Food Intervention Fund For North East

- IDPS and their host communities in the North East faced very severe food shortages throughout the North East.

- The United Nations World food Programme - a major food supplier to the region - had warned that it would reduce its support to about 1.8 Million IDPs by as much as 85%.

- The Federal Government set up a Strategic Food Intervention Plan for the affected states.

- It was urgent to purchases to grains and thus the CBN made the proposal for the approval of 30.9 Million Tonnes of food for the IDPs.

- The then Acting President Yemi Osinbajo approved 5.036 Billion for the purchase of these grains and another sum of 829 Million for the logistics, security, personnel and other contingency costs as requested by NEMA.

- The approvals were consitutitional and flowed from the provisions of Section 43 of the Public Procurement Act which makes provisions for making purchases without getting following the Appropriation process - this is called an Emergency Procurement.

- Section 43 of the Public Procurement Act is employed where the country or a part of it is seriously threatened by disaster, it on this ground permits a government entity to make an emergency procurement and later report to the Bureau of Public Procurement for a certification immediately after the situation.

Nigeria MOU with General Electric on Narrow Gauge Railway Line Still on Course -

An international Consortium led by General Electric (GE) of the United States signed an agreement for the concessioning of Nigerian narrow-gauge railway network. The agreement was signed in April 2018 for $2billion.

The Consortium comprised SinoHydro, a leading infrastructure construction services company and Transnet, a leader in transportation and logistics infrastructure management and APM Terminals.

As part of the agreement, 10 locomotives and 200 wagons would be supplied to augment the existing rolling stock in Nigeria. Overall, 200 locomotives will be supplied in the fullness of the concession. The agreement would cover 3, 500 kilometers of existing narrow-gauge truck, which connect cities in the North and the South.

However, General Electric has handed over the leadership of the Consortium to South Africa’s Transnet, a leader in transportation and logistics infrastructure management. This decision by General Electric is hinged on its decision to exit its transportation business.

Transnet Rail Engineering Company’s business includes “the maintenance, upgrade and manufacture of locomotives, wagons, coaches, rolling stock components and associated transport equipment. The company operates seven factories in South Africa.

Other members of the Consortium – SinoHydro and APM Terminals will jointly execute the Nigerian Railway concessioning project.

Meanwhile, the Kaduna-based Nigerian Railway Property Company Limited is continuously selling railways land, renting its landed property and allowing private developers take over its warehouses and staff quarters as part of its mandate.

The Nigeria Railway Corporation has a huge holding of landed properties (staff quarters, training schools, workshops, foundries, staff club houses, railway stations and the corridor for its tracks) across the country.

NEMA: Osinbajo saved thousands of Nigerians by approving N5.8bn - Adagbon



With international organisations and local agencies running out of funds, and with food shortage at its crescendo, the acting President of Nigeria, Prof Yemi Osinbajo approved N5.8 billion for supply of food to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the NorthEast, thereby saving hundreds of thousands of Nigerians who were going to die out of starvation. The noble action of the Vice President has been misinterpreted in some quarters even though he acted within the ambit of the law. In this interview, Gloria Adagbon, a lawyer and human rights activist makes a case for the Vice President and warns against politicizing everything.



Why didn't the acting President involve NASS in the process before releasing N5.8bn?

Given that the law allows the Vice President to release such funds in an emergency, he seized the opportunity to do so. The national assembly has proven to be anti-progressive, it took them over six months to pass the budget, we could not let Nigerians die away while they padded the North East Emergency budget. The acting President needed to act and that was why he constituted the Presidential Committee which included Minister of fast Finance, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Minister of Agriculture, CBN governor, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, SSA to the President, Office of the Chief of Staff, SSA to the President Planning and Coordination among others. It was an emergency and it would have been suicidal to go through the national assembly, given their greed and self-centeredness. The process was transparent, FG bought local grains from Nigerian farmers and the Nigerian Police, Nigerian Military including the Air Force, were actively involved providing essential and logistical support. There is nothing clandestine by the process, it was there for all to see.



Why was procurement process ignored before money was released?

The procurement process wasn’t ignored or bypassed. Like I explained earlier, this is an emergency and the acting President needed to act fast. Waiting for the agencies to ponder over procurement would have translated to massive loss of lives. The VP was never going to allow that happen under his watch as Acting President. Section 43 of the BPP Act empowered him to approve the funds in an emergency, which was what he did. He acted in good faith and he saved hundreds of thousands of lives by doing this. We must understand that international organisations including the World Food Programme, UNHCR, International Committee of the Red Cross and others were involved in this process, this was carried out transparently and in order. The international aid agencies like WFP were already dealing with shortage of funds to provide humanitarian aid, as funding was cut down by about 85%. This necessitated urgent collaboration between the Government and NGOs, in order to save lives of Nigerian citizens



Why didn't the VP oversee and ensure the distribution of the rice donated by the Chinese govt?

You will recall that the acting President kicked off the multi-billion naira relief intervention plan for grain distribution in the NorthEast. At the time, about 1.8m people would be reached regularly and 40,000 metric tonnes comprising rice, maize, sorghum and soya beans grown locally by Nigerian farmers would be distributed. But to ask the acting President to monitor NEMA activities alone and leave other pressing issues in the country is ignorance on the part of such persons. Agencies were set up to be managed on day-to-day basis by persons that have been appointed and were qualified to do so. It’s not the duty of the acting President to micro-manage and monitor the delivery or distribution. Duties were delegated, and this was done appropriately.



What is the scope and job duties of the VP as NEMA chairman?

He has an oversight function he does not oversee the day to day running of the agency. It’s like asking the Chancellor of a university why some lecturers involve in sex for marks. This falls on the lap of the Vice Chancellor because he is involved in the day-to-day administration. It’s important to understand that the role of the chairman is somewhat ceremonial and that is why you will not find his picture or profile on the website of the agency. People demanding that he did not act as chairman are uneducated and mischievous, and if adults cannot understand the organogram of agencies, you fear for the kind of orientation of what they are passing on to the younger generation.



Why is the House calling for the reinstatement of the six NEMA directorsand sack of the NEMA DG?

This is the clearest case of corruption fighting back. The directors in NEMA were accused of corruption and financial misappropriation. EFCC found monies in their accounts that could not be accounted for, but instead of insisting that these directors be probed, House of Reps led by a certain Ali Isa jumped to their defence insisting that they be reinstated. The House had claimed that Civil Service Rule was grossly abused, and natural justice turned upside down even after the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita and acting EFCC chairman Ibrahim Magu had appeared before the Committee to explain that their suspension was in order. EFCC explained that they were suspended in order to allow detectives unfettered access to vital documents. The directors knew what investigators would find and they immediately got corrupt lawmakers to make noise out of nothing. This is a shame and that is why this administration has insisted that if we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill us.



Did the VP release N5.8bn or N33bn?

The VP only approved N5.8billion as against the N33billion peddled about in the media by some unscrupulous persons. These are agents of fake news who are trying all they can to tarnish the blistering career of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo but unfortunately for them, Nigerians are wiser now. We know our left from our right and we can see clearly. If you have read all the reports from NEMA to the House of Reps report, you will find that the VP approved N5.8 billion which was very much in order. We must not allow agents of fake news to derail us in our fight against corruption.

Osinbajo: As corruption fights back



Vice President Yemi Osinbajo's consistency in talking about and exposing the massive corruption that took place before the Buhari government came on board in 2015 is largely responsible for the coordinated attacks against his person and office in recent days.



Apparently, those fingered in the various graft cases are unhappy and have resolved to malign the Vice President through whatever means possible, including planting lies in the media just to discredit and portray Professor Osinbajo as corrupt, dishonest and untrustworthy. The grand plot is simply to divert attention from government's resolve to name and shame those who looted the nation's commonwealth.



So, Osinbajo, being one of the custodians of verifiable facts and figures about graft perpetrated by the last administration, has become their prime target. These guys are not comfortable with the way and manner the VP exposes all that transpired throughout the period the PDP was in power.



Unfortunately for them, the Buhari government, through statutory government agencies, has expressed its readiness to fight graft and ensure that those who shortchanged the country face the consequences of their actions.



The allegation of illegal authorisation of release of funds for emergency activities brought up by the House Committee on Emergency Preparedness against the Vice President is a deliberate plot to smear the name and integrity of the VP because Section 43 of the same Public Procurement Law they referred to made provision for the such swift response in the case of an emergency situation. Osinbajo who was then the Acting President had to make those approvals to respond to life-threatening, acute food shortages involving IDPs in the northeast.



The allegation that the contracts were not also fully delivered is also false because the monitoring process involved all relevant government agencies and reputable international NGOs and United Nations agencies.



This is a clear example of corruption fighting back. Given his background as a reputable lawyer, he cannot be ignorant of our procurement laws and approval for release of funds. So, the allegations are as baseless and hollow as they come.



Without fear of contradiction, though a human being, Professor Osinbajo is the wrong person to accuse of corruption in whatever guise. This is one big lie that cannot stand at all. Even his accusers know too well that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is a man of pristine character and integrity who is guided by love for God and humanity.



Like his boss, President Buhari, Professor Osinbajo has never been involved or mentioned in any corruption case since his foray into partisan politics. The records and facts are there for all to see. Undoubtedly, the VP maintains a clean sheet and record as far as public service is concerned.



Yunusa Abdullahi

House Of Reps Commitee Denies Indicting Osinbajo In NEMA’s Probe


The House of Representatives say it did not indict the vice president Yemi Osinbajo in its probe report on the national emergency management agency as reported in some quarters of media.

Chairman house committee on NEMA and disaster preparedness representative Isah J.C made the clarification while raising a matter of privilege Tuesday at plenary.

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT

PRESS RELEASE



N-POWER TO BECOME AFRICA’S LARGEST POST-TERTIARY JOB SCHEME, SAYS VP OSINBAJO AT ABUJA TOWN HALL MEETING

Adds: 1 Million beneficiaries targeted in next phase, FG committed to creating more opportunities for Nigerians to prosper

Following the successes recorded in the N-Power programme of the Buhari administration and the growing need for government’s direct intervention in job creation, the Federal Government will expand the N-Power scheme to accommodate 1 million beneficiaries in the next phase, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

The Vice President who stated this while responding to a variety of questions from Nigerians across different professions and persuasions, at a town hall meeting in Abuja yesterday, said the programme would become the largest post-tertiary job scheme in Africa.

According to him, “the idea of N-Power is supposed to be government’s own programme of direct employment and training. At the moment, we have taken up to 500,000 and in the next phase we are looking at another 200,000 and closely followed by another 300,000.

“In all, we will be employing up to a million, and that will be the largest post-tertiary job programme in the entire Africa. The reason why we have done this is because of the employment problems that we have, we may not be able to engage everybody but at least government must give some direct provision of jobs.”

Prof. Osinbajo explained further that though government could not pay more than the N30,000 currently paid to beneficiaries and also fix all the unemployment issues, it is working on creating the enabling environment to ensure that beneficiaries as well as other unemployed Nigerians become useful to themselves.

He said: “It is infrastructure that will create the opportunities to provide more jobs, especially through manufacturing and Industry.

“So, we are doing roads and rail, providing power; that is the way we can develop industry. We are energizing our markets at the moment, putting solar power in the markets. We have designated 300 markets, we have done Ariaria in the South East, Sabon Gari in Kano, Surat in Lagos, Isikan in Ondo, Gbagi in Oyo and we are expanding so that more people can work.”

On the need to engage more women in productive activities, Prof. Osinbajo said: “one of the ways the Buhari administration is engaging more women is through our GEEP loans.”

He said: “56% of our GEEP loans go to the women. So there is a lot of preferential advantage that we give to women and this is because women are effective managers of resources; they pay back these loans when they are given.”

Speaking on the misconceptions about the borrowing arrangements of the Buhari administration, the Vice President said, the country, under President Buhari, was not in a terribly bad debt situation as insinuated in some quarters.

According to him, very frequently you find people creating fear about the issue of debt and saying that this government has borrowed more than previous governments.

“I want to give you the facts and figures on the debt issue. The dollar denominated debts of Nigeria – that is the debts of the Federal Government, the States and Local governments.

“In 2010, Nigeria’s debt was $35 billion; 2011, it was $41billion; in 2012, it was $48 billion, in 2013, it became $64 billion; 2014, it rose to $67 billion; 2015, it fell to $63 billion; 2016, $57 billion; 2017, $70 billion; 2018, it is $73 billion. So, the difference between 2015 and now is $10 billion.

“One of the things that I always want you to bear in mind is that when oil prices are at their highest, between 2010 and 2014 that was when we had the sharpest rise in debts.”

Continuing on the debt issue, Prof. Osinbajo said “the other thing that I want us to bear in mind is what is called debt to GDP. Our debt to GDP is one of the lowest among the countries that are frequently compared to us. Our debt to GDP is 20%. When you compare it to other countries, you will see that Ghana is about 68% whereas Ethiopia’s is 48%. In terms of the size of our economy and debt, we are doing okay”

He, however, agreed that “Nigeria may have an issue with debt to revenue”, noting that “we are not collecting enough revenue compared to what we want to spend.”

“Are we collecting enough taxes? If you look at the FIRS figures, it says 914 Nigerians pay the self-assessed tax of more than N10 million. Of the 914, 912 live in Lagos and the other 2 live in Ogun state, no other Nigerian outside of Lagos and Ogun pay the self-assessed tax of more than N10 million. So, we are simply not collecting enough revenue,” he added.

The Vice President said the Federal Government in collaboration with the States was working on harmonizing tax collections in order to address issues relating to multiple collection of taxes.

He said: “this is a problem that we are dealing with all across Nigeria. It is one of the issues we are dealing with under the ease of doing business. We are addressing the sub-national. How we can harmonize taxes. The second phase of our ease of doing business is focused on the collection of multiple taxes; there is no reason why that should continue.”

On the ASUU strike, the Vice President said that government is engaging the leadership of the union, noting that “the next meeting is on Thursday, November 15, 2018”.

He, however, explained that “we are dealing with a population of about 200 million people who depend on a budget of about N8.6 trillion and of that amount, 70% of it goes to salaries and overheads, and it goes to less than 2 million people. It is impossible to answer to all of the monetary needs of people by the size of the federal budget”.

On healthcare financing, Prof. Osinbajo said the Buhari administration has done much even as it has earned 60% less than the previous administrations.

According to him, “the first thing to bear in mind is that health care financing has suffered over the years even when we were earning the most money, we were underfunding healthcare.

“In 2015 when we came in, the healthcare budget was N22.7 billion and as of today we moved that to N86.5 billion and we are earning 60% less. Education was N23 billion in 2015, now it is N102 billion. The issue really is one of government commitment. For the first time, in the 2018 budget, we are setting aside 1% of our consolidated revenue to the health sector.”

Earlier, the Ministers of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola; Industry, Trade and investment, Dr. Okey Enelamah; Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi; and Agriculture, Dr. Audu Ogbe, responded separately to issues relating to their various ministries.

The town hall meeting was organized by Act Now, a non-political group that works in promoting transparency and good governance as well as youth participation in governance.



Laolu Akande

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity

Office of the Vice President

13th November, 2018

Prof. Osinbajo's soaring popularity among Nigerian youths

By Abdullahi Yunusa

There is absolutely something unique about Vice President Yemi Osinbajo's personality which endears him to many, especially the Nigerian youths. Given the way he freely interacts, relates and reaches out to Nigerians during most of his official outings, many see and regard him as a true friend of the common man.

President Muhammadu Buhari wasn't wrong, after all when he entrusted his administration's Social Investment Programmes in his care. His choice of Professor Osinbajo as the Chief implementor of the scheme tells of the importance government attaches to it. Such an important and very critical assignment of ensuring that every Nigerian, especially the common people directly feels the impact of governance requires the stamp of a man of impeccable character and integrity for it to succeed.

Professor Yemi Osinbajo has not only acquitted himself in the transparent manner he discharges his responsibility as the coordinator of SIP, but has displayed capacity, competence and transparency in the handling of the various components of the entire programme. The general consensus out there is that the SIP initiative which is principally targeted at empowering ordinary Nigerians is the most impactful, transparent and accountable social intervention programme ever introduced in our chequered political history as a country. Nigerians have since taken ownership of the various aspects of the SIP scheme which has for the very first time brought government closer to the people.

Vice President Osinbajo, like his boss, President Muhammadu Buhari, is so passionate about the welfare of Nigerians, which he says occupies a significant position in the overall programme of the President Buhari administration. The Vice President has continued to reiterate government's resolve to touch the lives of all Nigerians through faithful implementation of all government programmes and policies.

The truth is, Nigerians, especially the youth population are happy with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo's style of handling official matters. There is hardly a day that the Vice President isn't out there interacting with ordinary Nigerians on how best to meet their yearnings and aspirations. Apart from sitting to hold regular talk sessions with the youths, market women, artisans and petty traders across markets, Professor Osinbajo always welcomes suggestions, ideas, criticisms and opinions on how to achieve the Nigeria of our dream. One outstanding attribute of the Vice President is that he's a listening leader. He believes strongly in the fact that every Nigerian should have something to offer in our desire to develop our dear nation.

By now, Professor Osinbajo's security men have become so used to the huge crowd that often struggle to either see or have a handshake with him during his numerous official engagements. He's made himself very accessible and easy to locate. I've lost count of the number of youth-based programmes that Professor Osinbajo has graced and held frank discussions with young Nigerians. He's made it a point of duty to always honour such invitations himself, an indication of the fact he attaches much importance to issues that pertain to our youths.

Only recently at the 30th Biennial Conference of the Student Christian Movement of Nigeria held at the Cathedral Church of the Good Shepherd, Enugu, he urged youths to see themselves as key players in Nigeria's march to greatness, adding that contrary to the belief that the young people were the leaders of tomorrow, the time for the youths to showcase themselves was now.

Even when he hosted a delegation of the Not-Too-Young-To-Run Movement, sometime ago he charged them to remain steadfast and committed to the task of realizing our full potential as a country.

“My dear young people, we need your energy, passion, charisma and creative abilities in our march to greatness. The time has come for all of you be deeply involved in politics and governance".

Nigerians are always pleased to see the country's number two citizen daily visiting towns, villages and cities to explain government's programmes and policies to the masses across markets, bus stations, campuses and social gatherings. This is a complete departure from the way and manner officials of past governments treated us. We now welcome top government functionaries to our homes, not the other way round.

This is one task the VP is so passionate about. He clearly understands the fact that, it is the responsibility of elected and appointed government officials to keep the people abreast of developments, especially on issues of welfare and security.

It is our expectation that the Vice President, under whose office and supervision the SIP scheme is domiciled would continue to do his very best to ensure that the various components of the scheme like the N-POWER, Conditional Cash Transfer, MSMES Clinics, Trader Moni, Farmer Moni, Market Moni etc are meaningfully implemented in line with the change agenda of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT
PRESS STATEMENT

NO VIOLATIONS IN APPROVAL OF N5.8B EMERGENCY FOOD INTERVENTION FUND FOR NORTH EAST

Our attention has been drawn to a report of the House Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness issued on Thursday, November 8, 2018, particularly in respect of funds released for “emergency intervention of food security to the North-East” in June 2017, when the Vice President was Acting President.

In its report, the Committee alleged that a sum of N5,865,671,939.26 was approved and released in June 2017 vide a Memo raised from the Office of the Acting President, directing the Honourable Minister of Finance and the Accountant General of the Federation to so act. The House Committee also concluded that the payment made was in contravention of approval of the National Assembly. This conclusion is both false and misleading.

To start with, it is important to understand the context of the transaction. This was at a time when internally displaced persons and their host communities faced very severe food shortages throughout the North East, as a result of successive poor harvests and abandoned farmlands, minimal cross-border cash crop trade and lost economic opportunities.

On 15th April 2017, the United Nations World Food Programme (UN WFP), a major aid organisation and food supplier to the region, had issued a warning that it would be reducing its vital support to about 1.8 million IDPs by as much as 85%, due to corresponding reduction in funding by the donor countries. Around the same time, the United Nations Commission for Refugees in Geneva also warned of the growing risk of mass deaths from starvation among people living in the conflict areas.

The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) moved urgently to prevent the looming disaster by establishing a strategic food intervention plan for the affected States. A Presidential Committee on Emergency Food Delivery to the North East was convened and the Committee met on the 13th of May, 2017 to kick off the process, with the then Acting President as Chairman. Other members of the Committee included:
(i) Minister of Finance;
(ii) Minister of Budget and National Planning;
(iii) Minister of State for Budget and National Planning;
(iv) Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development;
(v) Governor of Central Bank;
(vi) Deputy Chief of Staff to the President; and
(vii) Senior Special Assistant in the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President.

Resulting from the deliberations of this and subsequent meetings, the approval referred to in the House Committee’s Report was, in fact, based on a request raised by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria as facilitator of the National Food Security Programme, vide a letter dated May 25, 2017.

As explained in the said letter, there was an immediate need to distribute grains, including rice, maize, soya beans and sorghum, to Internally Displaced Persons through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). The only way to obtain the quantity of grains required was to resort to the National Food Security Progamme (NFSP) earlier established by the Federal Government as a means of shoring up its strategic grain reserves.

It was in consequence of the Federal Government decision to urgently purchase the stored grains for distribution to Internally Displaced Persons that the CBN made the proposal for approval of 30,905.08 Metric Tonnes at N5,229,685,333.26. Of that amount, the then Acting President eventually approved N5,036,644,933.26, after excluding bagging costs. This was pursuant to the recommendation that bagging, transportation and other logistics were best handled by NEMA.

NEMA also originated a request to the Acting President, dated May 25, 2017, requesting the sum of N829,026,456.00 for general logistics, branding & packaging, tracking, security, personnel, media & publicity and contingency costs of taking the grains from their respective locations in Kano, Kaduna, Funtua, Ibadan and Gombe to Adamawa, Borno, Yobe, Bauchi, Gombe, Taraba and Jigawa States.

These presidential approvals were well within the clear constitutional authority of the Acting President, who needed to take emergency steps to forestall acute food shortages in the affected States and there was nothing illegal or unconstitutional about them. The approvals were duly communicated by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor of Central Bank, Director General of NEMA and the Minister of Finance for implementation.

On account of the emergency nature of the procurement, the House Committee’s assumption that the ordinary rules of procurement would apply was wrong. Section 43 of the Public Procurement Act makes provision for emergency procurement, in which case the procuring entity is allowed to engage in direct contracting for goods and file a report thereafter with the Bureau of Public Procurement.

It is also wrong to assume that taxes and interests accruable to government from these transactions in food items were deliberately ignored or waived by neglect. Of course, we expect that any loans advanced to any of the companies would be recovered with the agreed interests, and that any profits made by such companies would be liable to tax in the usual manner.

The suggestion that the grains were never delivered to the target States is also blatant falsehood. In actual fact, in order to ensure effective distribution of the grains, an Emergency Food Intervention Project Team was established, consisting of the Director General of NEMA and representatives of the National Security Adviser, Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, Chief of Air Staff, Department of State Security, Nigeria Police and the Presidency. The Committee also worked with respective State Emergency Management Agencies, as well as humanitarian agencies such as World Food Programme, International Committee of the Red Cross, and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Deliveries were publicly made directly to the intended beneficiaries. In fact, the then Acting President personally inspected the electronic truck-tracking unit established in Maiduguri for the purpose of monitoring the transportation, and flagged off the food distribution on the 8th of June, 2017. Besides, there was the integration of a robust monitoring and evaluation system into the operation in order to facilitate a transparent and accountable process.

Therefore, all insinuations on this matter regarding purported indictments and perceived violations of due process or the constitution are baseless and totally false. Such interpretations are flawed and should be utterly ignored.


Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President
Office of the Vice President
9th November, 2018

A policy group has dismissed reports that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was indicted by the House of Representatives over the crisis rocking the National Emergency Management Agency NEMA).

Global Economic Policy Initiative (GEPIn) president, Bernard Okri, noted that since the sack of six NEMA directors in April it had been monitoring the House of Representatives and its brazen support for the corrupt directors.

“We have watching keenly the probe of the suspended NEMA directors by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the vested interests blackmailing and intimidating the current NEMA leadership, as reflected in the questionable intervention of the House of Representatives ad hoc committee.

“This is corruption fighting back but what is even more frightening is the fact that the Vice President has been dragged into this because he sits atop the NEMA board.

“It would be recalled that in April, this same House of Reps committee had invited the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita and acting EFCC chairman Ibrahim Magu over the legality of the suspension of these directors.

“Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, head of the CSF had said that the Vice President and NEMA board members acted in line with Public Service Rules on the suspension of the Directors and staff of the agency.

“Similarly, the EFCC had in a report to the Presidency recommended the disciplinary measure to enable it to conduct unhindered investigation and have access to vital records.

“Since the suspension of these directors, the House of Representatives Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness chaired by Ali Isa (PDP Gombe) has been looking for ways to remove the NEMA DG, Mustapha Maihaja, so they dragged the VP’s name into it.

Okri said the group condemns and frowns at the plots by “corrupt politicians” to drag the Vice President who chairs the NEMA Board into the obvious and unnecessary politicization of the EFCC probe.

“But to claim that the VP illegally approved the release of N5.8 billion in June 2017 from the Consolidated Revenue Fund Account to NEMA is a complete mischief.

“Only the President has the powers to approve monies, not the Vice President as alleged by the House of Reps in its report.

“Secondly, it is important to know that the monies allocated for NEMA in always imputed in the budget. The Federal Government does not release money indiscriminately.

“For me, this is the clearest case of corruption fighting back. The House of Reps should not drag the Vice President into its mess.

Okri noted that it was all stage managed particularly because of the way Premium Times reported the matter. “It’s ludicrous to publish an unconfirmed report with BREAKING. This is a case that has been ongoing since April.

“Where the reporters at Premium Times sleeping when this matter began? They are part of the corruption fighting back but we will not allow it. We will stand on the side of the truth.

GEPIn stressed that Nigerians connect with VP Osinbajo because he has built his career on integrity.

“We know Prof. Osinbajo as a man of integrity and leader with strong positive character and integrity. No one would be allowed to baselessly tamper with the good reputation he has painstakingly erected over the years.

Okri said the sacked directors, Akinbola Hakeem Gbolahan, Director of Finance and Accounts; Mr. Umesi Emenike, Ag. Director, Special Duties; Mallam Alhassan Nuhu, Director, Risk Reduction; Mr. Mamman Ali Ibrahim, Pilot in-charge Air Ambulance and Aviation Unit; Mr. Ganiyu Yunusa Deji, the Chief Maintenance Officer and Mr. Kanar Mohammed, the Director of Welfare should face the probe by EFCC.

“The directors are innocent until proven guilty but increasingly they are proving that they are guilty by lobbying politicians and the media to report fake news, they should know that the Buhari administration will not tolerate any kind of corruption.

A political group in Nigeria has rejected the main opposition party’s claim on Trader Moni, a Social Investment Programme (SIP) initiated by the Buhari government.

Reacting to the claims of PDP, Sunday Akinloye, chairman of the Initiative to Save Democracy (ISD) explained that Nigerians are not for sale at any price.

He noted that because the PDP is a heavily corrupt party, its sees any money transaction as a bribe-giving relationship. “The PDP must note that Nigerians are wiser now and are not for sale. The Trader Moni scheme is very laudable as it has reached close to one million Nigerians.

Akinloye noted that the All Progressives Congress led government does not believe that Nigerians can be bought but instead they have dedicated their service towards the betterment of the people. “The traders who accessed Trader Moni early are already paying back the loan. Nigerians must know that these loans are tied to Bank Verification Numbers and must be repaid.

“The traders were not even asked for their Permanent Voters Card as claimed by the PDP. All you need to be eligible is to be a petty trader.

“The PDP merely reflects their kind of corruption-minded politics which failed to benefit the people for 16 years. They are bitter that they added no real value to Nigerians and will do anything to pull down a good government.

Akinloye explained that while there are so far over 809,000 beneficiaries of TraderMoni, over 1.1 million Nigerians – market women, traders, artisans, farmers – are currently beneficiaries of Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), which comprises FarmerMoni, MarketMoni and TraderMoni.

FarmerMoni loans start at N300,000 and are for farmers in farming clusters, via farm aggregators, while MarketMoni is a 6-month interest-free credit of between N50,000 and N300,000 for small businesses – medium-scale traders, market women, artisans, and youth in market associations – under the auspices of their cooperative societies.

Under the TraderMoni scheme, beneficiaries can get access to a higher facility ranging from N15,000 to N100,000 when they repay N10,000 within the stipulated time period.

“PDP are insulting Nigerians by suggesting that our people are for sale,” Akinloye stressed, “No amount is good enough, our people’s right to choose their leaders is priceless, let PDP stand on their own record and stop this abuse of our collective identity,” he added.

He then went on to explain that TraderMoni, which is part of the Federal Government’s Social Investment Programme (N-SIP), is designed to assist petty traders across the country expand their trade through the provision of collateral and interest-free loans from N10,000. The loans are repayable over a period of six months.

The scheme, which has since been formally launched in 33 states and the FCT, is expected to reach 2 million petty traders by the end of the year,

Also, through TraderMoni scheme, the Buhari Administration aims to take financial inclusion down to the grassroots, and uplift Nigerians at the bottom of the pyramid, considering the contribution of petty traders to economic development.

The Federal Government is also aware of the fact that many of the petty traders don’t have what the commercial banks require to grant them loans.

Group replies PDP on Trader Moni, says Nigerians not for sale

A political group in Nigeria has rejected the main opposition party’s claim on Trader Moni, a Social Investment Programme (SIP) initiated by the Buhari government.

Reacting to the claims of PDP, Sunday Akinloye, chairman of the Initiative to Save Democracy (ISD) explained that Nigerians are not for sale at any price.

He noted that because the PDP is a heavily corrupt party, its sees any money transaction as a bribe-giving relationship. “The PDP must note that Nigerians are wiser now and are not for sale. The Trader Moni scheme is very laudable as it has reached close to one million Nigerians.

Akinloye noted that the All Progressives Congress led government does not believe that Nigerians can be bought but instead they have dedicated their service towards the betterment of the people. “The traders who accessed Trader Moni early are already paying back the loan. Nigerians must know that these loans are tied to Bank Verification Numbers and must be repaid.

“The traders were not even asked for their Permanent Voters Card as claimed by the PDP. All you need to be eligible is to be a petty trader.

“The PDP merely reflects their kind of corruption-minded politics which failed to benefit the people for 16 years. They are bitter that they added no real value to Nigerians and will do anything to pull down a good government.

Akinloye explained that while there are so far over 809,000 beneficiaries of TraderMoni, over 1.1 million Nigerians - market women, traders, artisans, farmers – are currently beneficiaries of Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), which comprises FarmerMoni, MarketMoni and TraderMoni.

FarmerMoni loans start at N300,000 and are for farmers in farming clusters, via farm aggregators, while MarketMoni is a 6-month interest-free credit of between N50,000 and N300,000 for small businesses - medium-scale traders, market women, artisans, and youth in market associations - under the auspices of their cooperative societies.

Under the TraderMoni scheme, beneficiaries can get access to a higher facility ranging from N15,000 to N100,000 when they repay N10,000 within the stipulated time period.

“PDP are insulting Nigerians by suggesting that our people are for sale,” Akinloye stressed, “No amount is good enough, our people's right to choose their leaders is priceless, let PDP stand on their own record and stop this abuse of our collective identity,” he added.

He then went on to explain that TraderMoni, which is part of the Federal Government’s Social Investment Programme (N-SIP), is designed to assist petty traders across the country expand their trade through the provision of collateral and interest-free loans from N10,000. The loans are repayable over a period of six months.

The scheme, which has since been formally launched in 33 states and the FCT, is expected to reach 2 million petty traders by the end of the year,

Also, through TraderMoni scheme, the Buhari Administration aims to take financial inclusion down to the grassroots, and uplift Nigerians at the bottom of the pyramid, considering the contribution of petty traders to economic development.

The Federal Government is also aware of the fact that many of the petty traders don’t have what the commercial banks require to grant them loans.

PRESS STATEMENT ON THE SOCIAL INVESTMENTS JOURNEY

MARYAM UWAIS MFR



The Social Investment Programme of the President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR Administration was set up to improve the living conditions of millions of Nigerians across the country. It has become important that every now and then, we update Nigerians on how far we have come in the last three years, including our success stories and our achievements. In the last three years we have heard thousands of testimonials of people’s lives being changed for the better, as a sign of success and deep penetration into our communities. We continue to see evident improvement in the lives of our beneficiaries.



It is not in doubt that the Social Investment Programme of this Administration is the largest, most ambitious, and I dare say the most successful attempt by any Government, to invest in our people, in Nigeria’s history.



Since inception, we have provided 500 Billion Naira for the programmes in the 2016, 2017 & 2018 Budgets, with close to N250 Billion, being 23.63% of the entire 3 years budget appropriated for N-SIPS having been released. For the 2018 budget so far, however, we have received 18% of the amount appropriated for all our progammes.



Our programmes have four components: The Home Grown School Feeding Programme, the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme, the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (which comprises the MarketMoni, the FarmerMoni and the TraderMoni), and the last, but not the least, the N-Power programme, (which also comprises the Technical Hubs springing up around the country, as well as the N-Power Stem Junior, about to commence).



Below is a brief background to each of the programmes and the successes we have achieved so far:



The Home Grown School Feeding Programme: Is a programme that is aimed at feeding young children in our public primary schools, with the aim of improving their nutrition, increasing school enrolment and reducing the incidence of malnutrition. So far, we are feeding over 9,300,892 children in 49,837 government schools in 26 States. Being a programme that also aims at empowering communities, we have also engaged 96,972 cooks with over a 100,000 small-scale farmers being part of the value chain, supplying locally sourced ingredients. It is noteworthy of mention that currently, public schools require 6.8m eggs, 594 cattle and 83 metric tons of fish to be supplied to the cooks, every week, for the purpose of feeding the children. These statistics do not take into account the boost that is evident in the production and supply of rice, wheat, soya bean, orange-flesh potatoes, fruit and vegetable farmers, to mention a few.
The Conditional Cash Transfer Programme: This programme is giving out 5,000 Naira monthly to 297,973 households in Nigeria. It is currently being implemented in 20 States. As a critical component of the cash transfer programme, we have trained almost 3,000 community cash transfer facilitators in every ward where the programme is ongoing, to build the capacities of our beneficiaries and support them to become productive and take ownership of their lives. The methodology of selecting our beneficiaries is deliberate, tried and tested to assure of credibility, as well as aimed at enabling the capturing of biometric data for financial and social inclusion. Beneficiary households are selected by the communities directly, with their household and community data being uploaded onto Social Registers by trained enumerators at State and LGA levels, as a means of ensuring that we continue to keep a keen eye on their progress, towards weaning them out of poverty.
The Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) comprises the MarketMoni, FarmerMoni and the TraderMoni. We are making available to micro-businesses credit facilities to improve their businesses through this scheme. It is managed by the Bank of Industry, who have the wherewithal to recover loans. We have so far reached over 1.1 Million Beneficiaries across the 36 States of the Federation, with N27.4 Billion in interest free loans, ranging from N10,000 Naira to N350,000 Naira disbursed so far. In particular, the aim of the Trader Moni programme is to take financial inclusion to the grassroots, considering the daily contributions of millions of petty traders to our economic prosperity and development. Indeed, especially because this category of citizens has hitherto had no access to credit to support their businesses, this is a deliberate effort at assuring of financial credit and a sense of belonging as an entitlement of these citizens, who are also Nigerians deserving of support.
N-Power: this programme is currently employing 500,000 youth graduates. It is the largest post-tertiary employment programme in Africa, where beneficiaries are paid a monthly stipend of N30,000 and deployed as volunteers into various sectors of need in the public space, such as health, agriculture, education and public finance. They are given devices to facilitate their service delivery, and as a continuous learning avenue. We have also supported 20,000 N-Power non-graduate volunteers, who have been trained in skill centres in every State, and given tool boxes to enable them apply their newly-acquired expertise in the building and automative industries. Both schemes have assured of volunteers in all the Local Government Areas of the 36 States of the Federation and the FCT.


It is important to note that in the majority of these schemes there are no third parties engaged to pay monies to beneficiaries. All monies are paid directly through their bank accounts, having been verified by their BVN’s through a close collaboration with NIBSS. The processes and strategies in place are carefully designed to create a level-playing field in selection and payments. If there are challenges to payments as in the remote areas where there is no banking infrastructure, our beneficiaries are paid by agents in their locations, which agents have been selected in an open and transparent process. We have improved on transparent and efficient payments by assuring of a technology aided back-to-back payment delivery, so we can see who is being paid in a timely manner, as payments are being effected in the field.



I should also mention that the design of the Nigerian Social Safety Net intervention is anchored on the development of the Social Register. This strategy of anchoring interventions from the Social Register and not from multi beneficiary lists has generated interest in other countries within the social protection space. One of such countries is the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that is currently visiting our country on a study tour. The DRC is in the process of designing its Social Safety Net programme and the tour will afford them the opportunity for learning towards assuring of an appropriate design for their own context. In particular, the DRC delegation is keen on understudying the process of community-based targeting in building a credible social registry for their own interventions. The delegation which is made up of 8 government staff and 1 staff from the World Bank staff (based in the DRC) are also slated to visit our State project offices and implementation sites in the Federal Capital Territory and Kogi State. The delegation is led by a Cabinet Minister in the Government of the Congo.



We wish to reassure all Nigerians that we are working with credible local and International development partners and non-governmental organizations with the passion and avowed commitment to remain apolitical, towards assuring that we apply concerted efforts to alleviate poverty and unemployment. For us to be able to improve on our human capital indices in the various spheres, we must address our sundry challenges in a manner that remains objective and sincere, irrespective of ethnicity, religion and political affiliation. We must also remain continuously poised to address any concerns, as they emerge. We continue to encourage Nigerians, wherever they may be, to draw our attention to any problem they may perceive arising in their respective vicinities. The task to address poverty and unemployment should be a collective responsibility for all of us, even as we continue to apply ourselves to assure of a better Nigeria for the benefit of all our citizens, irrespective of class, location and political affiliation. Thank you.





Maryam Uwais MFR

Special Adviser to the President on Social Investments

Office of the Vice President

Why PDP Senators are unhappy with Buhari's Social Investment Programmes

Truth is, Nigerians and more Nigerians have continued to hail the Buhari administration's well-thoughout resolve to meaningfully empower Nigerians through its Social Investment Programmes which have earned her accolades from within and outside Nigeria.

But the PDP is not happy that ordinary Nigerians are bidding farewell to extreme poverty courtesy of the SIP. The party is sad that the Federal government is addressing the needs of our fellow countrymen and women. The party is never used to empowerig the poor.

~PDP lawmakers are not happy because for the very first time the poor people are being factored into the distribution of our commonwealth through the SIP.

~ PDP lawmakers are not pleased because monies that would have ended up in their pockets were invested into the Buhari administration's Social Investment Programmes.

~PDP lawmakers are sad because the Federal government chose to be thorough and unbiased in the implementation of the Social Investment Programmes.

~ PDP lawmakers are angry because slots for would-be beneficiaries of various SIP schemes weren't alloted to anyone, not even heads of the implementing bodies.

~ PDP lawmakers are disgruntled because all SIP beneficiaries are selected via transparent means and not based on connections.

~ PDP lawmakers are sad because the Buhari SIP scheme didn't fail like the SURE-P programme of the previous government which was meant for the families and friends of top government functionaries.

~Senator Abiodun Olujimi's claims that SIP beneficiaries are selected based on party affiliation and connections are unfounded and baseless.

~The SIP is not only lifting Nigerians out of poverty but clearly addresses the core issues that confront the common man.

Peter Obi: An unrepentant ethnic irredentist

PDP Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has throughout his campaigns so far accused the President Muhammadu Buhari administration of dividing the country along its fault lines and claimed that he is the one with the magic wand to bring everybody together and unite the nation.

The lie in the claims was however exposed recently with the choice of Peter Obi - who is arguably Nigeria’s most divisive, bigoted and sectional politician alive – as running mate. How can someone who has never hidden his disbelief in One Nigeria unite Nigeria?

~In 2011, Peter Obi as Governor of Anambra State deported 29 Akwa-Ibom State indigenes without any justification other than the fact that he didn’t consider it the duty of his administration to accommodate and care for people who are not of the Igbo ethnic stock.

~Traders and residents of northern extraction had a torrid time living in the state under Obi as state government officials constantly demolished their homes and mosques and barred them from moving round peacefully.

~Peter Obi once directed all non citizens of Anambra residing in the state to apply for official identity cards as requirement for living or doing business in any part of the state.

~Obi has also been named as a major sponsor of the secessionist movement – Independent of People of Biafra (IPOB) and has never hidden his solidarity with their agitations and support for their violent rhetoric/campaign.

~Obi’s Igbo irredentism was confirmed in August 2012 when his company, SabMiller introduced a new alcoholic drink called ‘Hero’ into the market. The logo of IPOB was (and is still) conspicuously placed on the bottle and can of the product, which has now become the most popular drink of the southeast people.

ON PMB WAEC CERTIFICATE

It's a pity that many Nigerians can no longer reason having been blinded or delusioned with ethno religious sentiment and hatred. While they spend fortune on data to upload or download rubbish, selfies, posting and sharing unverified posts, less attention is given to research.

I have read many comments on PMB recently acquired WAEC certificate and I can only conclude that many are actually educated but illiterate, walloping in their high level of ignorance while wailing in the ocean of bitterness and hatred thereby alluding it to hunger and poverty in the land.

You may need to ask the following salient questions concerning the certification after which your eyes of understanding may be opened with the answers provided below, thereby making you to discuss intelligently with wisdom irrespective of your political lineage or belief

1. Is it possible to get another certificate to replace the lost one?

Answer : No

2. How come that WAEC presented another certificate to PMB?

Answer:

WAEC never presented
another certificate to PMB but Attestation based on request.

3. What is the difference between attestation and certificate or Why Attestation instead of certificate?

Answer:

Attestation is a validity of any result upon which a certificate can be issued or has been issued.

4. What happened to PMB original WAEC result?

Answer : Ask the Army headquarter ( IBB)

5. Why should WAEC issue him with attestation? Is it because he is the president?

Answer :

WAEC can issue anyone with attestation irrespective of the person background upon request by the individual and backed up with a police report and court affidavit.

6. How come the certificate looked new with recently taken passport photograph as displayed on the PMB WAEC CERTIFICATE?

Answer :

What was issued is not certificate but attestation which normally comes with an embossed recently taken passport photograph in accordance with the WAEC rules and regulations that guide the conduct of their examination and issuance of attestation which is most often referred to as CONFIRMATION OF RESULTS.

I believe that with this enlightment, many will stop making mockery of their ignorance.

Thank you.

Akindele Onalapo

I'm Yoruba and I'm Proud

I'm Yoruba and I'm proud. When I hear anyone speak my language outside the Southwest, my head swells and I feel that connection to home. It leaves me proud and happy to associate with them. That's who I am.

I'm even prouder when I hear my language outside the shores of Nigeria, just as I am proud to associate with other Nigerians when I hear our world acclaimed Pidgin English. In fact, nothing gives me more joy.

But I'm at my proudest when I see and read Yoruba people do well. It motivates me and that's why I'm proud to associate with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

He's Yoruba and has my vote in 2019.

Kolawole Abdulfatai

HOW WE PLAN TO IMPROVE EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES, SCHOOL ENROLMENT IN THE COMING YEARS, BY VP OSINBAJO



*Adds: School-feeding Programme raises enrollment by 30% in many cases



*Every Child Counts is the name of new education policy



“Every Child Counts” is the name of our policy which means we have democratized our vision of a qualitative and relevant education to reach every Nigerian child.”



“Every Child Counts” ensures that all children especially the numbers reported to be out of school now, and in those areas where children tend to drop out of school much faster, get a decent education and are reached by this programme. And this is one of the real aspirations of the programme.”



“We are embarking on a massive nationwide teacher training project which will ensure that our educators of the minds of our young people are trained in the most current ways and technology.”







SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, VICE PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, AT THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF GRANGE SCHOOL, HELD IN LAGOS, ON 30TH OCTOBER 2018.



PROTOCOLS



I am extremely honoured to have been invited to flag off the ceremonies marking the 60th Anniversary of the Grange School - this pre-eminent citadel of education. I have known Grange School practically all my life since I am only a year older than the school. I have been asked to speak on “academic excellence as a tool for nation building” and I will speak for a very few minutes.



As you already know, Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country, and like the rest of the continent, it is a nation of young people; half the population is below the age of 20. By the year 2050, we are told that we will be the third most populous country in the world, exceeded only by India and China, in that order. 60 per cent of that population will be made up of young people, an average age of about 17.5 years.



So, we are going to have a large youth population that can be a tremendous blessing for economic growth and prosperity; it can also be a problem especially if we don’t plan well and in advance. Poverty, extreme poverty further complicates the problem for a country like ours.



In the last poverty survey which was done in 2012, that is the last cycle of household poverty survey done, we are estimated to have about 112 million Nigerians living in extreme poverty. And so poverty is both a cause and consequence of our poor educational attainments.



Currently, we have 9 million children out of school mostly in the poorest parts of the country; of those in school, only 20% of those who completed public primary education could actually read; girls constitute the majority of those out of school children. So, there will be a lot of arguments, some of us may be familiar with the arguments about how crucial education is to reducing extreme poverty, and some will say it may not be entirely true to say that education will always reduce poverty.



But I think the statistics especially from those who have done credible studies, the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report and the Education Commission’s Learning Generation Report, show that education actually has a major impact on several aspects on what will constitute good living or raise the standard of living in a society. So, there is evidence showing that individual’s earnings will actually grow if people are well educated.



So, education, we are told, reduces poverty by almost 60%. 171 million people could be lifted out of extreme poverty if all children left school just with basic reading skills – that is equivalent to a 12% drop in the world total. Absolute poverty would be reduced by 30% just by improving basic reading and from learning skills.



The other point they say is that education increases individual earnings. Education increases earnings by roughly 10% per year of schooling. For each $1 or N360 invested in an additional year of schooling, earnings increased by $5 in low-income countries and $2.5 in lower-middle income countries.



Another is that education reduces economic inequalities. So, if workers from poor and rich backgrounds received the same education; disparity between the two in working poverty actually decreases by 39%.



They also found that education promotes economic growth. And there are all sorts of other statistics.



One of the critical things is that we have a huge population and that population continues to grow. Part of it is because those who live in extreme poverty have far more children than those who are better off. So, the average person who lives in extreme poverty has five children while those who are much better off will have an average of about three children. With education, you actually have a reduction in the number of children and a reduction in population which of course makes it more manageable to run a society especially when it comes to providing the required services for the people.



So, there is a three-fold plan to improve educational outcomes and that plan is one that was worked out between the Federal Government and the state government. I am sure many of us are aware of the fact that education, especially at the primary and secondary levels is run by the state government. For secondary schools, you have a few unity schools owned by the Federal Government. But the main bulk of all the work that is done in education is done by the state governments. The Federal Government sets the tone and the standards and it can also assist and work with the state governments as effectively as possible which is what we have tried to do.



I chair the National Economic Council, and one of the critical issues we have been looking at is how to develop a new curriculum for education and we have gone very far with the Ministry of Education.



So, like I said we have a three-fold plan. The first aspect of that is to ensure that we attain all of the outcomes specified in the Sustainable Development Goals and those targets include school enrollment, quality of education, adult literacy, and quality of teaching and all of those we intend to meet them.



Also, we intend to work on the 9 million out-of-school children, a lot of that has already been done, anyway. And this, of course, is a complex process because it involves the full cooperation of state governments and religious authorities in some cases and of course public-spirited individuals and groups. The whole idea is to properly equip and train, properly equip and train educators across the country.



We also need to increase school enrolment, already, school enrolment has increased in many cases by over 30% in the last 2 ½ years, largely on account of our school feeding programme. Under the programme, we give, in public schools, in 26 states at the moment, lunch every day, and about 9.2 million children who enjoy that facility now. And that has increased enrolment because many children from poor homes hardly ever eat a complete meal a day, so the meal is a major attraction. It also increases the learning abilities because one of the chief problems, when you are hungry, is, of course, loss of concentration.



Aside from that, malnutrition is a major problem, that actually stunts growth, and some of the stories that you hear about malnutrition and how they stunt mental growth are usually heartbreaking. You find that especially at the ages of zero and five if children are not properly fed, mentally, they are much weaker than those who were well fed within that same period of their lives. So, the school feeding programme, is for us, very important not just for improving enrolment, but for improving the ability to learn.



The third plank of that programme is that we recognized that we are not just dealing with a rapid population growth. We are also dealing with rapid changes in technology and rapid changes in the way things are being done with innovation and all of that. So, the educational challenge before us is a radical one, we simply cannot educate in the ways that we used to educate 10 years ago.



Besides, to eradicate poverty our education must equip the young to be productive. This is why we are currently working on far-reaching skills-based curriculum on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. This is the curriculum for primary and secondary schools.



The core skills the programme will provide include: (1) Coding and Computer Programming; (2) Design Thinking and Computer Generated Imaging, Animation and Graphics Design; (3) Robotics, Networking and basic engineering applications. We have a programme called the N-Power programme and about 3000 of them are currently being trained in animation skills and techniques and we found that people take so easily to learn some of these things. In fact, the younger people are, the easier it is for them to learn all of these technology skills. So, we think that to develop the kinds of young people who will be able to take on the kind of challenges of the 21st century and get the kind of work that the 21st century is producing already, we simply have to change the way we teach and what we teach.



And we are working in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Oracle Academy, Microsoft Cisco Academy and IBM. They are working with us in developing this curriculum. Of course, the Federal Ministry of Education and the respective states are also working with us. And the immediate plan is to reach, with this sort of education, at least 2 million pupils in the first year. The plan also envisions a new classroom structure that permits the cultivation, expression and early adoption of skills that will function in the environment that is already being created - the technology environment that is already being created.



The next question we asked is, for whom do we plan? The answer is quite straightforward - it is the Nigerian child. Not just the ones in the urban areas or the few that are privileged to afford decent schooling above the weakened standards of public schooling generally. The real slogan for us is “Every Child Counts” and that is the name of the policy which means we have democratized our vision of a qualitative and relevant education to reach every Nigerian child.



“Every Child Counts” ensures that all children especially the number reported to be out of school now, and in those areas where children tend to drop out of school much faster, all of them deserve to get a decent education, all of them must be reached by this programme. And this is one of the real aspirations of that programme. So, we are looking at how to ensure that these children not only get a decent education but it also means that classroom by classroom, school by school, our public schools become really the place where young people can learn and set an objective standard for how we educate the average Nigerian child regardless of class, gender and ethnicity. We have an ambitious plan to reach and equip at least ten thousand classrooms every year under this programme.



The question, “who do we plan for”, also takes into account our teachers. To impart the relevant, qualitative and excellent education of our vision, teacher training must be overhauled by wide-scale and disruptive methods. So, we are embarking on a massive nationwide teacher-training project which will ensure that our educators of the minds of our young people are trained in the most current ways and technology.



As part of our plan, our education system will also promote and develop skills that are key to nation building such as hard work, discipline, cooperation, unity, respect, honesty, service, leadership, accountability, integrity and the civic skills that are key in developing a nation. The work of changing the story of educational failure in Nigeria is not just for governments alone.



I must say that I am extremely proud of the way that Grange has enthusiastically collaborated with my office in some of the important work we are doing at the learning centre in Maiduguri where we have a world-class education and boarding, free of charge to children who are victims of the conflict in the northeast.



So, we have a facility that will take about 1,200 children and we have all manner of facilities which will be useful in their education. They have also committed to working with us on teacher training especially in the conflict areas and that is also a very important part of the work that we are doing. In many parts of Nigeria, many teachers simply don’t have the required skill to pass on the sort of knowledge and human experiences that will benefit the children. So we really need to do extensive training. For us, the whole work of changing the educational story in Nigeria is an important and ongoing one and it involves all of us coming together to do this work. Giving back is so crucial and I am glad to see that the example has been set by the Grange School just to show that is entirely possible by taking some of what we have to better the lives of so many especially those who cannot give us back.



So, I want to urge all of you especially the young people who are here that there is so much that can be done in terms of supporting the work that is being done to educate others and to better the lives of others. I met a young man (who has not been to the university yet) who does a lot of work with teaching English in some parts of the north and doing this largely by creating graphics and designs that are useful in teaching. It is not a big thing but it is so tremendously impactful.



So again I just want to congratulate the board, students and staff of Grange on your 60th birthday, and to wish you very more happy and fruitful years. God bless you.



Released by:

Laolu Akande

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity

Office of the Vice President

31st October 2018

From Obj's Book, Right from the Horse's Mouth!

How I Tackled Atiku and Others -

“By the Constitution, I had to inaugurate or prorogue the National Assembly on June 4, 1999. The most important officer in the National Assembly is the senate president and that office had been zoned to the South-east. And here was where Atiku Abubakar, my vice-president, first showed his hand and his character.
“Without seeking my view or approval, he started planning the installation of Chuba Okadigbo as the senate president. I did a background check on Chuba including his past as a student and made enquiries about him in the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) under (President Shehu) Shagari and no one would recommend him for the post of senate president.
“I left Atiku to go on his chase while I carried out a meticulous and detailed investigation and background check on each senator from the South-east. The one that appeared most appoint-able was Evan Enwerem. I canvassed the senate across the board for his election and he was elected. Atiku did not expect it and he felt sore.
“He began to strategise for Enwerem to be removed and Chuba Okadigbo to be installed. His strategy worked because I was at Abuja airport to receive a visiting head of state when the news reached me that the Senate had impeached Enwerem and elected Okadigbo. I was not perturbed. I came to understand from some senators including Florence Ita-Giwa, who later became my Special Adviser/ Liaison Officer to the National Assembly, that Atiku distributed US$5,000 each to some senators to carry out the ‘coup’.
“That was the beginning of bribing the legislature to carry out a particular line of action to suit or satisfy the purpose or desire of an individual or a group. The National Assembly had tasted blood and they would continue to want more. From the day I nominated Atiku to be my vice, he set his mind not for any good, benefit or service of the country, but on furiously planning to upstage, supplant or remove me at all cost and to take my place.
“That was what I brought him for, but he was impatient and over-ambitious. He was not ready to learn and to wait. His marabout, who predicted that despite being elected as governor, he would not be sworn in as a governor, which happened, also assured him that he would take over from me in a matter of months rather than years.
“All his plans, appointments of people and his actions were towards the actualisation of his marabout’s prediction. Once I realised his intention and programme, I watched him like a hawk without giving any indication of what I knew and letting down my guard. I could not succumb to the distraction, diversion and malevolence of an ambitious but unwise deputy.
“The work in hand was more important than a confrontational relationship with my deputy, a man over whom I knew I had far more experience and outreach in all matters. To alert him of what I knew he was up to, would only lead to lying, denial, more mischievous plans and more duplicity on his part.
“He was better managed that way. What was important was not allowing myself to be surprised or outmanoeuvred by him. I must always seize the initiative and know what was going on if not in his mind, but at least in his camp. That I did very effectively.
“Sometime in the fourth quarter of 2004, an associate of Atiku came to my residence at the Aso Villa from Atiku’s official residence. He felt uncomfortable and I tried to make him feel at ease. Then, he settled to tell me the story of what had just transpired in Atiku’s residence. I listened with rapt attention.
“He went on to say that Atiku told him that for him to become the President of Nigeria, the 2007 elections were only a formality.
“The seven ingredients he needed for his enthronement were already in his hands. He controlled the National Assembly because both the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives were in his pocket. He controlled twenty-eight out of thirty-six governors. He had control of the media. His influence over the judiciary was overwhelming.
“What he needed was foreign endorsement and for that he had employed two lobby groups in the US and one in the UK. And finally, the money for the elections was in his purse.
“When the man finished, I thanked him without passing any comment. The man was surprised at my reaction and asked, ‘You have nothing to say to these?’ I said that I had nothing to say and I immediately called my ADC, Chris Jemitola, to play a game of squash with me.
“On our way to the squash court with my ADC, I said, ‘People at times make plans and leave God out of their plans.’ My casual remark struck Chris and he said, ‘Sir, that was a profound statement.’ I said that I made the statement because of what I had just heard of Atiku’s plan. I was not convinced he had put God in his plans.
“Atiku was confident and God was laughing. Most of Atiku’s ingredients soon started to fall out of place one by one. The first was the party, PDP.
“He thought I was powerless and had no clue about the execution of his plan with his group; part of his attack on me was for national chairman of the party to give the first salvo, then other things would follow as his grip on the party would be firm and consolidated.
“That salvo came in the form of a letter to me from the chairman of the party, Audu Ogbeh, who had fully defected with (Iyorchia) Ayu to Atiku.
“The letter, which was not the product of any issue or matter discussed with or at any party meeting, came suddenly. When I received it, I could read the sinister intention behind it.
“I spent that night writing my reply and I sent it in the morning. My reply was clear.
I wondered why Atiku and his group did not realise that with my reply, the battle line was clear or maybe they thought that the seven ingredients would remain intact to the end.
“My assistants had moles within the Atiku group. Anything that they planned would be reported. That was the case after Ogbeh’s letter. They decided that Ogbeh should appear remorseful and come with the National Working Committee to apologise to me. It was not from their hearts, but to lure me to a ‘killing ground’.
“All pieces of information that were reported were verified because it would not come from only one informant.
“Timely information is a very important principle of war and also of politics. In politics, just as in war, what matters is not just your plan, but knowledge of your opponent’s plan. Knowing their plan, I had the choice of playing along with them or being firm, I chose the latter.
“I told Ogbeh that my relationship with him as national chairman and me as national leader of the party was based on mutual confidence and trust. But with his letter, my reply and what I knew of him then, I could no longer work with him in confidence and trust.
“There were only two choices left for both of us in our best interest and that of the party – he, leaves as chairman or I leave as leader of the party.
“The following Sunday, I called at his house, which I had done on several occasions in the past when there was an important party matter to discuss. This time, I asked him to give me an undated letter of resignation as the national chairman.
“I waited, he gave me but it was wrongly addressed to me rather than to the national secretary of the party as stipulated in the party’s constitution.
“Ogbeh reported to his group and it was decided by them to play on and to wait for my disgrace whenever I presented a letter of resignation not addressed to the national secretary.
“The informants did their job and I, once again, paid another visit to Ogbeh at his residence. He entertained me to a meal and drink, and changed the addressee on his letter of resignation.
“It would appear he never reported the change to his group. When I considered it opportune and appropriate, the letter was dated and presented to National Executive Committee of the party, which regrettably accepted the resignation.
“With that, whatever control Atiku claimed to have over the party began to crumble. But he did not think so and went on to boast that if I made my daughter the national chairman, it would be a matter of weeks not months before he would put her in his pocket.
“I therefore had to look for a successor chairman, who would be too big, uncompromising and inflexible to be lured and controlled by Atiku. I found such a man in
Senator (Dr.) Amadu Ali, whom I had known many years earlier as a medical doctor in the army…”

Femi Fani-Kayode a hallucinating author of Fake News, APC Chieftain

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Abubakar Sidiq Usman, has described former aviation minister, Femi Fani-Kayode as the author of fake news, after the failed politician slandered Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Usman noted that on 26 October 2018 at the Jubilee Hall, National Christian Centre in Abuja, Fani-Kayode attempted to soil the VP with unfounded claims.

“It is important to note that Fani-Kayode, a serial liar who thrives in peddling falsehood and fake news against very respectable people like the Vice President has made several attempts to malign the name of the Vice President at every opportunity presented to him,” Usman said in an preempt statement with journalists in Abuja.

He added that, Nigerians will recall that on 27 February 2015, Fani-Kayode began his campaign of calumny against the person of the Vice President by cooking up stories out of his hallucination. He even once claimed that Vice President had sworn an oath with former Lagos governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

“Senator Tinubu, according to our information, has compelled Professor Osinbajo to swear to an oath that after six months in office, he would resign as the vice president, in the unlikely event that their party wins.

“The wicked plot, as laid out by them, is to force Professor Osinbajo to resign for Senator Tinubu to be nominated by General Buhari as his replacement,” Mr. Fani Kayode concocted at a press conference in Abuja.

Mr Usmab then recounted another false news by Mr Fani-Kayode. On 13 July 2017, he claimed that the British government had sent former Prime Minister Tony Blair to perfect plans of how Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will succeed President Muhammadu Buhari when he dies and how Governor Nasir El-Rufai will be picked as Vice President.

“When Buhari is declared dead the plan is for Osinbajo to appoint Nasir El Rufai as his VP. Tony Blair has come to Kaduna to convey British approval of that plan. El Rufai is slotted to take over from Osinbajo in 2019 but God will shock them. When will the Brits leave us alone?” Fani-Kayode concocted again.

The APC chieftain then highlighted yet another fake news by Mr Fani-Kayode. On 4 July 2017, Fani-Kayode claimed that some persons were out to stop the Vice President from restructuring Nigeria like they stopped Pa Obafemi Awolowo and Chief M.K.O. Abiola.

“They stopped Awo and MKO Abiola. Now they plan to stop Osinbajo and say no to restructuring. Enough! TB Joshua please pray for Oduduwa Republic,” he wrote on his Twitter account.

Mr Usman explained that, “The sickening and outlandish claims of Fani-Kayode has been well documented over years. Him and others like him have thrown everything imaginable at Vice President Osinbajo, but he has continued to wax stronger and stronger.

He added that, “The VP is a man of international repute and a man of integrity. He is a Christian and a pastor but will remain the Vice President of all Nigerians irrespective of religion, ethnicity or race.

“To ask the Vice President to speak for Christians alone, is to divide Nigeria along ethnic lines and the Vice President do not stand for that. He widely spoke of his belief and has stands by it,” Mr Usman said.

PDP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE ATIKU ABUBAKAR ENGAGED IN SUSPECTED TAX UNDERPAYMENT, EVASION

Presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, may be involved in tax fraud.

This is coming after he declared a questionable yearly income of N20 million in the credentials filed with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Atiku had indicated in his tax returns attached to his presidential nomination form that he earned N60.2 million as income in three years, and paid N10.8 million tax between 2015 and 2017.

This is however coming as a surprise to many as available records online showed that Atiku’s wealth is estimated about $1.4 billion.

In 2014, Atiku was quoted to have said: “As an individual, I believe my record in employing young Nigerians is unrivalled by any single private investor in Nigeria.”

Atiku’s chains of business include ABTI Schools; a major part of this is the American University of Nigeria (AUN) in Yola, Adamawa State; Prodeco, a property development company and Prodeco International, operating in Oil and Gas Free Zones. The company engages in building, marine, and infrastructural construction in the oil and gas industry.

Atiku also has a farm operating on 2,500 hectares of land near Yola, in Adamawa State, and a humongous Share in Intels Nigeria Limited which provides integrated logistics services for the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

Available checks revealed that jet owners spend about N30 billion on maintenance annually, and prominent Nigerians who are private jet owners include Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

Recently, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), had accused Atiku’s Intel of not paying taxes. The Presidential candidate had in 2015 described Intel as his most successful business.

Similarly, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), suspended its pilotage monitoring and supervision agreement with Intel over failure to comply with the federal government’s directive on the Treasury Single Account (TSA), and unfair trade practices and high tariffs in charges which is far above what have been approved by the Transport Ministry for the NPA.

The suspension was however lifted after all recommendations had reportedly been met by both parties.

In 2015, Atiku Abubakar commissioned an expansion work at the multi-billion Adama Beverages in Yola, Adamawa State. The company produces all brands of bottle water and fruit juice of assorted brands.Chairman, Board of Director of the Company Akin Kekere-Ekun explained that the expansion work gulped N3billion, the machinery cost N1.9 billion while N750million was spent on civil works.

Available records showed that in the year 2016, Adama Beverages achieved a turnover of N4.5 billion against N3.8 billion recorded in the previous year 2015. This represents 16% growth in turnover.

In December 2017, Atiku commissioned Chicken Cottage Nigeria in Abuja, an outlet, owned by him.

He promised to open more of the outlets in strategically important locations in Nigeria.

“Our target is to have at least One Chicken Cottage Restaurant in every state in Nigeria.

His promise came to being in May 2018, when he commissioned another outlet in Yola, Adamawa State.

In June 2018, Atiku donated N10 million to victims of windstorm in Bauchi State. Also in October 2018, Atiku donated another N10 million to families of victims of Abia pipeline explosion.

On Thursday, Atiku donated another N10 million to Nigeria’s amputee team Special Eagles.

These commendable charitable efforts by Atiku are however in disagreement with his claims on earnings, experts say. His declared share of the profit can hardly make him afford the $1 million he paid as dowry to the family of Miss Whitney Woods, who got engaged to his step son, Mr. Anthony Douglas, during their wedding ceremony in Dubai.

A financial expert in Abuja, described Atiku’s latest tax returns as a systemic undervaluation of his chain of wealth.

According to him, while it was not immediately clear if Atiku’s income has exceeded N20 million for the year 2018, it is important the government investigate his earnings and watch keenly what would be declared as income in the following year.

Observers and civil society organizations (CSOs) have also raised their voice and urged the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and the Adamawa State Inland Revenue Service, to invoke the Freedom of Information Act to unravel the true earnings of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

With this medium unable to unearth Atiku's personal profit from his business, his seemingly clear tax underpayment puts to question his integrity test, especially as he is clamoring to be elected as the country’s President in the 2019 general elections.

PDP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE ATIKU ABUBAKAR ENGAGED IN SUSPECTED TAX UNDERPAYMENT, EVASION

Presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, may be involved in tax fraud.

This is coming after he declared a questionable yearly income of N20 million in the credentials filed with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Atiku had indicated in his tax returns attached to his presidential nomination form that he earned N60.2 million as income in three years, and paid N10.8 million tax between 2015 and 2017.

This is however coming as a surprise to many as available records online showed that Atiku’s wealth is estimated about $1.4 billion.

In 2014, Atiku was quoted to have said: “As an individual, I believe my record in employing young Nigerians is unrivalled by any single private investor in Nigeria.”

Atiku’s chains of business include ABTI Schools; a major part of this is the American University of Nigeria (AUN) in Yola, Adamawa State; Prodeco, a property development company and Prodeco International, operating in Oil and Gas Free Zones. The company engages in building, marine, and infrastructural construction in the oil and gas industry.

Atiku also has a farm operating on 2,500 hectares of land near Yola, in Adamawa State, and a humongous Share in Intels Nigeria Limited which provides integrated logistics services for the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

Available checks revealed that jet owners spend about N30 billion on maintenance annually, and prominent Nigerians who are private jet owners include Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

Recently, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), had accused Atiku’s Intel of not paying taxes. The Presidential candidate had in 2015 described Intel as his most successful business.

Similarly, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), suspended its pilotage monitoring and supervision agreement with Intel over failure to comply with the federal government’s directive on the Treasury Single Account (TSA), and unfair trade practices and high tariffs in charges which is far above what have been approved by the Transport Ministry for the NPA.

The suspension was however lifted after all recommendations had reportedly been met by both parties.

In 2015, Atiku Abubakar commissioned an expansion work at the multi-billion Adama Beverages in Yola, Adamawa State. The company produces all brands of bottle water and fruit juice of assorted brands.Chairman, Board of Director of the Company Akin Kekere-Ekun explained that the expansion work gulped N3billion, the machinery cost N1.9 billion while N750million was spent on civil works.

Available records showed that in the year 2016, Adama Beverages achieved a turnover of N4.5 billion against N3.8 billion recorded in the previous year 2015. This represents 16% growth in turnover.

In December 2017, Atiku commissioned Chicken Cottage Nigeria in Abuja, an outlet, owned by him.

He promised to open more of the outlets in strategically important locations in Nigeria.

“Our target is to have at least One Chicken Cottage Restaurant in every state in Nigeria.

His promise came to being in May 2018, when he commissioned another outlet in Yola, Adamawa State.

In June 2018, Atiku donated N10 million to victims of windstorm in Bauchi State. Also in October 2018, Atiku donated another N10 million to families of victims of Abia pipeline explosion.

On Thursday, Atiku donated another N10 million to Nigeria’s amputee team Special Eagles.

These commendable charitable efforts by Atiku are however in disagreement with his claims on earnings, experts say. His declared share of the profit can hardly make him afford the $1 million he paid as dowry to the family of Miss Whitney Woods, who got engaged to his step son, Mr. Anthony Douglas, during their wedding ceremony in Dubai.

A financial expert in Abuja, described Atiku’s latest tax returns as a systemic undervaluation of his chain of wealth.

According to him, while it was not immediately clear if Atiku’s income has exceeded N20 million for the year 2018, it is important the government investigate his earnings and watch keenly what would be declared as income in the following year.

Observers and civil society organizations (CSOs) have also raised their voice and urged the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and the Adamawa State Inland Revenue Service, to invoke the Freedom of Information Act to unravel the true earnings of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

With this medium unable to unearth Atiku's personal profit from his business, his seemingly clear tax underpayment puts to question his integrity test, especially as he is clamoring to be elected as the country’s President in the 2019 general elections

NATIONAL SCHOOL FEEDING PROGRAMME TO BECOME AFRICA'S LARGEST BY END OF 2018, SAYS VP OSINBAJO



* Over 9m primary pupils benefiting in 26 states already

* Over $183million has been invested so far

* 95,422 cooks and over 100,000 smallholder farmers benefitting





By the end of 2018, with the number of new States in the country joining the National Homegrown School Feeding Programme, it is set to become the largest school-feeding programme in Africa, says Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.



He stated this in Tunisia, where he delivered a keynote address at the closing ceremony of the 20th Annual Global Child Nutrition Forum held at Four Seasons hotel in Tunis, stating that the programme "has been by all accounts, a remarkable success.”



Speaking on the philosophy underlying the Programme, Prof Osinbajo told the 353 delegates from 9 countries, which include experts in the nutrition industry, United Nations officials from World Food Programme, Global Child Nutrition Fund, the World Bank and stakeholders that "Nigeria took the decision to embark on a school feeding programme as an important part of our human capital development agenda, by tackling the broader issues of eradication of poverty, food and nutrition security, and increasing school enrollment."



He added, "it is becoming clearer that the 21st Century will be defined by knowledge and skills. The nations that are best able to present the most knowledgeable and most skilful citizens will prevail in commerce, in science and technology and of course, will enjoy the greatest prosperity and the longevity to enjoy the prosperity. Nations that do not invest enough to produce the required level of talent and skills will be left behind. A farther distance than ever before in the history of mankind."



Emphasizing on the importance of the school-feeding programme, he posited that "For developing countries such as ours and of course many African countries, by far the greatest challenge for us in the next three decades is that of effective investment in the health and education of our population. Nutrition is key to both, to enable children usefully participate, learn and develop mentally and physically to be able to compete in an increasingly competitive global environment."



"By 2035, Africa will have 1.2billion people. Over 50% of that number will be young persons under the age of 25. Today, 60 per cent of the unemployed in Africa are young people", he observed.



Expatiating on the scope and cost of the Programme, Prof. Osinbajo said "at a cost of $0.19 per child per day, we are able to provide a balanced meal for every one of the children. 9,300,892 million pupils in 49,837 public primary schools in 26 states across Nigeria benefit daily."



According to him, "at current numbers, the programme costs $1,767,169.48 per day and over $183million has been invested so far in the programme. The programme employs 95,422 cooks, and over 100,000 smallholder farmers linked to the programme, supplying locally sourced ingredients. This translates to 594 cattle, 138,000 chickens, 6.8 million eggs, 83 metric tons of fish that are procured, prepared, and distributed each week. As you can imagine, the quantity of starch and vegetables required for this program on a weekly basis is equally impressive".



The Vice President highlighted the physical and health benefits to children currently being impacted, he stated that "energy and nutrients with established links to cognition- carbohydrates, protein, fat, iron and iodine as well as minerals with public health importance, are targeted by the NHGSF", adding that "the program aims to provide 50% of the recommended nutrient intake targets for protein and prioritized micronutrients (iron, iodine, zinc, vitamin A, folate and vitamin C and 30% of energy because of the high burden of undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies in Nigeria.”



Other benefits achieved under the programme include a ready market and a sustainable income for our farmers, as well as improved livelihoods for cooks with access to useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs. "Financial inclusion is a key enabler to reducing poverty and boosting prosperity".



"Moreover, with the capturing of their biometrics and the opening of bank accounts as a prerequisite to their participation in the programme, we are ramping up on our country’s needs for identification, planning and social inclusion efficiencies in Nigeria."



He told the audience that the success of the programme in a short time is due to factors such as unequivocal political will, transparency and accountability, good value for all participants in the value chain, multi-sectoral coordination and strategic partnership with international donors such as Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation and Partnership For Child Development, Imperial College.



Prof Osinbajo earlier commended the Global Child Nutrition Forum and World Food Programme, for providing such an excellent opportunity for the global school feeding community to come together to share ideas, learn from and inspire each other.



Present at the occasion were Hatem Ben Salem, Minister of Education, Republic of Tunisia; Arlene Mitchell, Executive Director, Global Child Nutrition Fund; Don Burdy, Specialist at World Food Programme/World Bank; Daniel Balaban, Director of Centre of Excellence Against Hunger in Brazil and other regional representatives of WEF and GCNF, international donors as well as other participants.



'Laolu Akande

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity

Office of the Vice President

25 October 2018

10 quick facts about the Federal Government's Family Homes Fund

The President Muhammadu Buhari government is poised to reduce Nigeria's housing deficit to a bearable level. This, it hopes to achieve through its Family Homes Fund which it has invested N1 Trillion into.

~The Family Homes Fund (FHF) is a 1Trillion Naira Federal Initiative established in 2016 to deliver housing for Iow-income and middle-income Nigerians.

~The Federal government's intention is  to create a large number of jobs in construction and as well promote widespread home ownership by providing affordable housing to be paid for through a sustainable mortgage financing system.

~The Family Fund is jointly sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority .

~The Family Homes Fund kicked off with 100 billion Naira in seed funding from the Federal Government.

~It will mobilize additional resources from the private sector, pension funds, Insurance funds, multilateral agencies, impact investors. etc

~The Family Homes Fund will deliver discounted mortgages for home owners and also give housing developers access to attractive funding options.

~The Family Homes Funds has commenced pillot projects In 6 States, the results of these will guide long-term programme implementation.

~An initial batch of 582 homes has been completed in Nasarawa state. Construction of an additional 4000 homes is ongoing in Kaduna, Ogun, Kano and Delta States. Work is scheduled to start shortly in Lagos FCT and Akwa-Ibom.

~ln Kano the FHF pilot housing project is being implemented by Country Wide Housing Corporation. The Kano project, sitting on 20 hectares of land, will deliver 757 homes, 2 bedroom and 3 bedroom over the next year.

~More than 13,000 jobs have already been created nationwide by these projects, and tens of thousands more will be created as the Fund scales up its impact.

Housing for all is possible. Support the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to make it a reality.