Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN speaks on the Southern Kaduna Issue

First, my heart goes out to everyone who has lost someone or has been a victim in Southern Kaduna. I am so sorry for everything you have experienced. Let me say that I have been involved in the resolution of issues in Southern Kaduna since 2001 through a Non-Governmental Organization and I think these issues have gone on far too long.

We have improved security in Kaduna. We now have a military base, we have airforce surveillance, the combined military team from the army and the navy to take care of the volatile situation there.

The President has also held security meetings and I have attended all of them where the issues have been discussed. Possibilities of engagement have also been looked at.

I have similarly engaged with community leaders in Southern Kaduna and I have also engaged with the Governor to look at what peace keeping efforts are possible to deal with the perennial issues that have resulted in the disgraceful human conditions there.

In addition, those responsible for the mayhem must be apprehended and prosecuted so impunity doesn't reign.

What Will Buhari's Justice Minister Be Remembered For?

By Funsho Abdullahi
 
For a public official that still has at least two years to continue to serve in his current capacity, it is probably a little too early to begin an appraisal of how history will judge the performance of Abubakar Malami, Nigeria's chief law officer.

Nevertheless, it is important to mention that the abstract nature of Malami’s work as Attorney General of the Federal should not be downplayed. This is because, compared to his counterparts in other ministries who can count tangible projects like roads, projects, and other activities — Malami’s work involves harnessing the technicality of the law for the benefit of Nigerians — a process which can be long, tedious and comparatively invisible to the less-discerning. This is why, for the achievements of the Attorney General to be understood and appreciated, there is a need for constant curation, cultivation, and explanation behind the activities of the Minister, the Ministry that he oversees, and the impact on President Buhari’s change agenda.

President Buhari's 2015 change agenda had a deliberate focus on addressing the three key challenges of corruption, economy, and security. These three cardinal challenges required the instrumentalities of the law to yield results. Therefore, the generic performance of the entire government depended largely on how the person who would occupy the position of ‘Minister of Justice' played his or her role.

Abubakar Malami (SAN) who first came into office on the 12th November 2015, as the 22nd Attorney General and Nigeria’s Minister of Justice. From the years of previous mismanagement, mistrust, and misrule by the previous ruling party, expectedly, his appointment carried with it the immediate burden of prospects — both from the President and his fellow Ministers. Additionally, the Minister of Justice was expected to coordinate the multiple, diverse, and complex stakeholders in the entire justice architecture to prepare the legal framework for the administration's key policy choices.

To achieve the mandate of providing effective legal instruments for the seamless implementation of the agenda of the Buhari government, the justice ministry under Malami contributed significantly to the drafting of various Presidential Executive Orders, specifically Executive Order six which concerns the preservation of assets connected with corruption; and Executive Order Eight, which stipulates a Voluntary Offshore Assets Registration Scheme (VOARS). The latter is particularly significant considering its target on tracking and preventing illicit financial flows both into and out of the country.

Malami also worked hard to give Nigeria a coherent National Judicial Policy which details the direction Nigeria is headed in terms of justice administration, especially the procedure for administering criminal justice. This policy framework, according to the minister, has helped to improve the judicial process and equally enhanced citizens’ access to justice.
Conscious of the need to respect the human rights of those who err against the law, the justice minister contributed significantly to the deployment of a Virtual Automated Case Management System (VACMS) which, added to the existing Prison Information Management System (PIMS) enabled the government to integrate a biometric prisoners Information technology as a means of decongesting the mostly overcrowded Nigerian prisons. Malami had indeed made obvious his determination to achieve transparency in prison operation and helping the government achieve proper budgeting for the welfare of inmates when, on October 31, 2017, he inaugurated the Presidential Committee on Prisons Reform and Decongestion (PCPRD) headed by the Chief Judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Justice Ishaq Bello. The committee has facilitated the release of more than 5,000 prisoners so far.

Of course, Malami has continued to strengthen the government’s capacity to prosecute its anti-corruption fight by facilitating the reviews of existing laws, most specifically those relating to financial transparency and accountability in governance. Some of these include the Money Laundering Prevention and Prohibition Bill 2017; Anti-Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Bill 2017; Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit Bill 2017; Proceeds of Crime Bill 2017; Public Interest Disclosure and Witness Protection Bill, 2017; and the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Bill, 2017. The NFIU Bill, which was passed by the National Assembly has since been assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari sometime in July 2018.

The Asset Recovery Unit (ARMU) of the ministry of justice under the leadership of Abubakar Malami has also assisted tremendously in the asset recovery campaign of the Buhari government. A multi-sectoral International and national cooperation in the recovery of stolen assets have been initiated to ensure transparency in the management of government affairs and the reforms of Nigeria's anti-corruption policy and electoral law.

Towards the end of his first tenure as a Minister in 2015, Malami personally reported that “the Federal Ministry of Justice, under my watch, released the National Anti-Corruption Strategy Framework (NACSF) for collaboration by all the relevant agencies.” The NACSF, which was initiated to focus on the essential components of the anti-corruption fight such as, prevention of corruption, public enlightenment, campaign for ethical re-orientation, enforcement and sanctions/recovery of proceeds of corruption, has since achieved the result of closing the prevailing gaps in the anti-corruption initiatives inherited by the Muhammmadu Buhari administration.

Since his re-appointment following the victory of President Buhari in the 2019 elections, Abubakar Malami has continued to focus on sustaining the achievements recorded in his first tenure. He has continued to undertake an aggressive implementation of the Asset Recovery Campaign of the Federal Government, working with anti-corruption agencies, law enforcement, and security agencies in the recovery of public funds stolen domestically and those transferred offshore. Malami is also currently spearheading the efforts to secure the independence of state legislature and judiciary to guarantee greater transparency in the governance and justice administration at that level.

Success, they say, demands more work and greater commitments. This is no doubt clear to Malami, who has carried on his work like he is pressed in a race against time. As he sets out to accomplish all that he has set out to achieve, with his hands still on the plow, it is almost inevitable that Abubakar Malami (SAN) will have more stories of accomplishments to share in the days ahead.

For now, we watch and wait.

Nigeria Needs Stronger Institutions For The Fight Against Corruption - GEPIn

Malami SAN, undertaking silent achievements in fight against corruption, justice reforms …




The reinforcement of current frameworks and institutions in the fight against corruption is the only way Nigeria can make a sustainable win in tackling corruption in the country, the Global Economic Policy Initiative has stated.

GEPIn, in a statement signed by its President, Bernard Okri commended the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami SAN for making what it described as “silent institutional revolutionary reforms in the justice sector, and initiating critical policy directions and frameworks that have reinvigorated the fight against corruption.”

The statement further stated that, “Coordination among agencies in the fight against corruption once lacking has now been put in place; institutional and legal frameworks designed to prevent and fight corruption have been inaugurated and are providing the much needed results in convictions and recoveries. We are seeing, under this Attorney General, more recovery of looted funds by anti-corruption agencies, like never before.

“Nigeria, in the past four years, has witnessed a subtle, but very critical improvement in its fight against corruption. We have seen quicker dispensation of cases and faster convictions, neater investigations and better-presented prosecution. This did not happen by chance. They are a product of the reforms that the Ministry of Justice has undertaken.

“Abubakar Malami SAN has importantly coordinated the prosecution of corruption cases, engaged with relevant stakeholders, and provided key guidelines for the justice sector.”

The group stated that the guidelines and policy document that the Ministry of Justice had had played a critical role in the successes that have been seen in the justice sector.

“We will like to place our emphasis on three documents that have stood out for us in the reforms seen in the justice sector and in improving the country’s fight against corruption: the Asset Tracing, Recovery and Management Regulations, 2019; the National Policy on Justice, 2017 and the National Anti-Corruption Strategy Document (2017 — 2021).

“GEPIn notes that these guidelines and policy documents are masterstrokes. And they have played the long-desired role of providing direction and coordination to the achievement of justice in Nigeria.”

GEPIn further added in its statement that no nation can win its anti-corruption wars without putting up strong and resilient institutions, stating that this is what is being achieved under the President Buhari administration.

It also stated that unfortunately many Nigerians were unaware of these policy documents and frameworks that have been underpinning the victories that Nigeria’s anti-corruption war was witnessing.

It noted that the Nigerian elite class are desperate to get off the hook and would always look for loopholes to exploit in the justice system, thus without a strong and resilient justice system, that can withstand the manoeuvres of these class of people, the country’s political elite would continue to elude justice.

GEPIn also commended the Attorney General for his efforts in securing the recovery of hundreds of billions of Naira that had been stolen from the coffers of the country, and for also seeing to it that these moneys were properly and appropriately managed.

It further added that Nigerias must understand that corruption is at the root of the country’s economic problems and if not tackled frontally and unsentimentally could spell doom for the country’s growth and development.

*A look at some of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo's official activities for last week.*

*17th August*
Vice President Osinbajo presided over the National Council On Privatization (NCP) meeting.

VP Osinbajo also partook in/delivered special remarks at the virtual inauguration of the Nigeria History Fund organized by James Adekunle Ojelabi Foundation.

*18th August*
VP Osinbajo delivered a keynote address at the Virtual Conference on Nutrition convened by the Aisha Buhari Foundation, with its partners; the Federal Ministry of Health, Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, and the Nigerian Health Watch.

It was themed: Harnessing lnnovative Financing Options for Nutrition-unraveling the bottlenecks.

*19th August*
Vice President Osinbajo partook in the virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Council Chambers, State House, Abuja

*20th August*
VP Osinbajo virtually presided over the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting at the State House Abuja.

*22nd August*
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, delivered remarks at a webinar by Wole Olanipekun & Co Justice Summit themed; Developing an Institutional Concept of Justice in Nigeria.

Linking Osinbajo’s Name to Corruption is an Exercise in Futility - Group

A social-political group, The Progressive League (TPL) has described the subtle attempt to link the name of Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN to corruption as an exercise in futility. This was contained in a statement signed by the National Secretary of the group, Dr. Oyedokun Alli.

According to the group, the fabricated lies and coordinated media onslaught against the person and office of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in recent weeks is highly unfortunate, disgraceful, and condemnable.

It is embarrassing enough when leading National newspapers are tendering apology on outright lies published without due diligence against the person and the office of the vice president.

More so, the new attempt to use credibility-deficient blogsites to continue to spread lies against Prof. Osinbajo will also fail like the traditional newspapers did in the recent past. Attempts to link the incorruptible vice president to imagined and perceived corrupt practices by the bloggers is very amateurish and will further discredit whatever little credibility remains for such blog sites.

According to Dr. Oyedokun; “at a time when all hands must be on deck to create enabling environment for citizens to thrive in this Covid-19 era, political jobbers have now made it their past time to be planting false information against one of the leading lights of the current administration.

“They keep waging a war against an imaginary enemy over their 2023 presidential ambition. It is highly condemnable trying to destroy a man because they see him as a threat to their inordinate ambition.

In his words; “Prof. Yemi Osinbajo’s incorruptibility can be traced to his uprightness way back in his university days as a don, and then as Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General of Lagos State and now as the vice president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“His loyalty is uncommon, his commitment great, and his effort against corruption is well documented. So how on earth will anybody be trying so hard to soil Osinbajo’s name? He asked rhetorically.

The group, therefore, warned that any further attempt to soil the VP’s incorruptible records will be resisted and those behind the dastard act exposed to public ridicule.

*Buhari approves N13b for implementation of community policing.*

To drive his resolve to rejig the security architecture in the country & deliver a more effective policing, Mr. President has approved the sum of 13 billion naira for the take-off of Community Policing in the country.

At today's National Economic Council (NEC) meeting presided by Prof Yemi Osinbajo, the Vice President asked Governors, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Finance Minister and the Inspectator-General of Police (IGP) to work out modalities on how the funds would be well utilized to ensure an effective implementation of Community Policing in Nigeria, and then report back to NEC.

Specifically, the Governors would be represented at this consultations by the Nigeria Governors' forum Chairman and two others. There's no relenting in effort to secure lives and property across Nigeria.

*Laolu Akande,*
*Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity,*
*Office of the Vice President.*
20th August 2020

*OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT | PRESS STATEMENT*

*PRESIDENT APPROVES RENEWAL OF NDPHC’S MD, UGBO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS FOR ANOTHER 4 YEARS*

*3 new additional directors in the offing

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the renewal of the appointment of Mr Joseph Chiedu Ugbo as the Managing Director of Niger Delta Power Holding Company and Messrs Babayo Shehu and Ifeoluwa Oyedele as Executive Directors respectively.

This renewal will take effect from August 25, 2020 for a period of four (4) years.

The appointment of three (3) additional directors have also been approved for more effective and efficient coverage of the company’s areas of activity.

*Laolu Akande,*
*Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity,*
*Office of the Vice President.*
20th August 2020

*ATTACKS, ALLEGATIONS AGAINST OSINBAJO FABRICATED BY ONLINE PESTS – VANGUARD EDITORIAL*


Need for action against online pests


IT is five years since the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act of 2015 was enacted in Nigeria.


The Act regulates the use of our internet resources to foster socio-economic and political development while preventing crime and abuse of human rights. The Cybercrime Act which is well-received across the civil society spectrum has acted as the shield with which the media and social advocacy community have successfully warded off draconian legislations such as the Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulation Bill 2019, which empowered government to regulate the social media.

The Cybercrime Act provides against cyberstalking and bullying. Obviously, beyond the sporadic predation of hapless young people by the police for alleged internet fraud, enough has not been done to use this Act to deal with cyber news stalkers, bullies and malicious purveyors of fake news.

Perhaps, no other public figure has been more harassed than the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. For instance, in the past few months, the VP has come under series of allegations most of which turned out to be false. The Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, has denied allegations by a former party official, Timi Frank, that it gave Osinbajo N90bn to fund the 2019 elections for the All Progressives Congress, APC.


Also, the House of Representatives has confirmed that the N5bn emergency fund Osinbajo approved for the National Emergency Management Authority’s North East relief efforts were from budgeted sources and the VP had no hand in its spending. The suspended Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, has also denied stealing N40bn from the looted funds and giving a N5bn “cut” to the Vice President as widely reported.

The latest allegation, which has also been publicly disavowed, is that Osinbajo colluded with the Auditor-General of the Federation to withdraw N10bn from the Treasury Single Account, TSA. The Vice President, being a cleric and respected legal practitioner, is vulnerable and struggling to cope with this barrage of false publications that seek to sully his name.

We condemn cyber bullying and fake news in all their ramifications. While we stand firmly for freedom of the media, we believe that practitioners (including bloggers) must remain true to its laws and professional ethics. In holding government to account, the media must remain socially-responsible and do everything not to play into the hands of those waiting for an excuse to tamper with our civil liberties. The law must protect every law-abiding citizen from malicious, online pests.

*OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT | PRESS RELEASE*

*_WHY WE RESTORED HISTORY TO OUR SCHOOLS - OSINBAJO_*

__Our children must know where they are coming from… Vision is important, so too is memory”-_

Though the reintroduction of history into the curriculum of primary and secondary schools across the country last year by the Federal Government received commendation from many, the decision was not just borne out of the need to restore the subject in schools but in recognition of its contribution to the socio-political, economic and cultural development of Nigeria, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

Prof. Osinbajo stated this on Monday at the inauguration of the Nigeria History Fund by the James Adekunle Ojelabi Foundation. The fund is dedicated to, among other things, supporting history students with a scholarship scheme.

According to the Vice President, “when the Federal Government decided to reintroduce history into the curriculum across primary and secondary schools last year, it was a decision borne out of the recognition that first our children must know where they are coming from and have an understanding of the life that preceded them.

“History is far too essential for us to deprioritise. It encourages us as individuals to not restrict ourselves to thinking in the short-term, but to remember that we too are living histories.”

Continuing, Prof. Osinbajo said “…we cannot sure-footedly chart a course forward without understanding where we are coming from. Vision is important but so too is memory. Nation building requires us to develop both faculties of imagination and remembrance. Indeed, this stewardship of national memory is a cardinal civic obligation.

“The future of a Nigeria that works for all of us, regardless of religion or ethnicity, depends on full and accurate knowledge of our histories.”

Speaking on the role of history in harnessing Nigeria’s rich cultural diversity, Prof. Osinbajo said the nation’s diversity as a unique strength for promoting national development would not be realized without a thorough understanding of its different cultural practices and social norms which are embedded in history.

He said: “We are blessed to belong to a nation that possesses such a rich history of art, technology, trade, metallurgy, political administration among many fields of human endeavour but this bountiful inheritance is often underexplored and underappreciated.

“History is a vast reservoir of cultural, spiritual and social capital waiting to be mined by a generation that will not neglect the ancient landmarks of our odyssey as a people.

“Whilst our ethnic diversity is a great strength, one of the biggest challenges to nation-building is this same ethno-religious diversity which can also engender detrimental social conflict.”

Describing the Nigeria History Fund as a befitting tribute to the late historian, James Adekunle Ojelabi, the Vice President said “as black people, as Africans, as Nigerians, we must reclaim our histories and nurture academic environments that make that possible.”

Commending the late historian, Prof. Osinbajo said “…as someone for whom so much of his life was dedicated to ensuring that the stories of our past were given the attention they rightfully deserve, supporting history students with a scholarship scheme is a thoughtful tribute to his legacy. I am also delighted to hear that the fund will keep conversations alive about the importance of history for modern day Nigeria.”

In his remarks, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo of the Trinity House, Lagos, who was Guest Speaker at the occasion, underscored the importance of history in the development and affirmation of people and their communities.

The event which coincided with the first anniversary of the James Adekunle Ojelabi Foundation featured presentation of awards to deserving individuals, including notable historians, like Prof. Bolanle Awe, Prof. Banji Akintoye among others.

*Laolu Akande,*
*Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity,*
*Office of the Vice President.*
17th August 2020

*OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT | PRESS RELEASE*
 
*TECHNOLOGY NO LONGER A LUXURY, IT’S OUR NEW WAY OF LIFE, SAYS OSINBAJO*

VP adds: “With tech innovation, democratization of law and justice now on fast-track”

Technology and the innovations it entail has defined a new way of life, taking technology away from the realms of luxury into the arena of everyday endeavours whether in the professions or in matters of lifestyle generally.
 
In fact, the advance of technology is now fast-tracking the democratization of law and justice in Nigeria, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.
 
Prof. Osinbajo stated this on Thursday in his keynote at the Virtual Law Pavilion Technology Conference with the theme “A New Paradigm in Justice Delivery”. Also at the event, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammed; the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Paul Usoro, SAN, and others addressed the theme of the 2020 Legal Tech Conference.
 
According to him, “No one believed the day would come when the Supreme Court would, as it has now done, endorse Virtual Court Proceedings. Or that the day will come when e-filing of court processes will be considered medically safer than physical filing of court processes.
 
“Today, even judges, especially older ones, will of course prefer virtual processes to in-person proceedings. Technology and the fourth industrial revolution, are no longer luxuries but they are the inevitable substructure of our new way of life.
 
“For the administration of justice system, change has surely come and I am personally excited to see how easily our entire judicial system is willingly adapting to innovation.”
 
Speaking further on the impact of technology, the Vice President said with technology and innovation, the democratization of law and justice is now on fast-track.
 
According to him, “Tech companies must now innovate even more. We must now have purpose-built virtual-proceedings software that take into account the various needs of trials and other court proceedings.
 
“There will be opportunities for retraining of judicial personnel, lawyers, and paralegal staff, the new normal calls for new skills and new ways of doing old things and doing away with many old habits.”
 
On the need for the entirety of Nigeria’s justice sector to embrace “the new normal”, the Vice President said though no one had predicted that a time would come when authorities would endorse virtual court proceedings, the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated the adoption of technology for all court processes.
 
Referring to the Chief Justice of Nigeria at the event, the Vice President noted that “already, my Lord, the Chief Justice has set the example of adaptation to the new paradigm.”
 
Prof. Osinbajo urged lawyers and stakeholders in the justice sector to be prepared for the times ahead by finding alternative and better ways of delivering legal and associated services.
 
He said “the next few years will see even more changes. Artificial Intelligence (AI) will play a bigger role in our court systems, I am told that Law Pavilion is already pioneering an AI-Powered-Speech-to-Text- Transcription System to replace writing in long hand and even the traditional slow stenographic recording.
 
“There is also the AI-Powered Document Review System that helps judges quickly extract authorities and laws cited in any legal documents, outlines and analyses the principles relied upon automatically, in seconds. This is aside from the comprehensive court proceedings software that they have now perfected.”
 
Continuing, Prof. Osinbajo said “…nothing can ever be the same again. Legal practice is also in a flux. Artificial Intelligence will make research a million times faster, the lawyer may no longer be required for several categories of legal advice.
 
“There are already apps updated to the latest positions in legislation and case law. The lawyer must become a multi-disciplinary, multi-tasking tech savvy person of affairs,” recalling a description he gave to students of law at a recent function.
 
He restated the commitment of the Buhari administration to support technology companies to drive the gradual shift of systems, in the country, to the ‘new normal’.
 
In his contribution, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammed said the judiciary which plays a crucial role in the economic development of Nigeria, must embrace changes within the environment so that it will continue to remain relevant in the scheme of things.
 
The Legal Tech Conference is organized by the Law Pavilion in partnership with TELNET Nigeria Ltd. The conference is a 2-day virtual event featuring other speakers including Supreme Court Justice, Olukayode Ariwoola; Ondo State Chief Judge, Olarenwaju Olutoyin Akeredolu; Borno State Chief Judge, Kashima Zannah; Ekiti State Attorney General and Justice Commissioner, Olawale Fapohunda; and Mr Dapo Akinosun, Partner, SimmonsCooper, amongst others.
 
*Laolu Akande,*
*Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity,*
Office of the Vice President.
13th August, 2020.

N10bn TSA fund: Osinbajo demands retraction of false story from Sun Newspaper

Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo SAN has demanded a daily newspaper, The  Sun Newspaper to retract a false story it published, calling on his probe over an accusation that he(Osinbajo) and the Accountant General of the Federation(AGF) withdrew N10 billion from the Treasury Single Account (TSA) of the Federal government.

On August 9, 2020, The Sun published as story titled: “Ex APC Spokesman asks Buhari to probe Osinbajo, AuGF over alleged N10bn withdrawal from TSA.”  The story emanated from a former Deputy National Secretary the ruling party, All Progressives Congress(APC), Mr Timi Frank, who alleged that the duo of Osinbajo and the AuGF withdrew the sum of N10 billion from the TSA.


In a pre-action notice letter wtitten by Osinbajo’s lawyer, Mr Ebun Olu-Adegboruwa SAN, the vice president gave The Sun Newspapers a seven day ultimatum to retract the news story and tender apology, or face court action.

The letter with Ref: A&C/RC/L-15/08/2020, and dated Wednesday, August 12, 2020 was addressed to the Publisher of the newspaper.
It reads:

PRE-ACTION NOTICE – DEFAMATION OF HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON IN YOUR PUBLICATION OF AUGUST 9, 2020

We are solicitors to His Excellency, the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN (‘our Client’), on whose instruction we write, in respect of the above subject matter.

Our Client has informed us that on or about August 9, 2020, you caused to be published in your newspaper (The Sun) an article titled: “Ex APC Spokesman asks Buhari to probe Osinbajo, AuGF over alleged N10bn withdrawal from TSA.”


2. In the said article, which was published to national and global audience both in print and on your online medium, you made and/or repeated several defamatory statements of and concerning our Client, including the following –


(i) “Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank, on Sunday, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently constitute a panel of inquiry to investigate the illegal withdrawal of N10 billion from the Treasury Single Account (TSA).”

(ii) “Frank in a statement in Abuja, said such a panel must of necessity be given a clear mandate to unravel the involvement of the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo and the Auditor General of the Federation (AuGF), Anthony Ayine, in the brazen illegality.”


3. By publishing these statements online within an hour of the purported Timi Frank interview, and obviously without making any attempt to check or verify their authenticity of these unsubstantiated allegations. The above words, in their natural and ordinary meanings, meant and were understood to mean that:
(i) The sum of N10 billion naira had been illegally withdrawn from TSA of the Nigerian Government.


(ii) Our Client was involved in this “brazen illegality” and steps must be taken to unravel his involvement.

4. As you are well aware, our client is a public officer entrusted by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the high office of Vice President, a role that requires explicit and implicit trust from his colleagues in public service and from members of the general public. The ill-considered publication of the above stated libellous statements without due care to investigate or verify the truth, is mischievously calculated to erode that trust. This is more so as the bank statement attached to the Jackson Ude Tweets, from which the story was concocted, clearly indicates a transfer by the duly authorised Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) into Federal Government’s own Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), rather than a withdrawal as alleged.


5. For more than four decades, our Client has built his reputation as a distinguished scholar, legal practitioner and clergyman. In recognition of his distinction in legal practice, our client was elevated to the highly coveted rank of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 2002. Prior to becoming the Vice President in 2015, he had meritoriously served as a distinguished Attorney General of Lagos State for eight years. In his decades of private and public service, his integrity and incorruptibility has never been found wanting.

6. Contrary to your assertions in paragraphs 2 and 3 above, our Client affirms that –


(i) There was never at any time, any illegal withdrawal of N10 billion naira, or any amount at all, from the TSA in which he (our Client) was involved.

(ii) He is not corrupt and he does not engage in illegal conduct.

7. Furthermore, the above words and their apparent or intended meanings are false, malicious and defamatory of our client in all material particulars and they constitute and were published mainly to ridicule our Client. By the publication of the words complained of, our Client has been greatly injured and maligned in his status, reputation, office, integrity, calling, profession, career, calling and business and he has been brought into irreparable scandal, odium, ridicule and public contempt. The said malicious and libelous publication was deliberately published and circulated by your company with the full knowledge and/or awareness of its consequences and implications on the feeling, integrity, character, office, business, status and reputation of our Client.


8. Since your publication aforesaid, our Client has been inundated with several telephone calls, visits and enquiries from his friends, family members, colleagues, supporters and sympathizers, home and abroad. The said publication was published, sold (for N300.00) in the open market and on the streets throughout Nigeria and beyond, and it was similarly published on your website:http//www.sunonline.com.


9. This publication falsely portrays our Client as a very corrupt public officer who regularly, furtively and illegally steals billions of naira from the public treasury. By so doing, it has wrongly exposed our client to utter contempt and ridicule in the estimation of right-thinking members of the society. Your unfounded and malicious publication also violates sections 391 to 395 of the Penal Code Act as well as section 24 of the Cybercrimes Act.

10. Accordingly, we have our Client’s instructions to demand the following from you:

(i) An IMMEDIATE RETRACTION of the libelous publication and an express and unambiguous APOLOGY, to be published in your newspaper and on your website, with the same or greater prominence, circulation and distribution, and also to be published in at least three national newspapers, preferably but not limited to The Punch, Thisday and Daily Trust.

(ii) A WRITTEN UNDERTAKING, not to publish any similar or further libel of and concerning our Client.

TAKE NOTICE that if after seven (7) days of your receipt of this letter, you fail, refuse and/or neglect to comply with the above demands, we shall proceed to execute our Client’s further instructions to institute an action in court against your company.

While thanking you for your kind consideration to act promptly, please accept the best assurances of our esteemed regards, always.

Yours faithfully,

EBUN-OLU ADEGBORUWA, SAN

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT

PRESS RELEASE

OSINBAJO TO YOUNG NIGERIANS: REVERSE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC THROUGH INNOVATIONS
*VP details FG’s economic response to pandemic at Law Students Townhall Meeting
*Adds: “Today’s lawyer must be multidisciplinary, multi-tasking, digitally strong men or women of affairs

Though the COVID-19 pandemic presents the most challenging times in recent history, it can also be a turning point for innovative thinking especially towards resolving the numerous challenges faced by humanity, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

Prof. Osinbajo stated this on Thursday at the virtual Townhall meeting of the Law Students Association of Nigeria (LAWSAN) themed “How to build the right mindset for a better Nigeria, post COVID-19”.

According to the Vice President, “We are faced with a two-fold global crisis. First is a health crisis and then there is an economic crisis and the combined effects have resulted in possibly the greatest socio-economic crisis in recent history.

Continuing Prof. Osinbajo noted “…at the moment, we are also at a turning point with new opportunities to turn under-consumption into thriving business models if only we effectively innovate. We are seeing some of this emerge already.”

Below is the full text of the Vice President’s remarks:

KEYNOTE REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, AT THE LAW STUDENTS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA TOWNHALL MEETING ON THURSDAY, 6TH OF AUGUST, 2020.

Let me just express my sincere thanks to the Law Students Association of Nigeria for the very kind invitation to be here today and to speak to you on this very important subject. I was specifically asked to speak within the context of this summit on the topic ‘How we can build the right mindset for a better Nigeria, post COVID-19’.

I must say that amidst the very depressing forecasts pervading the airwaves, it is a major task to talk about how exactly to get to the right mindset. But one thing that is clear is that the forecasts are quite bleak. And I don’t think there is a way of diminishing some of the economic forecasts and even some of the forecasts regarding what the social situation may be.

We are faced with a two-fold global crisis. First is a health crisis and then there is an economic crisis and the combined effects have resulted in possibly the greatest socio-economic crisis in recent history. We are convinced that this is the case, there are many who would say that nothing like this has ever happened to the world.

The crash in global oil prices is particularly a problem for us, the Nigerian government because revenues have plummeted, foreign exchange earnings, in particular, are very depressed on account of the fact that the prices of our major source of forex which is oil, are much lower than ever before. So, we are looking at a 40% loss in revenue than what we had projected. Even what we had projected in itself, we were going to have some difficulty funding it, but now there is a 40% loss in revenue.

So, we see the impending slowdown in the economy shrinking our GDP.
However, I think that where the needle will ultimately fall will depend on how well we respond to these crises; how well we work within the current circumstances; and how well we manage to adapt to these changes, as opposed to wallowing in trepidation and worry.

Because we don’t realistically know when this pandemic will end, speaking of a ‘post-COVID Nigeria’, is not actually of much use. The better approach, in my view, is to ask ourselves where the opportunities in this global crisis lie.

I think it was John F. Kennedy, who said, “When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity”. Although I am told that linguistically, this isn’t completely true, there is a valuable lesson here for how we must reset and what our attitudes ought to be in times of crisis.

The good thing about this particular crisis is that no one has been this way before and everyone is searching for answers. So, there are no experts. No one can say ‘I am an expert on how to resolve socio-economic crisis in a pandemic. All over the world, people are literally scrambling for answers. Even in the most developed economies of the world, they are still scrambling for answers. So, I must say to you that there is no minimum age to seek solutions to the problems of these times. And you are certainly welcome to begin to think through what the solutions should be and how we should be responding.

As a government, this reality dawned on us much earlier on. And faced with the prospect of unprecedented unemployment figures and business closures, we had to get creative about solutions: to build resilience into our economic growth structure and to take bigger and bolder steps in our approach to creating wealth and opportunity.

So, for about two months, at the direction of Mr President, I led an inter-ministerial team mandated to look specifically at how to resolve some of the issues around the pandemic, its impact and draw up a response plan.

That response plan is what we call the Economic Sustainability Plan and we have a committee called the Economic Sustainability Committee which is to implement this pIan and I also have the privilege of chairing this committee. What we tried to do in the Economic Sustainability Plan was to design strategies that will save jobs and create new opportunities. And we looked at certain broad areas. We looked at mass housing and mass agriculture where we are focused on using local resources and innovation.

The whole point of mass housing and mass agriculture is that this will provide jobs. They provide jobs for small groups of engineers, architects etc. And of course, local production of some of the raw materials will also be an advantage. We are looking at both mass agriculture and mass housing as opportunities to create significant numbers of jobs.

We have also looked at technology as a major opportunity for providing several jobs. We also considered the huge deficit in our power sector at the moment especially the deficit in the availability of power to millions who have never been on the grid and have never had power. So, we focused on renewable energy and solar power in particular because high radiation, as you know, is a resource that we have in abundance. We thought that this crisis will be an opportunity to do something more significant about solar power – to provide solar power through the private sector, and second to increase local capacity to assemble, to repair, and to service solar equipment.

So, Solar Home Systems which is part of the Economic Sustainability Plan will power up to 5 million Nigerian households, who previously had no power. The systems will be provided by local private solar companies who have also worked out digital metering and payment methods.

So, to give another example of the sort of things that we are trying to encourage, Nigerian companies such as LifeBank and 54gene have been making waves in health technology for some time now. However, it has taken a global pandemic as we have now, for the government to develop truly collaborative solutions building on existing work that they had already done.

So, 54gene and LifeBank are both running NCDC-licensed COVID-19 testing centres across the country. LifeBank is also delivering emergency oxygen equipment and working with the government to create a database of available ventilators and respirators across the nation.

The infectious disease centres that we have both government and private sector, have come together to build some of them. Many of them will outlast the pandemic and thus, ensure that we have durable healthcare infrastructure provided for our future.

We might not have experienced the depth of such collaboration had it not been for the urgent needs created by this crisis. Today we have well over 54 testing centres across the country, we are converting the testing machines that were used for Tuberculosis and the machine used for testing AIDS, changing the cartridges and introducing the reagents for testing COVID-19, so there is a lot of innovative solutions going on at the moment.

The thing that we will always keep in mind is that this is a huge country. So, sometimes when things are done, you hear people say ‘I don’t even know that things are being done.” So, you will always have a situation where it will never seem like it’s covering the entire country.

I give you another example. When we decided that we were going to provide micro-credit for two million traders across the country, in fact, we did, eventually, over two million. So, in a country of this size, many will even say, we didn’t get anything.

So, every time you think, in terms of solving the problems of Nigeria, we have to think in terms of scale, scale is it. You can do 200,000 of anything and it won’t make a difference in Nigeria. So, scale is very important as you think through solutions.

As you are also thinking of solutions, in innovative ways, I feel that one of the things that you must be thinking about is how to ensure that you are thinking on scale.

One of the things that we experienced in the 1990s was mobile phones. In the 1990s, mobile phones were limited to more affluent who could afford them. The unmet need that existed amongst the rest of Nigerians then was seen as an opportunity for entrepreneurs to introduce business models that would make owning mobile phones affordable for the average Nigerian.

So, today, it has not only connected us with the rest of the world, and provided millions of jobs in the process, but it has even become a medium for us to effectively engage other industries such as mobile banking and the likes. Because there was a need, there was a problem with the telephony system in Nigeria, entrepreneurs got into it, thinking people got into it and today we have mobile phones and we have one of the largest in terms of mobile phone ownership across the world- something in the order of 114 million mobile lines in Nigeria and that is increasing practically every day.

This is a story of innovation and I just mentioned that because at the moment, we are also at a turning point with new opportunities to turn under-consumption into thriving business models, if only we effectively innovate.

We are seeing some of this emerge already and I can refer to a few examples to demonstrate a real basis for hope. The closing of schools, for example, with the lockdown has forced us to get creative about how we can replicate learning environments outside of the classroom. So, we have a lot of Edtech startups like uLesson – one of the new startups, leading the way, merging online and offline features to ensure the provision of a learning experience that spans the digital divide. Those kinds of innovations are crucial.

E-learning isn’t new, many of us are familiar with e-learning but the challenge in Nigeria is how do you do e-learning on scale especially when you don’t have broadband technology across the country. So, there is a need to take e-learning offline, there is a need to take e-learning so that it can be used on our devices without necessarily having access to broadband all the time and there is a need to do it on scale.

So, the challenges we have are slightly different from the challenges more developed economies may have. We have millions of people who need to access education. The real question is how do we get this education across to them, especially without in-person learning and where you may not have broadband technology.

Some have done well with the use of radios and many are using all sorts of offline type devices. For those without, we know already that states are incorporating radio, TV lessons, and some schools are even delivering work to their students by WhatsApp. With regards to accessibility to the internet and technology as a whole, there are abundant opportunities, in my own opinion, for what can be done.

But these are broad areas that we must all be thinking about. And as I said, no one can say I am too young to think about this. All over the world, solutions are thought through and being implemented by young people. It is very difficult to find a 63-year old man like myself that will say I have discovered a new app that can teach law to law students across the country without the use of broadband technology.

But perhaps of importance to us as lawyers or lawyers in the making is what these times mean for lawyers and where the opportunities lie. And I think we have to think through this especially like yourselves who in the next couple of years will be out there in practice. A few examples will tell you that you are living in the most interesting period in the history of our profession.

So, the Supreme Court has recently endorsed virtual court proceedings. This means that there will be plenty of opportunities for new technologies adapted to the dynamics of the courtroom. You can share documents on Zoom but for courtrooms and for practice, you need more nimble technology to tender documents or cross-examine a witness from a remote location on a bundle of documents. So, Zoom will not be the best technology for court proceedings although it is being used now but it is not the best technology because sometimes you have a bundle of documents to tender and that may be difficult. So, there is room there for innovative technology that will be suitable for use in the courtroom and I know that there are so many ideas that people are coming up with but there is plenty of room for thinking that through.

We also have to think about what the new rules for protocols will be. Virtual court proceedings are not the same as in-person or live court proceedings. When you are sitting in your office, conducting a case, the record-keeping will be totally a different issue. What will the protocols be for cross-examination, for making submissions? How does the judge look at the question of demeanour? It is a bit more difficult to look at people’s demeanour when you are using virtual processes such as we are using today. So, we need to be able to define what the rules will be.

What sort of pre-trial advice do you give clients now? When witnesses are giving evidence from outside Nigeria, maybe from the US, from Greece, which is possible now if we use virtual court proceedings. In the past, a witness had to be physically present in Nigeria, but now with virtual court proceedings, a witness can sit in Denmark and give evidence in Nigeria.

So, the question that will arise is, what are the jurisdictional problems? Do we need to change our rules as regarding jurisdiction? Can the witness truly without being present in Nigeria, give evidence? How do we assess that in terms of current legislation?

How about the future of the law firm itself? We know that the law firm is one of the busiest places you’d find. Lawyers are always seen cramping all over the place but the workplace is changing. With COVID-19, most law firms are working off-site and working from different other locations. What will remote working mean for a law office? What sort of technology will work best? We, lawyers, deal with documents all the time; we are forever re-drafting, sending drafts back and forth. What technology will be nimble enough to handle all of that traffic? I think there is plenty of room for us to do so much around that area.

What are the changes required in employment laws and in the practice of remote work? Everybody is working from different locations, are employment laws fit for purpose today? Or do we need to change something around it? These are the kinds of thoughts and ideas that we have to be thinking about.

How about cybersecurity in this new world where sensitive documents will be constantly moving around on the internet? How do we ensure that documents going back and forth are safe?

I want to say that innovation is itself, a mindset, and this is the only mindset that is going get us through this time of crisis in a manner that puts us ahead, rather than behind. Innovators, by their very nature, build much out of seemingly little and I believe that there is a bigger lesson here for all of us that we can make a difference ourselves.

I must say for lawyers, especially the young law students listening, I believe there is already a paradigm shift in the very concept of who a lawyer is today. In my own day, a lawyer was a person who understood the law, read the law, citing the sections, he was more or less a legal technician.

Today, a lawyer that would be fit-for-purpose must be multidisciplinary, multitasking, digitally strong man or woman of affairs. By that, I mean that a lawyer can no longer be a legal technician.

He must be a person capable of understanding the broad dimensions of everything; business, technology, the environment and various things that are at play today.

Such a person is comfortable in the board room, he is also comfortable talking to people who want to sell music on digital platforms, or advising on the regulatory environment for FinTech companies. Such a person is not restricted to “all I can do is go and argue a motion in court”.


So how do you prepare yourself, aside from your regular law curriculum for this new world? I think you must educate yourself in new ideas, read widely, take up the enormous resources available online on practically any field of human endeavour.

You must be intentional about understanding technology, information systems and artificial intelligence. This sort of radical versatility is the new normal, you can’t be a lawyer such as we were. You are in a completely new world.

If I come to you and I say that I just recorded a new gospel song, and I need advice on how to sell, smartly, you the lawyer ought to be able to tell me that there are jurisdictional issues; I know the copyright issues that are involved in this, I know if we have to market and how it will be done, the exposure needed. There are a variety of questions that a lawyer today must be able to answer.

I think it is a brilliant challenging new world that we have out there and I am sure you young people know that the days ahead are exciting, we are in the best moment in history, you have all the resources. I always say that never listen to the people who tell you of ”the good old days”, they have memory loss. There is no such thing as good old days, today is the very best day possible.

Every generation has its own challenges; the next 20 years, there will be different sets of challenges. You can’t say that my father told me that when he got out of school, he didn’t need to look for work. You’d need to ask him how many people were in Law School at the time? In my set, we were only 300 in the entire country. If I come out of school and say I found a job, so what? Today, there are thousands of people but there are also thousands of opportunities and the world is open.

In my day, I couldn’t seat in my office and talk to you, I didn’t have a mobile phone and even our regular phones were not working.

So, the days ahead are exciting and I hope this interaction will be one that will give you greater insights into the opportunities they are and I noticed that there are going to be many speakers even from the private sector.

I thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity and to say that I wish you all very well and I hope we get another chance sometime soon to talk again.

Thank you and God bless you.

Released by:
Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
7th August 2020

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT
PRESS RELEASE

OSINBAJO TO PRIVATE SECTOR: LET’S IMPLEMENT ESP TOGETHER

*Adds: “Govt cannot do it alone, public-private sector collaboration crucial

As the Federal Government consolidates efforts designed to ward off a deep recession and effect significant changes in the economy, opportunities abound across different sectors in the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP) for the private sector to lead the charge for Nigeria’s economic growth and development, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

Prof. Osinbajo made the call on Friday at the virtual edition of the Presidential Policy Dialogue of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).

The Vice President said the ESP which is now being implemented by the Buhari administration is driven by the desire “to adapt to the challenges and make required changes in order to come out stronger than before”.

According to him, “I take this opportunity to encourage the private sector to be proactive in leading the charge against recession and poverty in our country. The Federal Government is not under any illusion that it can do this on its own. The opportunities that now exist in the short term in agriculture, infrastructural development, housing construction, in renewable energy, digital technology development, mining, financial inclusion, healthcare and pharmaceutical manufacturing, call for the private sector to take the bull by the horns and make them a reality.

“The priority of the Federal Government in response to the economic challenges caused by COVID-19 is to ward off a deep recession by an admixture of stimulus measures to support local businesses, retain and create jobs and ameliorate the circumstances of the most vulnerable.”

Continuing, the Vice President said though the stimulus package is just about 1.5% of GDP, it is the best the government could do given existing realities in the economy.

He said “government developed the Economic Sustainability Plan with a stimulus package of N2.3trillion to give fillip to the economy across various sectors. The size of this stimulus which is just about 1.5% of national income is not as large as we would have liked it to be but it was the best we could do given existing fiscal and monetary constraints. Based on the assumption of the price of crude averaging out at $30 per barrel throughout the year, we anticipate an economic growth of about -0.59% in 2020.

“You would already be familiar with details of the Economic Sustainability Plan. In essence, it is intended to boost production, prevent business collapse, and provide liquidity. It will also promote the use of labour-intensive methods and direct labour interventions in key areas like agriculture, light manufacturing, housing construction and facility maintenance while increasing infrastructural investment in roads, bridges, solar power, and communications technologies. It is intended to do all this while extending protection to the poor and other vulnerable groups in our society.”

Speaking further on the plan of government to address the disruptions on the economy by the COVID-19 pandemic and the role that the private sector can play, the Vice President said, “these opportunities are the building blocks that will enable our medium-term goals to be achieved and make our long-term goals achievable.”

According to Prof. Osinbajo, “this is a drive we hope to continue into the medium term as we build up the economy over the next few years. We do need foreign direct investment to complement our domestic efforts but it is the success of our own investments that will attract such inflows. Investors are already aware of Nigeria’s huge market and its great potential, but they will only ‘want in’ when government by its own positive interventions and the private sector by its success stories show them what is possible to do here.

“No doubt, the task ahead is challenging. Nevertheless, government is focused on doing its bit so I call on the private sector to play its part and join us in this noble venture. We know that this will be a difficult year but expect that with our combined effort growth will resume to the order of about 3 percent by the end of next year. We can do this working together.”

On the Ease of Doing Business reforms of the Federal Government, the Vice President maintained that the commitment of the Federal Government to providing an enabling environment for business to thrive remains strong.

“In this regard, we have made some strides in improving the ease of doing business in Nigeria. Through the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), a lot has been achieved to fast-track processes, reduce bottlenecks and improve transparency across Government MDAs.

“As a result, we have moved 35 places upward in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings. We have continued to scale up our business reform initiatives across regulatory agencies.

“Of course, there is still a lot more to be done. Our aim is to continue to improve our national ranking in the World Bank Doing Business Index Ranking to below 100 in the coming years. It is also very important to reduce the harassment and extortion of businesses by various government agencies,” the Vice President added.

In his remarks, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, said the current focus of the Federal Government in the manufacturing sector “is on prioritizing local production especially in the importation of machinery that utilize local materials.”

Earlier, the LCCI President, Mrs Toki Mabogunje commended the Federal Government’s “spirited effort” regarding its managing of the Nigerian economy, adding that members of the chamber and private sector players are willing to collaborate with the Buhari administration.


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

COVID-19 Vaccine: Health & Safety Of Nigerians Is Buhari Administration’s Priority

Pfizer says supply to Nigeria is priority in Africa

The Federal Government intends to examine every possible option in the development and distribution of a vaccine against the COVID-19 disease, and the health and safety of Nigerian citizens is the priority of the Buhari administration in that matter.

This was disclosed earlier today by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, during a virtual meeting with representatives of the BNT162 COVID-19 vaccine candidate on the progress of the vaccine development around the world, including Africa.

The meeting was attended by the Health Minister, Dr. Osagie Ehanire and the Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Faisal Shuaib with representatives of Pfizer and Biotech, the international pharmaceutical firms promoting the BNT162 vaccine candidate.

According to Prof. Osinbajo, the interaction between the FG and the promoters of the vaccine candidate “is an important conversation and it is important for us that we are prioritized-as the largest country in Africa-in the distribution of the best COVID-19 vaccine when it’s eventually ready.

“Our priority is the health of the Nigerian citizens. We continue to engage and intend to look at every possible option -from all manufacturers- of a good vaccine. We want to do the very best for our people in this regard.”

During the meeting the Vice President asked several questions about the COVID-19 vaccine candidate including how quickly can Nigeria get the vaccine once it’s safely ready.

Responding, the Pfizer Country Manager and Representative in Africa, who spoke for the promoters, Mr. Subair Olayinka disclosed that “Nigeria will be priority,” for the vaccine supply to Africa.

Although the vaccine trials are not going on in Nigeria currently he said the trails are ongoing in parts of the African continent and it would be entering the third phase, having concluded the first two phases successfully.

Also speaking the Health Minister noted that the FG would consider quality, appropriate volume and how well and quick a vaccine can be delivered to Nigeria in deciding which manufacturer to make the supply.

STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE



SERIOUS LEADERS MUST NOT FALL FOR FAKE NEWS ON REPENTANT TERRORISTS – PRESIDENCY

Now that groups with hitherto proven bona fides, some religious leaders and a few in the legislature have joined the supply chain of fake news, it important that we step in to clear the false reports that the administration is absorbing repentant Boko Haram terrorists into the military.

It is important for the public to know that nobody has ever been absorbed into the military from the de-radicalized Boko Haram and there is no such plan for their absorption. None of the 601 former Boko Haram members who voluntarily laid down their arms, and have recently graduated from the Federal Government's de-radicalization and rehabilitation programme, is going into the military. This is the fourth such graduation of repentant Boko Haram fighters and not one of such graduates has been absorbed into the military.

The public needs to be reassured that the de-radicalization, rehabilitation and reintegration of violent extremists of the Buhari administration code named “Operation Safe Corridor,” follows an established example from countries with similar experiences, and is supported academically and materially by the European Union and the United Nations.

The lead agency for the implementation of the programme in Gombe is the International Organization for Migration, a leading inter-government organization which is represented in Nigeria.

It is also important to note that this programme does not have a place for hard boiled, ideologically hardened terrorists. It only admits, after careful scrutiny, repentant fighters that were captured and forced to bear arms in the first instance, and there are many who have been drafted by force.

At the point of their graduation, a determination is made that the former combatants have repented and are better citizens, imbued with genuine nationalism. They must no longer represent a danger to society or to themselves.


Where they are certified as such, communities have the duty of accepting them. Unless they want them to take up arms and resume terrorism from which they have repented, community leaders must work with the relevant agencies to end their rejection.

The Buhari administration is a responsible one and is conscious of its duty to the state and society, and to the victims of terror as well as to those who inflicted these pains and losses on our people.

Garba Shehu

Senior Special Assistant to the President

(Media & Publicity)

August 5, 2020

STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE

MALAM MAMMAN’S VIEWS ARE HIS OWN, AND HE HAS SAID SO – PRESIDENCY

We have received numerous requests for comments on the interview granted by Malam Mamman Daura, President Muhammadu Buhari’s nephew to the BBC Hausa Service.

It is important that we state from the onset that as mentioned by the interviewee, the views expressed were personal to him and did not, in any way, reflect that of either the President or his administration.

At age 80, and having served as editor and managing director of one of this country’s most influential newspapers, the New Nigerian, certainly, Malam Mamman qualifies as an elder statesman with a national duty to hold perspectives and disseminate them as guaranteed under our constitution and laws of the land. He does not need the permission or clearance of anyone to exercise this right.

In an attempt to circulate the content of the interview to a wider audience, the English translation clearly did no justice to the interview, which was granted in Hausa, and as a result, the context was mixed up and new meanings were introduced and/or not properly articulated.

The issues discussed during the interview, centred around themes on how the country could birth an appropriate process of political dialogue, leading to an evaluation, assessment and a democratic outcome that would serve the best interest of the average Nigerian irrespective of where they come from.

These issues remain at the heart of our evolving and young democracy, and as a veteran journalist, scholar and statesman, Malam Mamman has seen enough to add his voice to those of many other participants.

Garba Shehu
Senior Special Assistant to the President
(Media & Publicity)
August 1, 2020

PRESS STATEMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 29, 2020.


*SWEPA To Afenifere: South West Has Enough Competence Hands To Lead Nigeria*

We read the statement of Afenifere group in response to the comments credited to Mallam Mamman Daura. To say we are embarrassed with the position of Afenifere, regarded as the apex socio-political organisation of all Yoruba people, is to say the least.

The Yorubas, by nature, are not known to play the victim card. We are a people who believe that we have the necessary competence and exposure to compete with anyone and everyone.

Do we not have the Asiwajus? Do we not have the Osinbajos? Do we not have the Fasholas? Do we not have the Fayemis? Do we not have the Aregbesolas? Are they Are embodiments of competence? Are they not potential star-Presidential materials?

For years, we have been quite vocal in criticising the federal character principle because we believe it confers undue advantages on a particular section of the country. It's due to this same believe that we have condemned the principle of zoning in the past, because we believe that it breeds and promotes mediocrity and pave the way for incompetent individuals to emerge at the helm of leadership.

But how come we are now condemning the very idea we have promoted in the past? Is it because we no longer have excellent and outstanding individuals in the South West? If Mamman Daura said we should prioritise competence instead of zoning, why should that bother us? Don't we have an array of competent individuals we can showcase in South West to rival any other region? If we have condemned zoning in the past, why do we appear to be pushing for it now? What are we afraid of really?

The South West, as we know it, understands that democracy is a competitive ideology which provides a platform for those who believe in the supremacy of their ideas to thrive and win. We do not believe that any region has attain that wisdom yet to thwart the collective experience of the caliber of political heavyweights that the South West parades. To now shiver over a non-issue like zoning, just like Afenifere has done, is tantamount to expressing a vote of no confidence of our political leaders.

Assuming, without conceding, that there is an ulterior motive behind Mamman Daura's call for zoning to be abandoned in favor of competence, Nigeria's history has shown that no section of the country can pull wool over the face of the other. Whatever is hidden would sooner come to light. And if anyone would become Nigeria's president, either based on zoning or competence, we all would undoubtedly have a say in how that would play out. So Afenifere would do well to organise so well in such a way that when the conversations about who succeeds President Buhari starts, the voices of Yoruba leaders would count and be counted.

We are not a petty people, and Afenifere as a respectable umbrella association of indigenous Yoruba people of Nigeria would do well not to make us appear as such. What we know and considered important is that the South West is an important political bloc that has all the wherewithal to partake in the politics of Nigeria. We should be prepared to match other regions in terms of whatever yardsticks are set for political competition in this country. Raising needless alarm and making panicky statements are embarrassing to all true Yoruba sons and daughters.

Signed:

Husseini Awolabi
For: South West People's Alliance (SWEPA)

Why Osinbajo’s helicopter crashed – AIB


One year and five months after a helicopter conveying Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo to Kabba, Kogi State crashed, the Accident and Investigation Bureau (AIB) cited human error as the major cause of the accident.
The other reasons cited in a report on Tuesday are loss of visual contact with the ground and external surroundings, inappropriate landing techniques and limited planning before the commencement of the flight by the crew.
Osinbajo was one of the 12 persons aboard the Caverton Helicopters Limited chopper marked 5N-CML when it crashed at the Kabba Stadium February 2 , 2019, almost aborting his Family Chats and Next Level engagements.
The chats and the Next Level were part of the electioneering strategies of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for last year’s presidential poll.

The Accident and Investigation Bureau (AIB) released details of the crash alongside three others that happened in the country between 2014 and 2019 in Abuja yesterday.
AIB Commissioner Akin Olateru, who gave accounts of the Kabba helicopter, said the crew lost visual contact with the ground and external surroundings while trying to land at the stadium.


He also faulted the crew for not understanding appropriate landing techniques and not planning thoroughly before the commencement of the flight.
The commissioner said the AIB had recommended that the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) involved the Presidential Air Fleet (PAF) Unit in the coordination and preparation of all “Executive VIP” flights.
Olateru said: “The flight crew stated that they sighted the intended landing area as a result of the cloud of residual dust generated by the downwash of a police helicopter.
“After sighting the football field, the flight crew approached with the speed of 20 feet to about a 100 feet, and entered a hover to land.
At about 50 feet above ground level, a brownout set in. The flight crew lost visual contact with the ground and external surroundings.
“The co-pilot began radio altitude callouts “35, 30, 25, 20 and 15”. At about 14:34h, the helicopter experienced a hard landing on the right main landing gear and rolled over onto its right side. All persons on board were evacuated uninjured.”
Other causal factors, according to the report, are: “Inappropriate landing technique used, non-adherence to company procedures for known or anticipated brownout condition during landing and lack of risk assessment, limited landing site preparation, and planning prior to commencement of the flight.”

*OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT PRESS RELEASE*
 
*OSINBAJO TO YOUNG NIGERIANS: COVID-19 PANDEMIC OFFERS YOU OPPORTUNITY TO PROFFER SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS NOW AND COMING YEARS*

As the world grapples with the fallouts of the COVID-19 pandemic, young Nigerians should seize opportunities of the moment to change the course of human history, do things never done before and become problem solvers, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.
 
The Vice President stated this on Saturday at the virtual valedictory service for graduating students of Edgewood College, Lagos.
 
According to Prof. Osinbajo, “No matter how you look at it, you are unique. The game changed in your generation, you are certainly a class of game changers. The point with any opportunity is that it must be seized if you are to benefit from it, which is why you must never take your place in history for granted. There is always a divine reason for it.”

Historically, he said “circumstances have moved you ahead. No one has been here before. None of your parents or mine can tell you how life would be in or after a global pandemic. We know some but not nearly all of the challenges and all of the opportunities that will come with it. And if you tell me that you would have to wait until you get into University and even graduate before you start to answer those questions then you are missing the opportunity that history is offering you.”
 
He further explained that when an opportunity to make history comes, it is often disguised as a challenge, a draw back or even a tragedy, adding that an opportunity often “hardly ever looks like the next great leap of mankind.”
 
The VP said young age is a profound advantage in a time of uncertainty such as now and that such times also offer opportunity. In his words, “there is no qualifying age to be a problem solver, an entrepreneur, a great poet, an inventor, or an author. Age doesn’t matter. You must from now begin to examine the solutions to the problems that we face and will face now and in the coming years.”
 
*BELOW IS THE FULL TEXT OF THE VICE PRESIDENT’S REMARKS:*
 
*REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, VICE PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AT THE VIRTUAL VALEDICTORY SERVICE FOR GRADUATING STUDENTS OF EDGEWOOD COLLEGE, LEKKI, LAGOS, ON SATURDAY JULY 25, 2020*
 
First, let me commend the vision and dedication of the founder of Edgewood College, for conceiving of and delivering this unique centre of education which combines a strong commitment to developing God fearing and selfless leaders with a dedication to offering the best in the sixth form education blending both local and the UK curricula.

To the staff of the College, it is to your knowledge, and expertise and your experience that our most important national resources, these young people are committed year in, year out. And you must be doing many things right to have received the Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards, top in 2017 and the awardee of the high achievement in Cambridge A level Law in 2018. Congratulations and very well done.
 
For parents and guardians of the members of the graduating class, we all join you in rejoicing today and in thanking God for this great gifts of success and accomplishments.

And to the graduating class of 2020, my very special and warm congratulations. I have a short message for you, it is tilted “The Class of Game Changers”.
 
Every generation is gifted by God with a unique set of circumstances that give them an opportunity to distinguish themselves, to make history, to do something never done before, to positively alter the trajectory of the story of mankind. That opportunity usually comes disguised as a challenge, a drawback, even a tragedy; it hardly ever looks like the next great leap of mankind that it really is.
 
The generation that should take advantage may sometimes even miss the opportunity, because as human beings our inclination is to look back rather than ahead. We seek comfort in the familiar things, the known course of events, we want progress but we still want things to be the way they were.
 
But worse, we miss the moment because the opportunities no longer knocks, it sounds more like a whisper, barely audible because there is so much noise all around us, which is why I have named your class, the class of 2020, the class of game-changers.
 
You are the first set of students of this college to graduate in the midst of a global pandemic. You are also the first in the history of this school and in many parts of the world to have a virtual graduation. One thing I can say is that you are certainly the first school in Nigeria to have a serving Vice President keynote your graduation and certainly the first to have that done virtually.

So, no matter how you look at it, you are unique. The game changed in your generation, you are certainly a class of game changers. The point with any opportunity is that it must be seized if you are to benefit from it, which is why you must never take your place in history for granted. There is always a divine reason for it.

So, what should you do as a game changer? I think one of the critical things to recognize is that you cannot stand on the queue anymore.

Historically, circumstances have moved you ahead. No one has been here before. None of your parents or mine can tell you, how life would be in or after a global pandemic. We know some but not nearly all of the challenges and all of the opportunities that will come with it. And if you tell me that you would have to wait until you get into University and even graduate before you start to answer those questions then you are missing the opportunity that history is offering you. Age, your very young age is a profound advantage in a time of uncertainty and opportunity. There is no qualifying age to be a problem solver, an entrepreneur, a great poet, an inventor, or an author. Age doesn’t matter.
 
You must from now begin to examine the solutions to the problems that we face and will face now and in the coming years. Meeting virtually such as we are doing now was made possible by the inventors of Zoom a virtual meeting application, many more such applications, even better ones are waiting to be developed. You don’t have to be a technology geek to be an innovator, you can identify the problem, write up the solution and someone else develops the app. Some of the greatest and most useful inventions were made by young men and women before they even left high school.
 
At 15, Bill Gates had gone into partnership with his friend Allen, to develop Traf-O-Data, a computer program that monitored traffic patterns in Seattle, Washington State in the US. George Westinghouse invented the Rotary Steam engine at 19, the television was first conceived by Philo Fansworth, he was 14.
 
Timilehin Daomi, before he was 16 living in Ikorodu, there in Lagos State, had made prototypes of a vacuum cleaner, a pumping machine, a digital microscope and last year or about two years ago, a prototype of hydraulic-powered collapsible 4th Mainland Bridge for Lagos State.

Aghogho Ajiyen, a young man in Oghara, in Delta State and Ayoola Olaolu in Ikorodu, have been making prototypes of airplanes, drones and flying cars. Emeka Nelson in Anambra State developed a water-powered generator.

Sooner or later, these innovators will define enterprise, our economy, digital technology, in our country and perhaps around the world.
 
But those gifted in the arts and humanities must also take advantage of these times. Pablo Picasso, the legendary artist, had painted the La premiere communion’ when he was 15.
 
Amanda Gorman is the first youth poet laureate in the US. She took the hopelessness of the pandemic and the black-lives-matter protest to write a poetic masterpiece titled ‘Fury and Faith’. She wrote these words that must now be etched in our hearts as we face these uncertain times, and I quote the words that she wrote in that poem: “…whether we prevail in these times is not determined by all the challenges present but by the change that is possible...”

Arinze Ifeakandu was shortlisted for The Caine Prize for his book ‘God’s Children Are Little Broken Things’. At 22, he is the Caine Prize’s second youngest ever person to be shortlisted. And the list of these young achievers goes on.

The sum and substance of what I am saying is that, you leave high school at a phenomenal moment in global history, nothing will ever be the same again. Believe it or not you have spent the last one or two years here at Edgewood College, being prepared for this moment and for this season.
 
You have all that it takes to create a new narrative in the arts, in entertainment, in science, in innovation, in medicine, in business or the digital economy. Yes, you are still headed for University but whoever told you that you can’t distinguish yourself even as an undergraduate?
 
One last word that I must leave with you is that, never be foolish enough to imagine that anything happens without the Almighty God, all good and perfect gifts come from Him. Some of the smartest people that you will come across in the best universities in the world, will tell you that there is no God. Remember the words of scripture, “the fool says in his heart that there is no God.”
 
Some will say but life itself is about luck, chance, they might even refer you to the scripture that says, in Ecclesiastes 9:11, “the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; But time and chance happen to them all.” But the question that you must always ask is, who controls time and chance? They are controlled by the Almighty God.
 
So, I pray for you, that you will excel in all you, do, that you will be a source of pride and joy to your families and this nation, and that God will help you always in Jesus name. All will be well with you in Jesus mighty name.

Congratulations again, and God Bless you.

*Laolu Akande*
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
25th July 2020

STOP THE SOUR GRAPES!

RE: OSINBAJO DECEITFUL CAMPAIGN IN OKEOGUN

Dear Barrister Waheed Olatunde Lawal,

I read your op-ed on the above subject with amusement.

Just like every other human being, H.E. Prof. Yemi Osinbajo is not without his weaknesses. But to say that he is a political scammer is, in my humble opinion, uncharitable and exposes your own flaws in a very damaging way. It reflects the depth of your own questionable imaginations and interrogates your motivations, raising serious doubts about your real purpose.

If I may ask:

1. Have you reached out to him privately using the same means deployed during the campaigns?

2. Considering the fact that only 14 months have been spent out of 48 months, don't you think it's too early to throw away the baby with the bathwater?

3. Do you have concrete evidence to ascertain that the VP has refused to grant audience to our respected traditional rulers/thought leaders from OkeOgun?

4. Are you aware how many of the Oke-Ogun leaders are in touch with the Presidency and the VP on some of the issues?

5. Can you assert boldly that the VP is not working at the FULFILLMENT of some of the promises?

6. Why do you author such a demeaning article about a distinguished public officer when in fact the last thing on record is the mutual goodwill that was exhibited between the good people of OkeOgun and the VP as you rightly showed during the election?

7. What is the real point of trying to mess up that cordial relationship now?

8. Is it that you feel left out personally? Can you not accept that the collective interest of the good people of Okeogun is way higher and deeper than your own selfish calculations?

9. On whose authority are you acting besides what seems a personal irritation?

Comrade Barrister, let us engage constructive engagements over and above destructive ones please. OKE OGUN will not lose out of its support for Buhari/Osinbajo now and in the future.

There is a lot that will still happen. Cool down, Barrister!!

Be rest assured of my regards.

Prince Adekunle Adetayo

Gbajabiamila, 80 Other Lawmakers Honour Bunmi Tunji-Ojo, Describe Him As Good Ambassador Of Ondo State.

Akoko North East/North West Federal Constituency of Ondo State stood still on Saturday when the Speaker of House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila stormed Okeagbe Akoko for the Civic Reception Party held in honour of Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo.

Gbajabiamila arrived St. George’s
Primary school, the venue of the grand Civic Reception in the company of about 80 other members of the House of Representatives.

Also present at the event was the Speaker Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Bamidele Oleyeloogun who came in the company of members of the State Assembly.
Ondo State governor, Rotimi Akeredolu was represented at the event by his Chief of Staff, Olugbenga Ale. The State Chairman of APC, Engr. Ade Adetimehin and the State Women Leader of APC also attended the civic reception. Moreso, all the traditional rulers in Akoko also graced the event. Chief Olusola Oke, Taofeek Abdulsalam, Acting NDDC Managing Director, Engr. Ife Oyedele, Barrister Kayode Ajulo and other important personalities were all at the event.
In his speech, Gbajabiamila
congratulated the people of Akoko North East and West Constituency for given their mandate to Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo and also thanked them for the continuous support of the people of Ondo State for APC.
He said, “I congratulate Ondo State for bagging one of the top Committees at the National Assembly, which is the House Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission. Ondo State is the only state at the National Assembly that all the members elected irrespective of party affiliation is appointed into the committee leadership, either as chairman of Committees or deputy chairman. This is not a coincidence, but a design because of the total support given to us by Ondo State during the House leadership election.”
Gbajabiamila particularly commended and thanked Tunji-Ojo for his uncommon support during the leadership election of the House. ” Tunji-Ojo played a major role in the success of House leadership election. He formed the First Timers Legislative Forum and served as its Chairman.

“We all envy Tunji-Ojo seeing that he is using the NDDC to construct a 10km road in Okeagbe. I have never had the opportunity of constructing such number of kilometers of road in my 18 years in the House.

He is a worthy son who has been doing Ondo State proud. Tunji-Ojo has never come to my office for personal reasons. He is always coming to discuss issues that concern Ondo State” remarked Gbajabiamila.

Meanwhile, the Speaker said he regretted not coming on Friday with his other colleagues when he heard good stories of unusual hospitality offered them by Tunji-Ojo. According to Gbajabiamila, ” The food was good, accommodation was nice and weather was also nice. I promise to come back to Ondo State and enjoy what my other colleagues enjoyed yesterday.
Gbajabiamila described BTO a very good member of the House and the more reason why large number of the members of the House of Representative and National Assembly from all the geopolitical zones attended the Civic Reception. He also expressed optimism that Akoko North East/North West Federal Constituency would become far better in the next 4 years going by the sterling performance of Tunji-Ojo.

Meanwhile, a political twist was added to the event when over 500 members of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) decamped to the All Progressive Congress, (APC). The decampees were received by the Engr. Ade Adetimehin, who in turn handed them over to the Chief of Staff, Olugbenga Ale who represented the Governor Akeredolu at the event.

CHAIRMAN, HOUSE COMMITTEE ON NDDC, BUNMI TUNJI-OJO COMMENDED FOR HIS STERLING ROLES AT THE PROBE

Chairman, House Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Hon. Bunmi Tunji-Ojo has been commended for his enviable representation and discharge of quality duties during the recent probe surrounding the Commission.
Following his numerous inputs tailored at sanitizing the controversial probe, Tunji-Ojo representing Akoko North-East/West Federal Constituency has come up to receive huge accolades from his people who argue such personality of Ondo is nothing but a blessing to the nation especially at this crucial hour.
One of such admirers and ardent supporters and indeed an origin of Ikare Akoko, Hon. (Dr.) Oladipupo Babatunde Okeyomi Carry-Go spoke tall of the House Committee Chairman when he said his loyalty and support to the Federal lawmaker remain undaunted and will always proud of him as a newer and glowing generation of what the nation requires.
In his words, Okeyomi, President of Change Agent Foundation International (CAFI) praised Tunji-Ojo’s achievement particularly his stern actions at the on-going investigation of NDDC which he says had added to his enviable profile.
“No doubt, your exemplary leadership role as the chairman of the House Committee on NDDC has brought so much recognition and development to Ondo state and we will remain grateful for your representations which are all evident during your tenure as MHR”.
Continuing, Okeyomi, who’s also Deputy Chairman, Special Operations team, Lagos state Landed Properties and security consultant to the Minister of Interior however ascribed the various developmental intuition of Tunji-Ojo to the rare love he has for Akoko in Ondo state. “It takes someone with so much passion and interests to have done all he has been to do and still doing for his state”.
According to Okeyomi, “Not only has Tunji-Ojo made his tenure as MHR meaningful to his constituency, he has also ensured every indigene of the state feels his impact bringing about employment opportunities to his people at all stages”.
As a detribalized human being by nature, the CAFI / T23 President says the House Chairman will not only be accorded the desired honour by his people but will always remain high in their minds because “he is very upright and reasonably reasonable”, concluded Okeyomi.

Ex-agitators group backs NDDC probe, calls for scrutiny of constituency projects



A coalition of Niger Delta Ex-agitators has thrown its weight behind the ongoing probe of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, by the National Assembly.

In a press statement backing the probe issued by Chief Kingsley Muturu, Peace Ambassador, the chairman of Amnesty Phase II, Delta State Chapter, the group described the ongoing probe as long overdue and urged members of the National Assembly Committee conducting the probe to ignore “the drama being acted by those called to give account of their stewardship.”

Ambassador Muturu said the major problem of NDDC nay Niger Delta was that of many conflicting interests that cannot find a common ground to drive development so that the people can benefit.

“I am not in support of anybody in this fight and drama. I am not in support of Akpabio or even those fighting him. All I want is for the national assembly to get to the root of the issues at stake.

“In NDDC, there are no harmonized interests, rather varied interests of those who are only interested in lining their pockets to the detriment of the masses of Niger Delta.

“Every appointee in NDDC unfortunately represents a private interest. The only way forward is to remove those interests. Let whoever that is appointed the Managing Director of NDDC or the Niger Delta minister be allowed free hand to run the place so that the people would know whom to hold accountable when there is a problem.

“As the Commission is presently constituted, it will be difficult to hold one individual responsible because whomever you see as the MD of the Commission is under immense pressure. We know these things because we are from there and we have our ears on the ground.

“For instance, in my Bomadi local government, we have those who have been representing us in the commission, yet you cannot see any good road, no portable water, no rural electrification and this lack of basic amenities has exacerbated the security situation not only in my local government area, but also in the entire Niger Delta,” he said.



Chief Muturu said another body should be set up on ad-hoc basis also investigate how lawmakers from the region use funds allocated to them for constituency projects.

“Another probe should be instituted especially on constituency projects in the region. For instance, we have it on good authority that lawmakers representing us at the federal level have been using the Bomadi township stadium project as their constituency project and have been collecting money based on that, but there is no stadium to show for such huge sums allegedly collected. Bomadi remains the only local government in Delta state without a stadium. Who is siphoning the money? Who are we going to hold accountable?, he asked rhetorically.

*WE MUST SUSTAIN THE EASE OF DOING BUSINESS REFORMS – OSINBAJO*

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT | PRESS RELEASE

The Buhari administration’s business reforms, through the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), is an opportunity to significantly boost local and foreign investments in the country, according to the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Prof. Osinbajo spoke today at a virtual meeting of the PEBEC to review the state of the reforms across a number of government agencies, noting that the Federal Government will continue to take the opportunity and ensure that more results are recorded.

As a result of the work of PEBEC, the World Bank has praised the economic direction of the Buhari administration and ranked the country higher in its annual Ease of Doing Business Rankings.

According to the Vice President, “This is a country with so much promise, this is a country that has so much resources and our administration has every opportunity to do something profound about investments in Nigeria.

“We must focus on how to get our business environment working.”

Earlier in his presentation, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo expressed optimism that the challenges observed in sustaining the successes recorded in the reforms will be addressed.

On his part, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Alhaji Mohammed Bello, said sustaining the PEBEC reforms is a priority for Nigeria as the country would not have risen in the Ease of Doing Business rankings if not for PEBEC.

The Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, said the Enabling Business Environment Secretariat (EBES) will continue to drive the mandate of PEBEC through extensive collaborations, adding that the National Action Plan 5.0 has been extended to July 29, 2020.

Attendance at the meeting, chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, included Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo; Minister of Interior, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola; Minister of FCT, Alhaji Mohammed Bello; Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami; Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Amb. Mariam Katagum; Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Folashade Yemi-Esan; Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, amongst other members of the council.

*Laolu Akande,*
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity,
Office of the Vice President.
21 July 2020

Edo 2020: Delta Youth Group Endorses Ize-Iyamu, flays Obaseki over incompetence, shortsightedness

A pressure group of Delta youths, the Delta Political Revolutionary Force, has endorsed the candidate of the All Progressives Congress for the Edo Sept. 19 Governorship election, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, and expressed its readiness to mobilize indigenes of Delta State in Edo State to vote for him at the polls.

In a communique signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Austine Ejabulor, after a meeting last week, the group lamented the state of infrastructure in Edo State and criticized Governor Godwin Obaseki’s “deceitful government of blackmail, marginalization, and shortsightedness.”

It announced his adoption of the APC’s Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu which it said was informed by a state-wide consultation and affirmation of the candidate’s generosity and genuine commitment to the growth and development of Edo State.

The communique read: “We the members of the Delta Political Revolutionary Force have had the delightful opportunity of consulting with the leaders and opinion molders at various levels of leadership in Edo State and across the 18 LGAs of the State,”

“The consultations and tour of the state have afforded us the opportunity to see the realities on the ground in the state and we have realized that Pastor Ize-Iyamu is the best candidate for the office of Governor.”

“We found him to be a planner, strategist, and a development-oriented leader who possesses all the attributes that Delta residents in Edo State want.”

“Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu cares about the downtrodden, he is generous at heart and understands the centrality of God in the affairs of men and society. He is concerned with laying long term foundation that will ensure the survival and sustainability of the state.”

*The Sociology Of Governor Obaseki's Failures*


*By Pius Alile*


It is a known fact that the person who has never been socialised to follow normative standards cannot get to the position of authority and behave well against others.
Social deviancy becomes the norms and torture of society becomes his comfort.

Going through Capt Hosa write up on Governor Obaseki's behaviour towards him. I see in Governor Obaseki a man who failed to go through proper socialisation processes. Or a man who went through a defective socialisation institutions.

Some of these social institutions may include, family, friends, schools, peer groups, society and others. It is imperative we listen to those who have had close contacts or dealings with Governor Obaseki so we can rightly deduced reasons for his colossal failures both in inter personal relationship or governance.

From capt Hosa write up I did not see a gentleman or responsible figure in the person of Governor Obaseki. I see a very audacious and extremely vicious person who lacks the training and wherewithal to represent a ward in a local govt, but unfortunately has been saddled with the responsibility of governing a state.

A very bitter and sadistic personae who had alot of personality dissonance. His vicious attempt to bring down the product of the sweat of another person not only shows wickedness but historical enviness against the person of capt Hosa.

I also saw a man who cannot forgive perceived errors against him. Capt Hosa enunciated how he tried to broker peace between him and Oshiomhole. But was was warned of the dire consequences of trying to broker peace. And how he may become collateral damage of peace making.

I see in Governor Obaseki a man who hated peace and promote conflict for personal social gratification. I also saw a man who cannot be trusted with his words. He tried to convince Capt Hosa that he is not after his business interest but his dishonesty gave him out.
I also see a man who lacks political tolerance.

Governor Obaseki is not able to separate political disagreement from social relationship and friendship.

Political right is an inalienable right and no man can deprive another of this right.

Capt Hosa clearly capitulated how perceived political differences had led to vicious attacks against his person and business interest. Threats to revoke his certificate of occupancy and destroy some of his business interest is another mindless threat supposedly emanating from the devil's soul.

This culture of political intolerance is itself a corruption. A corruption capable of corrupting our political institutions and culture. I see in governor obaseki agent of confusion and distabilisation.

I see a very egoistic and extremely selfish individual who would prefer to live in this world all alone.

These are some of the reasons why his campaign so far have been and erected on lies. He has been running a Govt of the few, for the few enthroned by deceived majority.

It is now time we elect a man with positive values, humane and compassionate in nature.

A man without defective socialisation processes. A man who has the right networks and contacts to bring development to our dear state.

That man is Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, candidate of all progressive Congress (APC)

*God's Time Is Now Edo Must Move Forward*

*Hon Pius Alile Is The Director Of Strategy And Member Media Team of Edo State APC Campaign Council.

Who is afraid of Prof Yemi Osinbajo? By ETIM ETIM

In the last five years, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has been the most castigated and perhaps traumatized senior member of the Buhari administration. The humiliation and disrespect he suffered under the former Chief of Staff to the President were legendary. No public official should be put through such dishonour by another member of the same government.

Now, there seems to be a well-organized network of persons determined to denigrate and humiliate the VP with a constant barrage of malicious publications. Femi Fani Kayode, often without a good cause and lacking in merit, constantly demeans the Vice President for reasons that are not clear.

Just two weeks ago, Jonathan Ude, another PDP member who publishes a blog known as Pointblank News from a base in the US, manufactured a grievous rumour that the suspended EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, had given Prof Osinbajo N4 billion from the N39 billion he allegedly looted from the agency. Last year, there was a sensational, but false publication which alleged that Prof Osinbajo had collected some N90 billion from the FIRS to fund that year’s elections in Lagos.

Just this week, as I was concluding this piece, a man who claims to be an assistant to the suspended chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, has come up with another bizarre story and Fake News of how the VP had met with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, some Igbo leaders and a judge to plot the imprisonment of Senator Orji Uzor Kalu so as to clear the way for Asiwaju to clinch the presidential ticket effortlessly. It has now come to air, no such assistant worked with Magu.

As if this was not strange enough, it was further revealed in another publication that Shehu Garba, one of the President’s spokespersons, was behind the tale of Magu giving billions to the VP. Garba has denied and the curiosity continues.

In all the cases, the Vice President’s Media Team has strongly debunked his involvement in any sleaze, scheme, conspiracy theory or any wrongdoing at all. Since this story broke over the weekend, I have tried unsuccessfully to speak to Garba and hear his own side of the story. I am so worried that his name could be linked to something so evil. It is not long ago that the First Lady, Mrs Aisha Buhari, had accused him of spreading negative stories about her. May be Garba himself is a victim of another plot in a bigger plot! He should clear his name vigorously.

But who are behind these flurries of fabrications against the Vice President and for what purpose? I ask because what is clear is that some people somewhere are set to turnaround what many regard as Osinbajo's sterling reputation and rising profile.

According to an official statement from his Office released soon after the Jonathan Ude publication: ‘’such mindless, vicious and reckless publications have now become the preferred tool of unscrupulous and reprobate elements in our society who are procured with monetary inducement to peddle blatant falsehood, tarnish the image of upright public officials and mislead unsuspecting Nigerians’’.

I believe that the attacks against the VP are mostly politically motivated. Nigerians will recall that Jonathan Ude, the main purveyor of these acerbities, had worked in the Public Affairs unit of the Jonathan administration with Dr. Doyin Okupe. The two were the major attack dogs hired by that administration, and together with FFK, the Campaign Communication Director, they sniped at President Jonathan’s opponents in the build-up to the 2015 elections.

So it stands to reason that both FFK and Ude are still bitter at the crushing defeat of President Goodluck Jonathan, and are still nursing grudges against the VP who remains a major asset to the APC ticket and has become an important member of the Buhari team.

There is also the view that the sponsors of these noxious publications are not comfortable with the warm relationship between the President and the Vice President. Their assumption is that the cordiality will give the professor a better competitive edge in the politics of 2023. The presidential interests of both Governors Femi Kayode of Ekiti State, Nasir el Rufai of Kaduna and Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu are not hidden. I do not imagine that they are not concerned with a potential challenge from a Vice President who enjoys both the trust of the President and a rising profile among Nigerians. Although the VP has, apparently overburdened and distracted by all the scheming and permutations, recently announced that he has no such ambition, at least for now, Nigerians continue to expect that he will give it a shot. There are very few Vice Presidents in a presidential democracy who don’t want to succeed their bosses. It is therefore reasonable to expect that other contenders will not take Yemi Osinbajo lightly. I have personally spent a long enough time in politics and political communication to know that desperate aspirants will do everything possible to destroy a perceived strong opponent before the race begins. They employ smear campaigns in the media and spread damaging rumours and unsubstantiated claims. Those of them with strong media influence, especially the newspaper publishers, can also instigate hostile press coverage against their perceived opponents.

Another possible source of the persistent attacks on the VP is some disgruntled persons in the State House. ‘The Villa boys’, as these middle-level officials are called, have been known to play damaging roles in our politics. While some work with politicians to upstage or spread dirt on their opponents, others deceive desperate candidates to part with huge cash in the pretext of getting them party nominations, helping to tip court judgments in their favour or arranging meetings with the First Lady or the Chief of Staff. I know many candidates who have been duped by these ‘Villa Boys’. They are merciless and ruthless.

Prof Osinbajo has never really been a favourite of some of the ‘Villa Boys’, especially those who operated within the orbit of the late CoS. The reader may wish to refer to my article titled ‘The Abba Kyari we did not know’ published soon after his passing in which I detailed how they and their late boss dealt with the VP. The VP’s rave coverage in the media when he acted for his sick boss in 2017 stung some of them to the quick. They just could not stand the diminutive lawyer being presented as a better alternative to the ailing boss. Obviously, those grudges still persist three years after. The mention of Shehu Garba’s name in connection with one of these publications has therefore alarmed me a great deal. I am waiting anxiously to hear from him. Can Shehu, a thorough media professional of over 35 years, be involved in a smear campaign against the nation’s number two citizen?

Prof Yemi Osinbajo’s credentials and reputation are never in doubt. The President himself regularly gushes over ‘his intellect and youth’. There is no doubt that the VP is loyal to his boss and is delivering on his assignments. The recently published Economic Sustainability Plan designed by him and Committee attests to his depth and rigor. A humble gentleman who connects easily with the people, he does not even flaunt these qualities like an Atiku Abubakar would. Remember how the former Vice President tried to upstage his boss midway into their tenure? As 2023 comes close, I have no doubt that those who see Yemi Osinbajo as their potential rival will not let up in their plan to make him look bad before Nigerians. It is up to him to push back vigorously in Defense of his true character. The good thing is that Nigerians already know who the real Osinbajo is. Let's hope truth prevails and good overcomes evil.

OPINION: Osinbajo’s Rising Profile And The Perils Of Fake News By Abdullahi Haruna

By a way of introduction, a vibrant press is an asset to any country practising democracy. Little wonder the media is referred to as the fourth estate of the realm.

It’s against the foregoing therefore that members of the fourth estate as seekers and revealers of truth to the general members of the public must always be above board, ethical, impartial and objective in the course of information dissemination and management.

Much as the conventional media try to keep to the basic tenets of journalism at all times, though there are occasional slips, it is important at this juncture to say that the advent of the social media, citizen journalism and digital media, which are largely unregulated, has led to a continuous upsurge in the peddling of fake news and libellous publications against public office holders in the country. It’s a growing menace that keeps stripping the country’s media of its credibility.

One of such notorious peddlers of fake news and purveyor of exclusive libellous publications is one Jackson Ude. His latest prime target is Vice President Yemi Osinbajo whom he accused in one of his recent mendacious publications on his junk site- pointblanknews- of collecting a bribe of N4b from the suspended acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC), Ibrahim Magu.

What is clear about Ude is that he could easily have been hired to smear the VP. He was on the media team of the Jonathan administration working under Dr. Doyin Okupe. He is also known as one of the key architects of the Dubai strategy of the PDP designed for the 2019 presidential election. Many from that camp have not forgiven the VP for the robust campaign he put up in 2015 after his nomination by then General Buhari changed the 2015 presidential election dynamics. For them to now imagine that Osinbajo’s profile is rising ahead of 2023, it is not difficult to establish their motivation to do any and everything possible to halt his ascendancy.

So deploying his usual modus operandi, Ude said he obtained an imaginary exclusive from an anonymous source privy to the proceedings of the ongoing investigation of Magu over allegations of corruption by the Justice Ayo Salami-led presidential panel wherein Magu claimed he gifted Professor Osinbajo N4b.

The VP’s Office dismissed the allegation in a statement by his media advisor, Laolu Akande, describing Ude’s publication as a lie from the pit of hell. The VP’S lawyers equally called on the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, through a petition by his Chief Taiwo Osipitan, SAN to investigate the allegation with a view to prosecuting the notorious fugitive and merchant of falsehood for criminal defamation of character.

Luckily for the VP, who is known to be above board in all his dealings, either as a private person or as a public office holder, Magu, after his release from detention, had come out to debunk the allegation, emphasizing that at no time did he ever tell the panel or even mention it in written submissions to the panel that he gave the VP N4b. He added that such an issue was not even discussed at the Salami Panel.

Ude again was caught in the web of his infantile and criminal lies when he alleged bold facedly that Kiki Osinbajo bought a property in Wuse, Abuja for the sum of N800m, insisting that such amount could only be from the proceeds of corruption linked to her father. Well, these days, lies don’t travel far again before being overtaken by truth. The landlord of the property, Dr Aliyu Musa, has come out to debunk such. Dr Musa said anyone could go verify the ownership of the property with AGIS and the FCT. It turned out that Kiki, the VP’s daughter, is a tenant in the said property who has just renewed her rent for one more year in May 2020.

But did Ude just happen on us? No. He has a history of weaving lies under the guise of publishing exclusives of alleged fraudulent practices to blackmail public officeholders. He almost ruined the hard-earned reputation of former Finance Minister, Dr(Mrs) Okonjo-Iweala, when he asserted that the woman bought a property in Maitama Abuja worth N1.2b which were proceeds of a corrupt deal. He also accused Iweala of awarding contracts amounting to $50m to her brother.

Okonjo Iweala sued him, his medium and partner in crime in order to prove her innocence regarding the allegation which she recalled, years later, really traumatized her to the point of almost losing faith in public leadership in the country. For the entire duration of the litigation, Ude never showed up nor was he represented by a counsel until the judge ruled against him and awarded damages of N200m against him. Till this moment, Ude has not paid the money nor appealed the judgement. He has been a permanent fugitive, hiding under the anonymity of online publication to blackmail and tarnish the reputation of his targets while marooning away somewhere in New York, United States of America.

There is no gainsaying the obvious that VP Osinbajo has come under serial smear campaigns in recent times. The purport of the intermittent falsehood woven around his person is to create a wedge between him and his principal, President Muhammadu Buhari and rubbish him ahead of the 2023 presidential election. Meanwhile, those who are conversant with the VP know that he is the least of ambitious men and that his cardinal focus at the moment is to see how he can help the President actualize his social contract with the people of Nigeria before the expiration of their second term tenure in 2023.

Again, the likes of Ude and his notorious gang neck-deep in vending fake news and publishing falsehood provide a genuine ground for the regulation of online journalism in the country and malicious usage of social media for character assassination and personality defilement. The advocacy is ongoing, though there are strong concerns that politicians may use it to gag free press and freedom of expressions.

Sadly, there are quite a few youths who are mostly the vendors of falsehood and enablers of characters like Ude who will never use the social media for factual analysis, informed commentary, agenda-setting, e.t.c as admonished by the Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, but rather deploy it for promoting ethnic hatred, blackmail, cyberstalking, character assassination, among other odious vices.

Obaseki Must Be Flushed Out Of Edo To Restore Sanity – Afegbua

By Temidayo Akinsuyi On Jul 13, 2020.

Prince Kassim Afegbua is a member of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and was one of the spokesmen of the Presidential Campaign Council in the 2019 general election. In this interview with TEMIDAYO AKINSUYI, he frowns at the processes that led to the emergence of Governor Godwin Obaseki as the party’s candidate for the September 19 Edo governorship election and has openly vowed to work against him . Excerpts:

You have been blowing hot in recent times over the emergence of Godwin Obaseki as the PDP’s candidate for the September election. What exactly is the problem?

There is the need for us to derive courage to interrogate democratic processes so that we are not fed with lawlessness as the normative order. As a member of the PDP, I should enjoy certain privileges which a new entrant shouldn’t enjoy. Everything must not be about money at all times. There were three vibrant aspirants who have toiled round the state wooing the delegates to vote for them. All of a sudden, at the eve of the primaries, it was postponed to accommodate the Governor who was never a part of the process. Before you say Jack Robinson, the entire permutation changed because you feel the Governor has money to spend, tax payers money for that matter. It is very disturbing and annoying that our hopes were dashed. If the Governor felt he was popular, he would have joined another party to test his popularity. Democracy is so beautiful that it does not encourage this type of bestiality.

Have they reached out to you to soft pedal after your outburst?

Well, quite a number of people have called to say I should sheath the sword since I am a member of the PDP. But they failed to address the fundamental issues. As a party member, should decisions be taken without factoring the overall interest of members? Money politics should not be the cardinal creed in political participation. There has to be constructive engagement and collective bargaining so that everyone will feel a sense of belonging. You don’t sit in Abuja and ram everything down the throat of members because you are national officers. I am a voter in Edo, and I have a lot of supporters who will see reason with my position. I have started campaigning in my community of Okpella so that we will use our votes to punish Governor Obaseki for abandoning our community. Our roads are in terrible shape, yet he wouldn’t fix them, but he wants our people’s votes. We are no fools in Okpella. We will speak with one voice against Governor Obaseki, to teach him a lesson that every community needs to be carried along.

Does it not sound curious that you are a member of the PDP and yet campaigning against your party?

There is nothing curious there. In other climes, people support candidate of other parties. In the US, Collin Powel and a couple of others endorsed Obama’s candidature even though they were not members of the Democratic Party. It is all about choices and leadership. It is about what you see after you have done your analysis with respect to who can do a better job. I have tasted Obaseki’s leadership for four years, I have formed my dissonance. He has not met my aspiration as an indigene of Edo. It is time for me to taste another person before I form my opinion. The last four years of Governor Obaseki has been one of monumental deceit, blackmail and pretenses. He has destroyed the Edo collective interest, pulled down people from their positions, and yet seeking for their votes. Former Deputy Governor, Dr. Pius Odubu, has his legitimate severance pay with-held by the Obaseki administration. He refused to pay him. When he was nominated for NDDC position as Chairman, Governor Obaseki protested and that board was dissolved. Another Benin son, Chief Victor Ekhator who was also nominated as a Commissioner representing Edo on the NDDC board, was also dropped, all due to Governor Obaseki’s anti-Edo sentiments. Is that the candidate that should be voted for by us?

But he won in 2016 election, why do you think he won’t repeat the feat?

(Laughs) I hope you know I am an insider. I know what happened in 2016. It is a story for another day. We cannot re-elect a man who is pulling down everybody. Where are the Edos in the scheme of things in Nigeria. He used taxpayers money to fight Oshiomhole until the court upheld his suspension. He has been fighting another Edo philanthropist of note, a wealth creator and employer of labour, Captain Hosa Okunbo, trying to destroy his businesses through spurious petitions. Who does that in a country where everyone tries to protect his own? How can you now turn around to seek for votes from the same people you are pulling down? Obaseki has not delivered on governance because he has spent better part of his administration battling for political survival. The projects he has done are prohibitive in terms of cost. How can you for example renovate the Ogbe stadium with six billion naira? What are the costs of projects? In the spirit of open government, can he open up the books for people to see the costs attached to projects?

Are you fighting for yourself or your community because I read a statement saying you were disowned, and another one saying nobody can disown you in Okpella where you come from. What is the situation?

When I read the statement credited to some funny names purportedly speaking for Okpella, I laughed my heart out. How can unknown names disown a Prince from Okpella? Will that not amount to a sacrilege? Well, my family and leaders of thought promptly responded and threatened to place a curse on anyone that dares us. It is only a bastard that will see the poor condition of Okpella roads and infrastructure, and still talk about supporting Obaseki. A true and free born Okpella person can never support a government that has neglected us so badly, despite our huge contribution to the internal revenue of the state through our cement and limestone. We cannot be made the crying baby in an era we should be enjoying our God-given natural endowments. How can a government run a full course of four years, visited Okpella four times, made promises four times, raised our hope four times, and dashed our hope four times. Where do you begin from in terms of campaign. A governor who could not fix our roads when he knows he would need our votes, is it when he no longer needs our votes, that he will remember us? It is so painful when people deceive you. Go to Okpella and see how bad our roads have become. Oshiomhole fixed one part of the roads, it was only necessary for Obaseki to complete them, alas, he scammed us. We cannot be fooled again. Okpella will vote against Obaseki. That is sure.

What is your assessment of the Obaseki administration in terms of his performance?

Governor Obaseki spent a better part of his first four years fighting imaginary wars against those who made him Governor. Quite unfortunate in all my years, I have not seen that level of betrayal, back stabbing and ingratitude. Those of us from good homes and humble background appreciate people who are our benefactors. How can you work with Oshiomhole for eight years as economic adviser only for you to make a 360 degree turn to become such an ingrate? Those urging him on will laugh at him at the end of the day when he loses the election. If he had played his politics right, he would have had a smooth sail by now. How can people invest time, energy, resources and time into your project, and on getting there, he turned his back against them. Who does that in politics? He will be shocked at the outcome of the election. By the time he looks back, he won’t see those political dancers who are feeding fat on him.

I Am Kiki Osinbajo’s Landlord – Ayuba Musa

Following a social media post by one New York based rogue blogger, Mr Jackson Ude that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s daughter owns the property at No. 40 Durban Street, Wuse 2, Abuja, housing her company, GLAM’D Africa, the landlord of the property, Dr Ayuba Musa has dismissed Mr Ude’s claims, describing it as entirely false.

In a disclaimer signed by Dr Ayuba Musa, last night, the landlord said the property was never, at any point in time, sold to the Vice President’s daughter or t anyone.

Dismissing Ude’s post about the ownership of the property, Dr Musa said that he remained the rightful owner of the property and that all documents on the house were still carrying his name and challenged anyone in doubt to check with the FCT authorities.

“In reaction to the recent reports on social media with regards to the above mentioned property, I write to declare that I, Dr Ayuba Z Musa, am the rightful owner of the said property located at No. 40 Durban Street, Wuse 2, Abuja.

“I have all my documents which are duly registered with AGIS.

“I have never at any point sold or have agreed to sell my property to GLAM’D Africa, Miss Kiki Osinbajo or to any other person. This is completely false,” the disclaimer quoted Dr Musa as saying.

Continuing on the tenant occupant of the property, Dr Musa said “GLAM’D Africa, a business owned by Olukoyinsola Osinbajo, is my tenant and has been since 12th April 2017. The tenancy was recently renewed on the 3rd of May 2020 for an additional period of 1 year.”

Dr Musa’s response further clarifies the questionable motive and fraudulent character of Mr Jackson Ude, hence the need for the general public to disregard comments attributed to him about just anything.

Mr Ude, through his fake news platform recently claimed that ex-EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu had confessed to giving N4b to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, and further reported in another post that part of the N4b was used to purchase the property at Wuse 2, Abuja for GLAM’D Africa, a company owned by the Vice President’s daughter.

Ize-Iyamu accuses Obaseki of seeking 20 billion Naira loan to fund campaign

…condemns governor for indebting state to fund election

…warns financial institutions against granting fraudulent loans

The candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, for the Edo State Governorship election, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, has raised alarm on alleged plans by the incumbent Governor Godwin Obaseki to obtain a 20 billion naira bond loan from financial institutions to pursue his second-term ambition after allegedly draining the state treasury.

In a statement endorsed by Mr. John Mayaki, the Director of Communication and Media of his Campaign Organization, Ize-Iyamu condemned what he termed as the Governor’s short-sighted and irresponsible indebting of the state for desperate and personally beneficial political activities, while also warning financial institutions against granting fraudulent loans to the Edo State Government.

He said: “After draining the state treasury with his corrupt 15 billion naira payout to the PDP tax-collectors for the party’s ticket, it has come to our notice that Governor Obaseki is now scurrying around to embark on another borrowing spree with a planned 20 billion naira bond loan from some financial institutions.”

“We find it shocking that after the many tribulations Obaseki’s directionless and incompetent administration has caused in Edo State, the Governor is hatching fresh plans to mortgage the future of the state and her youths with additional loans to fund his desperate political agenda to foist himself on the people for another four years.”

“Obaseki already racked up foreign loans that propelled Edo State to number two on the states with the most indebtedness in the country without any commensurate gain in infrastructure, the economy, and security. Efforts to get the Governor to offer accountability on what he did with the loans and the role his private firm, AfrinInvest, played in their acquisition all fell on deaf ears.”

“It is therefore heartless, irresponsible, and unconscionable for such a man to even conceive obtaining another loan in the tune of 20 billion naira for his political godfathers in the PDP who are cashing in on his desperation and lack of integrity.”

“We want to warn all financial institutions to honor the age-long freeze practice observed during election seasons and possible change of government and not grant any loan to the heartless Godwin Obaseki who appears to now be on a mission to completely sell-out our state and the future of our youths.”

“We are also alerting the EFCC, ICPC, CBN, and other financial regulatory bodies to pay close attention to what is going on in Edo State.”

“It is a known fact that Obaseki has never maintained any close ties with Edo State. He is a Lagos businessman who for long held his own people and state in contempt. Perhaps now that it is obvious that he will be sacked from office in September, his plan is to smash and grab before disappearing back to where he came from.”

“For those of us who have no other place to call home apart from Edo State, these criminal plans and heist against the people will be fiercely resisted as we will not fold our hands and let a desperate stranger destroy our state.”