₦airaland Forum

July 7, 1998. (21 years ago)
Chief Mashood Kashimawo Abiola GCFR left this world.
May Allah grant him Aljannah.
He was the winner of the June 12 1993 presidential election that was annulled by General Ibrahim Babangida.

stefanbanach:
A liar is one who consistently utters false statements with intent of deceit. What did osinbajo have in his mind when he posted the picture of reinhard bonke's crusade and captioned it "Kano APC rally"?

You should please abide to your prescriptions.

stefanbanach:
This man is not just a liar but a lying lion....

Is it my fault that you are lazy to read?

Re: OSINBAJO: Serial Liar, Buhari’s Brain, Propagandist, Interpreter of Buhari’s Maladies By Muhammad Gulani

To think of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as a liar and propagandist is to do a grave injustice to the truth itself, and to vex the millions of Nigerians that have benefited through the many ways his office has helped elevate people from poverty and unemployment. Not to mention, those blessed by his mentor ship, inspiration and leadership.
This Professor and Pastor is easily Nigeria’s most active Vice President since the inception of the 4th Republic in 1999. He has chaired so well the National Economic Council: leading the team whose efforts took us out of a recession, brought upon the country from many years of mismanagement.
The Social Investment Programmes, under his watch has touched the lives of over 12 million Nigerians. No socio-economic Programme in our history has made an impact of this worth. The ordinary women, the everyday Nigerians on the street looking for the next hustle, market men and women trying to make ends meet, needing just a little boost from government and the right atmosphere have found it in this programmes.
Forgive the digression, now to the bone of the issue.
When the Vice President said that Nigeria was experiencing kidnapping, engineered in some cases by politicians, and even in other cases by people who orchestrated their own kidnap, he did not lie. A Google search would prove that. Instances abound. Only recently the story of a man who faked his kidnap in Nassarawa State was shared on Cable NG. But the Vice President did not stop there, he acknowledged that there were indeed real cases of kidnapping and went further to state that the Buhari administration was ensuring that this sad reality became history. Where did the Vice President lie?
While it is true that Nigeria currently has several patches experiencing violence, most of it has been fueled by politics and tribal conflicts. It is also false to assume that the Buhari/Osibanjo administration has not concentrated efforts to address this challenges. Bayo Oluwasanmi might have a serious issue with understanding the difference between a fact and a lie.
The government has sent in troops and entire police divisions whenever a crisis has arisen. Different operations and exercises have been carried out by the Nigerian Army to flush away bandits, kidnappers, terrorists and armed criminal herders who have committed heinous crimes in the communities around them. Many of them have been arrested or even killed. A Google search would show these victories for Nigeria over evil doers who want to bring us back.
Beyond boots on the ground, the government has also launched social-economic programmes aimed at dealing with the crises, especially of the clashes between herders and farmers. Knowing well that it is primarily rooted in disagreements in resource management - land in particular.
The administration has put in place the National Livestock Transformation Plan. It is is one of the most comprehensive plans that aim at ending the several decades long conflict, while looking at the economic benefits of the livestock rearing, and ensuring that there is proper conflict management and justice. A peep at the 8 page summary of the plan shows that the administration means business in ending this crisis.
It’s is overwhelmingly absurd to think of Osibanjo - a man who has spent half of his life in the service of this country - as a liar. All references cited by the author do not hold water and are far from facts. So where is the lie?
Mr Bayo Oluwasanmi upends logic when he writes this long piece of article and at almost every sentence cries that Professor Osinbajo is a liar, but he fails to mention any instance where Osinbajo has lied. He barks like a dog without teeth. A rabid one!
At every point Osinbajo has reeled out government achievements, whether in defence of his boss or simply stating things as they are, they have been backed by facts. Not lies. Are the 500,000 N-Power beneficiaries not real people? Can Bayo beat his chest and say that these beneficiaries do not exist? Or the over 2 Million beneficiaries of the Trader Moni? Or the 2nd Niger Bridge, whose construction is evident for everyone to see despite the naysayers saying it wasn’t real?
The author's misguided interpretations in his article only shows you that he’s either being clever by half or is a pretty seedy personality who’s been urged along by a penny or two.
- Muhammad Gulani is a Political Scientist and Researcher.
[url][/url]http://saharareporters.com/2019/07/04/re-osinbajo-serial-liar-buhari%E2%80%99s-brain-propagandist-interpreter-buhari%E2%80%99s-maladies

A COMMUNIQUE OF A MEETING BY THE NEC COMMITTEE ON FARMERS/HERDERS CRISIS ON 3RD JULY, 2019 AT THE PRESIDENTIAL VILLA, ABUJA.

1. The NEC Committee on the Farmers/Herders Crisis under the chairmanship of Mr. Vice President, His Excellency, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo met today, 3rd July, 2019.

2. Members that were present were Mr. Vice President who presided over the meeting, Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State who is the Chairman of the NEC-Sub Technical Committee on Farmers/Herders crisis, Governor of Kebi State who is the Vice Chairman of Food Security Council, Governor of Plateau State, Deputy Governor of Adamawa State, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President; office of the Vice President, Permanent Secretary; Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr. Andrew Kwasali-Secretary of the NEC-Sub Technical Committee on Farmers/Herders Crisis and Director in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

3. Members deliberated on the NEC and Federal Government approved programme of the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP).

4. Members are aware that Mr. President has suspended the implementation of RUGA programme initiated and implemented alone by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources because it is not consistent with the NEC and FGN approved NLTP which has programmes of rehabilitation of displaced IDPs within crisis States and development of Ranching in any willing State of the federation.

5. The beauty of NLTP is that what NEC and FGN approved is only voluntary to all the 36 States who may like to participate.

6. That any state that is interested in NLTP is required to bring development plan in line with NLTP for implementation in his State which will be unique to the State based on the challenges of the State.

There are some level of insincerity in this #RUGA initiative.
RUGA is not part of NLTP (National Livestock Transformation Plan).

1. The VP Professor Yemi Osinbajo under his office as Chairman of the National Economic Council decided to find a solution to the farmer/herdsmen crisis.

2. As far back as 2017 he started a series of consultations with an aim of finding a solution that was acceptable to all mentions

3. He took a special interest in the crisis when he was Acting President in 2017. He deployed troops to Taraba, and summoned a meeting with the security chiefs and Gov. Taraba.

4. Crucially, he said the FG would not dictate to states how they would use their land.

5. Now fast-forward to 2019. In collaboration with state governors and representatives of farmers and herdsmen, he presents the National Livestock Transformation Plan, which again is to be driven by States and is 100% optional.

6. The NLTP was approved by NEC in January 2019.

7. In May 2019, Prof launches his plan, that has been 2 years in the making, and that’s when everything starts going crazy.

8. A week before handover FEC sits and approves million Naira contracts for Ruga settlements for herdsmen across the 36 states.
mentions 9. Then the Ministry of Agric comes out to say Ruga is part of the NLTP.

10. Myetti Allah come and say not only is it part of the NLTP, but that it is being driven by Prof Osinbajo.

11. Uproar immediately ensues. The SE Governors and most of the NEC reject Ruga.

12. Benue state says staff of Min of Agric come to Benue and are told the Land Use Act vests land administration with the Governor and they (Benue) do not want Fulani settlements.

13. The Min. Of Agric officials leave, but return the next week with contractors to build the rugas.

14. In an unprecedented move, Osinbajo distances himself from the Ruga initiative and states it is NOT captured by or forms any part of the NLTP.

15. The Presidency then issues a statement saying they will ‘begin’ consultations and that this consultations will be led by the SGF.

16. The first pillar of the NLTP was not any settlements, it was conflict resolution and compensation to indigenes for losses they suffered from the conflict.

17. It also sought to establish sustainable business livestock practices for ALL Nigerians, not just Fulanis.

18. All of this meticulous work has been jettisoned for a provocative land-grab and a shadowy billion-Naira contract award process that has seen broadband companies get construction contracts.

Contrary to claims reported in sections of the media, the establishment of Ruga settlements is not being supervised by the Office of the Vice President.
The Ruga initiative is different from the National Livestock Transformation Plan approved by State governors under the auspices of the National Economic Council (NEC) chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.
NEC on January 17, 2019, approved the plan based on the recommendations of a Technical Committee of the Council chaired by Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State. Other State Governors on the committee and Working Group of NEC are those from Adamawa, Kaduna, Benue, Taraba, Edo, Plateau, Oyo & Zamfara – mostly the frontline States in the Farmer-Herder crises.
The National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) 2019-2028 is a programme to be implemented in 7 pilot states of Adamawa, Benue, Kaduna, Plateau, Nasarawa, Taraba and Zamfara (as decided by NEC in January), being States in the frontlines of the Farmer-Herder crises. Afterwards, six other States have indicated readiness to also implement the plan. They are Katsina, Kano, Kogi, Kwara, Ondo, and Edo states.
The plan has six pillars through which it aims to transform the livestock production system in Nigeria along market-oriented value chain while ensuring an atmosphere of peace and justice.
The six key pillars include:
- economic investment
- conflict resolution
- justice and peace
- humanitarian relief and early recovery
- human capital development and
cross-cutting issues such as gender, youth, research and information and strategic communication.
In all, the Federal Government will not impose on any State government regarding its land.

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT
PRESS RELEASE

VICE PRESIDENT’S OFFICE NOT SUPERVISING ‘RUGA’ SETTLEMENTS

Contrary to claims reported in sections of the media, the establishment of Ruga settlements is not being supervised by the Office of the Vice President.

The Ruga initiative is different from the National Livestock Transformation Plan approved by State governors under the auspices of the National Economic Council (NEC) chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

NEC on January 17, 2019, approved the plan based on the recommendations of a Technical Committee of the Council chaired by Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State. Other State Governors on the committee and Working Group of NEC are those from Adamawa, Kaduna, Benue, Taraba, Edo, Plateau, Oyo & Zamfara - mostly the frontline States in the Farmer-Herder crises.

The National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP) 2019-2028 is a programme to be implemented in 7 pilot states of Adamawa, Benue, Kaduna, Plateau, Nasarawa, Taraba and Zamfara (as decided by NEC in January), being States in the frontlines of the Farmer-Herder crises. Afterwards, six other States have indicated readiness to also implement the plan. They are Katsina, Kano, Kogi, Kwara, Ondo, and Edo states.

The plan has six pillars through which it aims to transform the livestock production system in Nigeria along market oriented value chain while ensuring an atmosphere of peace and justice.
The six key pillars include:
economic investment
conflict resolution
justice and peace
humanitarian relief and early recovery
human capital development and
cross-cutting issues such as gender, youth, research and information and strategic communication.
In all the Federal Government will not impose on any State government regarding its land.


Laolu Akande

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

June 28, 2019

Says Jonathan, PDP made Nigeria poverty capital of the world

A policy group in Nigeria says Reno Omokri, a former social media aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan is ridiculing the former number one citizen of Nigeria.
The Global Economic Policy Initiative, GEPIn, said it was wrong for Mr. Omokri to be peddling lies and issuing statements on behalf of President Jonathan.
President of the group, Mr. Bernard Okri said that the world will be laughing at Mr. Jonathan for trying to undo the abject poverty which he thrust Nigeria into by falsifying figures.
“Mr. Omokri has a record for impersonation, identity theft and blackmail but who would have thought that he would do it to his former boss and former President of Nigeria,” Okri quizzed.
“In an attempt to slander Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on the poverty figures that he quoted while addressing the Council of Foreign Relations in New York City he dented the reputation and goodwill of his former boss.
Okri stressed that Prof. Osinbajo was right when he said the poverty level in Nigeria as at 2010 was over 112 million, which was over 67 per cent of Nigeria’s population at the time.


Quoting the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), he said about 112 million Nigerians, which is about 67.1 per cent of the country’s total population of 167 million were living below poverty level.
He said Nigeria only became the poverty capital of the world because the Peoples Democratic Party which had been in government impoverished Nigerians and looted all the resources.

“In 2010, over 112.47 million Nigerians were living on less than a one dollar a day. The NBS data showed that 67% of Nigerians in 2010 were living in “absolute poverty” – this figure had risen from 54.7% in 2004.
He added that the NBS report revealed that Nigerians considered themselves to be getting poorer at the time.  “According to the report in 2010, 93.9% of respondents felt themselves to be poor compared to 75.5% six years earlier,” Okri added.
He said it was a shame that Mr. Omokri could not do a simple Google search to confirm the statement of the Vice President before jumping on Twitter and even issuing a statement.
“This is a disgrace to President Goodluck Jonathan, he has made him the laughing stock of the world, I think he deserves better than to be dragged in the mud by Mr. Omokri. A simple Google search would have saved both of them this embarrassment,” he said.
He, however, urged Mr. Omokri to apologise to President Jonathan, Vice President Osinbajo and all Nigerians for dragging the name of the country in the mud.
“He (Omokri) has record of telling lies and he is a very fraudulent person. Nigerians still remember Wendell Simlin, the name Mr. Omokri stole in his bid to blackmail then former CBN governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, accusing him of sponsoring Boko Haram but he was busted.
“Only last week I read that he was using the name of abducted Dapchi school girl, Leah Sharibu, to make money for himself by selling shirts and a book he wrote in her name.
“He has a past and most us know that he relies heavily on this type of fraudulent activity to survive, things have not been easy for him since the PDP left government,” Mr. Okri.
He urged Nigerians never to believe or take anything Mr. Omokri says seriously. “We should engage in constructive criticism if we really want Nigeria to succeed, persons like Mr. Omokri exude bad vibes, Nigerians should not believe anything he says.”

https://www.chronicle.ng/2019/06/poverty-statistics-reno-omokri-ridiculing-goodluck-jonathan-group/

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT

PRESS RELEASE

VP OSINBAJO REASSURES NIGERIANS IN DIASPORA OF BUHARI ADMINISTRATION’S DETERMINATION TO SECURE COUNTRY & PROSPER THE PEOPLE




Taking more than 40 questions from the Nigerian community in New York Sunday night, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has reassured Nigerians in Diaspora about the determination of the Buhari administration to secure the country and prosper the people.

Prof. Osinbajo stated this while responding to questions during a townhall meeting with some members of the Nigerian community in New York.

The forum with Nigerians in the Diaspora was one of the activities lined up for the Vice President’s visit to the United States.

According to him, “there is really nothing serious to worry about because we are taking the necessary steps to address issues relating to herders/farmers clashes, kidnappings and others.”

While highlighting different aspects of the Federal Government's agenda at the townhall meeting in midtown Manhattan, Prof. Osinbajo said the whole essence of the policies and programmes on social welfare, health care and others is to take majority of Nigerians out of poverty.

He said “the reason why we decided to have what we call the Social Investment Programmes is basically because it is one of the ways to address the problem of poverty in Nigeria.

“Nigeria has never systematically addressed the poverty problem in the way that India, which used to have the largest population of poor people, have done.

“As at 2010, Nigeria had a population of about 112.7 million people living in extreme poverty and there was nothing in place to address the problem, no social investment programme, no social security, no way of getting people out of poverty.

“So, the National Social Investment Programme was to address questions of how to get our people out of poverty and to address the major concerns of poverty.”

Continuing, Prof. Osinbajo said “some people are so poor that they cannot afford the basics of life, so the disbursement of N5,000 monthly stipends to such people under the Conditional Cash Transfer has gone a long way in helping them.”

“Dealing with the problem of poverty is so huge that we also came up with the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) where we give interest-free loans to petty traders under what we call the TraderMoni scheme.

“These are traders at the bottom of pyramid in our economic value chain, those whose inventory are sometimes not more than N5,000. They are given N10,000 and when they pay back, they get higher amounts up to N100,000.

“The same thing we are doing with the Homegrown School Feeding Programme where we give children in public schools a free meal every day, and we are feeding about 9.5 million children in 31 states. This initiative is key to addressing one of the issues associated with poverty, which is malnutrition. And we have found that as a result of this programme, school enrolment figures have gone up significantly.

“Also, part of the reasons why we are doing this is first the multiplier, because it is homegrown; the entire value chain is serviced locally, including the cooks who are picked from the locality of the school,” Prof. Osinbajo added.

On measuring the impact of the schemes, Prof. Osinbajo said an impact assessment report on the cash transfer and the microcredit schemes would be released before the end of September 2019.

According to the Vice President “we are trying to measure the impact and we have put together a team with the World Bank assisting us. We also have one or two organizations who are trying to do this measurement for us and I believe that in the next two months we should have at least the first report looking at some of the impact of the microcredit schemes and the conditional cash transfers.

“But a lot of these things are intuitive. I don’t think that there is any great difficulty in knowing that when people are enabled it makes things easier for them and people can see the results.”


On health care funding, the Vice President said the Federal Government was committed to addressing the challenge of inadequate funding through an innovative approach that takes care of the poor in the society.

According to him, “what we have done is to follow the provision of the Health Act which says that 1% of our Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) must go to health care and that is what we have done. For the first time, for the 2018 budget, we have set aside the 1 % of the CRF for health.

“Aside from that we also have the basic health care provision fund which we are running in all of the states. This is the Federal Government contribution which is matched by the states to deal with primary health care issues.

“The challenge is that you cannot deal with health care from government budget alone. This is the reason why the National Health Insurance is very important for us. An amendment has been effected to make contributory health insurance compulsory.

“For us, one of the problems to address is the large numbers of poor people. So, in determining what that premium will be, we decided that government will pay 35% of the premium so that those who cannot afford to pay are taken care of by government.”

On pensions, Prof. Osinbajo said the Buhari administration had through several interventions resolved some issues with pensioners in different organisations and sectors including the Nigerian Airways, military and paramilitary organisations, civil service and parastatals, amongst others.

He added that the bailout funds released to some states by the Buhari administration were, in many instances, meant to pay arrears of pensions and salaries.

On leveraging human capital in the Diaspora to complement development efforts in Nigeria, the Vice President said the establishment of the Diaspora Commission by the Buhari administration was one of the ways to show government’s commitment to work with Nigerian professionals in the Diaspora.

He said “the reason why the Diaspora Commission was set up is to address all the various concerns that the Diasporan have and that we also have as government and in some cases as institutions.

“We believe very strongly that the Diaspora is an important partner in all the things that we are doing. You can talk about their remittances and all that. So, they are an important component in what we are doing, as you have heard in GDP, and their remittances.”

Prof. Osinbajo also urged them to work closely with the Diaspora Commission to identify ways of contributing to the development of the country.

Also present at the event was Hon. Justice Sylvanus Nsofor, Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States; Prof. Tijjani Bade, Nigeria’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations and President of the UN General Assembly, amongst others.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity
Office of the Vice President
25 June, 2019

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT

PRESS RELEASE

TECHNOLOGY: NIGERIA & NIGERIANS WILL SURPRISE THE WORLD, SAYS OSINBAJO

*VP woos potential investors in power, agriculture, other sectors

*Received at the UN, meets Pence Wednesday in White House

The potential, effort and impact being made by Nigerians in technology can enable the country roll out indigenous technology solutions that can transform the global space according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

Prof. Osinbajo stated this Monday while interacting with interested investors and foreign policy experts on Nigeria’s economic prospects and related matters at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City.

In a question and answer session after his opening remarks at the event, Prof Osinbajo was asked about the ongoing international dispute regarding some global technology firms and the issue of 5G.

He explained that even though Nigeria is yet to roll out 5G, "we do not have those complications (comparatively) in taking decisions in that regard. But, we practically welcome every company that wants to do business with us in Nigeria. Huawei is in Nigeria and so are all the other technology companies.

“We haven’t gone through any kind of decision making for rolling out the 5G technology; as a matter of fact we are going to roll out 5G ourselves. Talking about the equipment and technology; how did the Chinese get it? How did anyone else get the technology? We will do it ourselves.”

Speaking further, the Vice President who was optimistic about the possibility to developing homegrown capacity in the technology space said government would leverage the efforts and resourcefulness of youths to actualize its potentials in the sector.

“Our potential in technology and entertainment has been attracting huge attention. First is the market, at 174 million GSM phones, we are among the top ten telephone users in the world, and we have the highest percentage of people who use internet on their phones in the world," Prof Osinbajo added.

Continuing he said "we are also number two in mobile internet banking in the world, and 17 million Nigerians are on Facebook. Microsoft has announced that it will establish a 100 million dollar African Development Centre in Nigeria.

“Second is the ever-growing number of technology startups, young digital entrepreneurs who are creating solutions to value chain and logistics challenges and creating thousands of jobs in the process. Andela, a software company training software developers for many Fortune 500 companies received a $24m dollar investment from Facebook.”

In the other sectors of the economy, the Vice President told the American audience that Nigeria remained the best place to invest given its market and enterprising population.

He said “now, we are opening up our power sector. We are asking power firms to come in and invest in end to end power supply. Power Africa - a USAID project has made a commitment of $110m over five years (2018 – 2023) to provide transaction support to the entire value-chain covering gas supply, distribution, transmission and generation activities with our population, and a market-driven power sector, so the next few years promise exciting prospects.

“This is also the case with other infrastructure. We are embarking on the largest investment in infrastructure in our history, welcoming private investments in concessions and projects rail, roads, airports, and other infrastructure.”

On agriculture, Prof. Osinbajo said “Nigeria has the 9th largest stock of arable land in the world. We have become world leaders in cassava, yams, sorghum, and millet, and we are on the threshold of self-sufficiency in paddy rice production.

“Seeing greater interest in agriculture and the agro-allied value chain, there is no question that aside from the export market, our population presents a massive and lucrative local market.”

Speaking specifically about what government was doing to revive manufacturing in the country, the Vice President said the Federal Government’s Project Made In Nigeria for Export, titled Project MINE was conceived to drive the country's industrialization agenda.

According to him, “we are investing at the moment in the creation of special economic zones. Our Project MINE is designed to attract sunset industries from more advanced manufacturing economies, in search of affordable well-trained labor in Nigeria.

“At the moment we are focusing on industries for local manufacture of goods for which Nigeria has a comparative advantage. These include cotton, garments, leather, and light industrial manufacturing.”

Speaking further on efforts to improve domestic manufacturing, the Vice President said “the Nigerian Special Economic Zones Investment company is a public-private partnership established as the delivery vehicle for the project.

“Investors for the project include AFDB, Afroexim Bank, and AFC. Already work has begun in three locations. The Enyimba Economic City in Aba, Abia State, covers over 9500 hectares. Three international anchor tenants have been secured for phase one of the project. The city will be served by an existing IPP for power and will create 625,000 jobs when it is fully built.

“There is also the Lekki Model Industrial Park in partnership with the Lagos State Government in Lagos. It is set on 1000 hectares in the northeast cluster of Lekki Free Zone. It has already attracted world-class anchor tenants for textiles and garments, agro-processing and light industrial manufacturing including the number 1 Chinese and number 9 global textiles and garment group, (RUYI Group).

“The third project in its early stages is the Funtua Cotton Cluster in Katsina State which is in North West Nigeria. Funtua has the largest aggregation of cotton ginneries in Nigeria. The cluster will aggregate cotton from 800,000 farmers in Northern Nigeria and become the largest integrated cotton ginning, spinning and weaving complex in Sub Saharan Africa,” the Vice President noted.

In renewable energy, Prof. Osinbajo said “huge prospects also exist in investments in renewable energy, energy-efficient-processes and clean technology.”

According to him “gas had been flared for almost 60 years by major oil companies but in 2017 government approved the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme, designed to eliminate gas flaring through technically and commercially sustainable gas utilization projects. The Programme offers flared gas for sale through a transparent and competitive bidding process.”

After his interaction at the CFR, the Vice President was received at the United Nations by a team of top officials of the world body led by Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed at the UN headquarters.

Prof. Osinbajo and the UN officials discussed ways Nigeria and the UN can further collaborate on national, regional and global issues.

The Vice President would be meeting his American counterpart tomorrow Wednesday at the White House before heading back to Abuja.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity
Office of the Vice President
25 June 2019
Copyright ©️ 2019, Office of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, All rights reserved.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in New York said the huge development challenges facing Nigeria and the rest of Africa were “excellent opportunities for groundbreaking investments and innovation”.
He stated this as a guest at an interactive session hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), a think-tank.
In his opening statement on the topic “Nigeria’s Economic Prospects”, the vice president hinged his discussion on four areas including population, and environment with respect to climate change.

He identified the other two areas as production especially agriculture, manufacturing and technology as well as security, and the challenges of terrorism, violent Islamic extremism, social exclusion and resource conflicts.
Osinbajo noted that what happened in the four areas in the continent in the coming years would impact positively or negatively on the fortunes of the world.

He said, “The doomsday scenario is as follows: Africa’s population grows exponentially, food production is not able to match population growth, a rise in transhuman conflicts due to shrinking vegetation and water.
“Lack of jobs and opportunity for a large  poorly educated youth population, leading to aggressive illegal migration, vulnerability to extremism and, the creation of a convenient breeding ground for extremist groups and a terrorist  launch pad to the rest of the world.


“A horrifying situation indeed, and possible if in the next three decades Africa drops the ball on these four indicators.
“Neither Africa nor the rest of the world can afford to have these scenarios playing out.”
Osinbajo stated that being the most populous nation in the continent, Nigeria had a critical role to play in those four areas.
According to him, it is not an exaggeration to say that as “Nigeria goes, so goes Africa”.
The vice president said although the challenges were huge, they were excellent opportunities for “ground-breaking” investments and innovation by both local and foreign players.

“So take population,  the mere fact that we will become the third  most populous nation in the world by 2050 and the 14th largest economy, means a huge market.
“When we opened up our telecoms sector for private investment 18 years ago, many thought, ‘yes, they have a large population but not a large enough middle class to buy and use mobile phones’.
“They were wrong. MTN and Econet took the plunge, and today market penetration for mobile phones is 114.9 per cent, which technically means almost everybody has a phone,” he said.
The vice president said Nigeria was trying to replicate the same feat in the power sector by opening it for investment in end-to-end power supply.
According to him, Power Africa, a USAID project, has made a commitment of 110 million dollars between 2018 and 2023.
The fund is meant to provide transaction support to the entire electricity value-chain covering gas supply, distribution, transmission and generation activities, he explained.
“With our population, and a market-driven power sector, the next few years promise exciting prospects.
“This is also the case with other infrastructure. We are embarking on the largest investment in infrastructure in our history, welcoming private investments in  concessions and projects like rail, roads, airports, and other infrastructure.”
In agriculture, Nigeria boasts of the ninth largest stock of arable land in the world, and has become a world leader in cassava,  yam, sorghum, and millet production, he said.
He added that the country was on the verge of self sufficiency in paddy rice production, seeing greater interest  in agriculture and the agro-allied value chain.
Osinbajo emphasised that besides the export market, the country’s population presents a massive and lucrative domestic market.
“Carlos a major Mexican vegetable farmer came to Nigeria to do vegetables for export and found he was making far more money servicing the domestic market,” he said.
According to him, challenges in other areas such as manufacturing, environment, climate change and security were investment opportunities waiting to be explored.

THE VICE PRESIDENT NEVER MADE ANY DEROGATORY COMMENTS AGAINST IPOB AND THE FULANI HERDSMEN CLASHES; BEWARE OF FAKE NEWS!

The Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo never condemned IPOB in a divisive and controversial manner nor supported any act of the Fulani Herdsmen attacks on innocent citizens, which some mischief makers fabricated in a statement on the social media.

The Vice President has always been a peace maker and lover of all Nigerians.
The malicious statement was only aimed at damning his reputation and love for the Igbos and Fulanis.

Nigeria is a great country and no one should ever support any form of divide by spreading fake news in a bid to stair hatred and violence.

Arrests were made as early as 8am today. I was at Kawo, the scene of the unfortunate incident today. Bus drivers, conductors, passerby, traders around the scene were arrested by armed police officers.

More pix

Extraordinary FEC session now in progress.

more

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Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, attends the 23rd Convocation Ceremony of the Lagos State University, LASU, today in Lagos. He also commissioned the University’s new Senate Building.

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT - PRESS RELEASE

FG'S ANTI CORRUPTION PROGRESS REPORT BY VP OSINBAJO

*Recounts FG’s efforts in tackling grand corruption

*Adds: Next Level is to create environment for closer collaboration among government agencies, civil society & other stakeholders


“And since 2015 much has been done in this battle against corruption. But we are not even slightly deluded into thinking that we have won the battle, certainly not. We are still very far away but we must admit that we are much closer to finding solutions than when we began.

“Our policy was to tackle grand corruption first. By this i mean the stealing of huge public resources directly from the treasury, usually at the behest of the highest levels of executive authority. And the stealing of budgeted funds through various schemes.

“How did we go about this - the enforcement of TSA, the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit, and even ensuring that most civil servants are on the IPPIS electronic platform (which simply is our way of ensuring that there are no ghost workers by putting all public officials including those in the Armed Forces and the police on the electronic payment platform) and this has greatly reduced ghost workers and ensured that all of our human resources are accounted for electronically.

“The judiciary also moved a little in recent times. The Supreme Court in a lead judgment of Akaahs JSC, recently held that forfeiture under Section 17 of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act is a civil matter. So, it neither requires the criminal conviction of the property owner nor his innocence. This opens the door for forfeiture of assets that the purported owner cannot explain, whether or not there is an allegation of corruption.”

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

SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, VICE PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, AT THE SUMMIT ON CORRUPTION ORGANISED BY THE PRESIDENTIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE AGAINST CORRUPTION (PACAC) ON TUESDAY MAY 14, 2019 AT THE TRANSCORP HILTON HOTEL, ABUJA.

PROTOCOLS


The Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) certainly deserves our commendation, not just for their sterling, innovative contributions to the fight against corruption but for regularly setting the agenda for important conversations on the subject. This meeting, called to discuss "A collaborative approach to eradicating the evils of Corruption" is notably one of such.

For years, corruption has been by far, Nigeria’s most devastating problem. A recent PRICEWATERHOUSE COOPERS (PwC) study titled the Impact of Corruption on the Nigerian Economy made the following general findings and conclusions on the effects of corruption.

1. Corruption has a dynamic impact, which is felt more by poorer households and smaller companies.


2. Countries with higher corruption are associated with lower tax revenues and lower expenditures as a percentage of GDP in the most important indicators of human development namely; health and education.


3. Corruption is associated with erosion of talent in public institutions and therefore, government's effectiveness is eroded.


4. Corruption usually needs the creation of unnecessary bureaucracy, to enable further opportunities for bribes. This means that enforcement of contracts and property rights are hindered and weakened by corruption.


5. Corruption is associated with lower investment; and higher prices and barriers to entry for businesses.



6. Corruption is associated with lower average standard of living, education levels and greater inequality in society.


7. Nigeria’s 2030 GDP can be up by at least USD 534bn if we reduce corruption. And they said that if we reduce corruption by about 20%, we can actually have higher GDP. So, it really doesn’t matter how much revenue a country makes or how transformative its plans are. If it allows corruption to thrive; if it ensures that the majority of the people do not benefit from all of the revenues or all that the country is able to produce; or simply truncates the plans of the nation. Which is why despite the highest oil revenues in our history (the period between 2010 and 2014) debt doubled and poverty figures rose.

It is for these reasons that President Muhammadu Buhari famously warned that if we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill us. Which is why a major pillar of our government’s socio-economic agenda is the fight against corruption. And which is why perhaps one of first bodies to be set up in 2015 by the President was PACAC.

And since 2015 much has been done in this battle against corruption. But we are not even slightly deluded into thinking that we have won the battle, certainly not. We are still very far away but we must admit that we are much closer to finding solutions than when we began.

Our policy was to tackle grand corruption first. By this i mean the stealing of huge public resources directly from the treasury, usually at the behest of the highest levels of executive authority. And the stealing of budgeted funds through various schemes.

How did we go about this - the enforcement of TSA, the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit, and even ensuring that most civil servants are on the IPPIS electronic platform (which simply is our way of ensuring that there are no ghost workers by putting all public officials including those in the Armed Forces and the police on the electronic payment platform) and this has greatly reduced ghost workers and ensured that all of our human resources are accounted for electronically.

The judiciary also moved a little in recent times. The Supreme Court in a lead judgment of Akaahs JSC, recently held that forfeiture under Section 17 of the Advanced Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act is a civil matter. So, it neither requires the criminal conviction of the property owner nor his innocence. This opens the door for forfeiture of assets that the purported owner cannot explain, whether or not there is an allegation of corruption.

We are now poised to deal with the wider problem of systemic corruption, especially where the average person interacts with government. It is that level of corruption that affects our people the most – where the average person is doing some business or is seeking some favour or some discretion from government. Corruption for example in the issuance of contracts, licenses and other government approvals. There is no reason why any Nigerian should have to pay bribes to law enforcement agents for obtaining drivers licenses or passports, or to clear goods at our ports.

All of the relevant government agencies have shown a serious commitment to eradicating these forms of corruption, our next level is to create the environment for collaboration between our agencies, civil society and other stakeholders.

But the most enduring solutions to ending corruption are those that take into account the fact the most potent weapon that corruption has, is its acceptance as the norm in any society. A situation where even the natural custodians of societal morality and values acquiesce in it, a situation where, in particular, religious pulpits, are silent about it.

An enemy configured in such complexity cannot be defeated by solely a law and order approach. It requires whole new national and individual re- orientation, a focus on attitudinal change. It must involve the collaboration of government, civil society especially the leadership of faith communities, school teachers and professional and other interest groups. This is why this meeting’s objectives are of great importance.

Finally, let me again congratulate PACAC on their landmark achievements in the past four years. Establishing PACAC was the first major action President Buhari took in the anti-corruption fight.

Since then, under the courageous and uncompromising leadership of one of the enduring sages in the legal profession and civil society, Professor Itse Sagay, PACAC has moved from strength to strength. Professor Sagay’s interventions on various critical issues of governance, the rule of law and corruption have definitively pointed opinion in the morally and legally just direction.

We must also congratulate PACAC on the recent Senate confirmation of your former Executive Secretary Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye as Chairman of the ICPC.

Our struggle against corruption is one for the soul and substance of our Nation. The battle must be a collective one, corruption fights back with venom, guile and force, it is relentless and unashamed we who fight it must meet it with greater resolve and force. We can only win by working together with a common vision.

While thanking you for listening it is now my pleasure and privilege to formally declare this meeting open.


Released by

Laolu Akande

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

Since assuming office in 2015 as Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Babatunde Fowler has elevated the Service to a level higher than his predecessors in terms of performance, writes Assistant Editor Nduka Chiejina.

Babatunde Fowler was appointed Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to replicate what he did in growing the tax net in Lagos at the federal level.
Since he assumed office, Fowler has introduced innovative tax ideas designed to make non-oil revenue a veritable alternative revenue source that will challenge revenue from oil as a major revenue source to the nation’s purse.
Appointed in 2015 to head the FIRS, Fowler has transformed the operations and elevated the performance of the FIRS with a series of proactive initiatives that have resulted in a robust tax administration.
These initiatives include automation/ICT deployment for the Service’s processes, tax education for members of the public and sustained growth of total tax revenue collected, and ICT deployment for transparent and easy collection of taxes.
The automation of all tax processes has given birth to e-Solutions, for transparent, convenient and faster tax administration. Under the e-Solutions, the initiative is the e-Receipt system which is generated once payment is received from a taxpayer with a notification sent to his/her e-mail or phone number instructing the taxpayer to download their receipts and print them out for the record.
Still, under the e-Solutions initiative, taxpayers can access their Tax Clearance Certificate by applying for the certificate online and same is received online immediately. The FIRS has continued to build on other aspects of the e-payment channels, to make it easy to pay taxes anywhere in the world, real time-all time (24/7) and also download receipts any time and from wherever a taxpayer wants desires.
Another feather to Fowler’s cap is his handling of the Value Added Tax (VAT) component of the Tax system and administration. The FIRS’ automation programme has reflected positively on VAT collection occasioned by the information exchange with third-party databases and other government agencies.
Under Fowler, the auto VAT Collection has shown a 31% VAT increase over the N25billion collected in 2017 through the new scheme. In terms of the automated deductions at source and remittance of VAT and Withholding Tax from state governments, the FIRS was able to collect N13 billion. During the year, the use of ICT and automation has facilitated the growth of taxpayers who have used these facilities from 9,574 to 59,350.
In administering stamp duties remittances, the FIRS imported a hundred new Stamp Duty machines to be placed in every state of the federation. The electronic Stamp Duty process has grown the Stamp Duty revenue and made it more convenient for taxpayers. In 2016, the FIRS collected N5.6 billion; in 2017, N10.9 billion and in 2018, N15.66 billion.
The Service made it more convenient, with the use of technology, for taxpayers to choose where their tax files reside. Now, as a taxpayer, you can choose the tax location. If a taxpayer is in Kano, for example, and for whatever reason, he/she wants the tax file to reside in Lagos, it is allowed. The FIRS has also deployed systems to all its stations. Taxpayers, unsure of how the systems work are shown how to use it to make their payments or file their returns.
Under the tax education/enlightenment and robust enforcement initiative, the FIRS under Fowler has the Federal Engagement and Enlightenment Tax Teams (FEETT) directorate, which continuously interacts with taxpayers to help them file and register as taxpayers, provide answers to any questions they may have in terms of ease of payment of tax.
With regards to greater revenue generation, Fowler has marshalled the FIRS to consistently grow tax revenue under his watch. In 2018, the FIRS collected a total of N5.32 trillion, considered to be the largest ever collected by the Service. In 2017, the FIRS collected N4.02 trillion and in 2016, N3.3 trillion.
Despite these impressive tax revenue collection efforts, the FIRS which collects 4% as the cost of collection only from non-oil revenue has progressively recorded a gradual slide in its cost of collection. In 2016, it was 2.6 per cent; 2017, 2.49 per cent and 2018, 2.14 per cent, the reason for the downward slide in the amount that goes to the FIRS as cost of collection is the deployment of technology which has resulted in a more efficient tax collection process.
Since 2015, the focus has been on non-oil revenue. Non-oil revenue from tax collection in 2016 was N2.149 trillion; in 2017, N2.5 trillion and in 2018, N2.852 trillion. In percentage terms, 2016, non-oil tax revenue accounted for 65 per cent; 2017, 62.25 per cent and 2018, 53.62 per cent. What this means is that non-oil tax revenue has been growing in absolute terms. Non-oil tax revenue has performed well in excess of oil tax revenue, suggesting that the effect of the diversification of the Nigerian economy by the Federal Government has gained traction.
In the area of VAT performance, in 2018, the FIRS crossed the N1 trillion mark. Prior to that, in 2016, the FIRS collected N828 billion as VAT; in 2017, N972 billion and in 2018, N1.1 trillion. 85% of VAT is distributed to state governments and local governments every month.
Another approach employed by the government but anchored by the FIRS to make taxpayers comply with the civic duty of paying tax without the use of force and to make tax payment as painless as possible, the government with the Ministry of Finance launched the VAIDS (Voluntary Assets Income Declaration Scheme) programme.
In 2016, the FIRS on its own gave a tax amnesty, which saw N92.6 billion was declared as unpaid taxes. In 2017, the VAIDS programme was also launched. Under VAIDS, N92 billion was also declared in unpaid taxes. In terms of the audit process, the FIRS generated N12 billion from under-remitted tax payments.
Another initiative introduced saw the FIRS looking at businesses/ partnerships that had banking turnover in excess of N1 billion. Under this, the FIRS found that about 6, 000 of them do not have a tax ID, did not file returns and did not make any payments. Businesses in that category have paid N21.75 billion and are also paying the balance in instalments. The initiative also saw the FIRS looking at businesses/partnerships with a banking turnover between N100 million and N999 million.
The Service reviewed this group category of businesses through commercial banks. So far, there are 45,361 that have TIN and are making payments. There are also 40,611 that have TIN but have made no tax payment and 44,504 that have no TIN and therefore have made no payments.
The FIRS similarly has another special project through which corporate organisations that own companies or properties were not found within the tax net in 2017. Through this, it generated N1.33 billion in 2017 and N2.88 billion in 2018 in just Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory. This is an exercise is expected to cover the whole of the country to ensure more taxpayers are brought into the tax net.
Last week, there were media reports, which alleged that taxpayers’ money in the custody of the FIRS is missing. It was reported that some officers of the FIRS explored irregularities in the Service’s accounting system on Duty Tour Allowance (DTA) to collect claims that they are not due for.
However, a statement issued by the FIRS on Wednesday noted that “on the DTA (Duty Tour Allowance), it claimed that some staff applied for and were granted, allowances to travel for official trips. Some are alleged not to have travelled for the number of days, for which they were slated. The EFCC is looking into that. Sometimes, it is good to have a third party investigate matters like this instead of having a staff investigate another staff. Investigation by a third party is more objective. FIRS has since taken steps to remediate this. The EFCC will soon complete its investigation. Anybody found guilty will be dealt with through our administrative process.”
The issue at stake in this inquiry are operational/travel funds within our expenditure budget, Fowler said.
Speaking further on how the FIRS operates, Mr. Tunde Fowler explained that “taxes collected by the Service are not paid into the coffers of the Service. Rather, all taxes, are PAID DIRECTLY INTO THE FEDERATION ACCOUNT, electronically, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).”
The FIRS he said “does not have access to taxpayers money. Its operations are funded by appropriation of the National Assembly, through monthly remittances by the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, (FAAC).
Fowler affirmed that no taxpayers’ money is missing in FIRS. “We have a relationship with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. We have a partnership, through which we combat evasion of taxes. People don’t want to get into trouble with EFCC. So, they pay on time.
He added that “FIRS acknowledges the statutory rights and responsibilities of anti-corruption agencies and other government agencies such as the EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), State Security Services, (SSS) to inquire into the operations of the Service.
The FIRS Chairman promised that “the Service would continue to give access to agencies with statutory rights and all those who seek information on the operations of the Service. Invitations of officials of the Service by EFCC, the Police, SSS and ICPC to shed light on financial transactions and operations of the Service, in the past, are not uncommon and are continuous.”
He noted that “the FIRS is a public trust, which we operate on behalf of Nigerians. He also affirmed that no officer of the FIRS is at large.”
He re-assured the general public of our unalloyed commitment to public accountability and transparency in the sacred mandate of tax collection.
https://thenationonlineng.net/fowler-firs-and-more-cash-for-fed-govt/

Prof Osinbajo is a listening leader.

BUHARI: WHY AND HOW HE WON BY Garba Shehu

President Muhammadu Buhari, who came to office in a seismic political shift that swept out of office 16 years of continuous rule by the People’s Democratic Party, PDP recorded yet another resounding victory to win a second term in office, leading his closest rival by a record-setting four million votes.

His party, the All Progressives Congress, APC gained the highest parliamentary majority in the Fourth Republic in the Senate and the House of Representatives, giving the President an ample room to carry out reforms he wished to carry out, but was outmaneuvered and frustrated by the Eighth National Assembly.

While campaigning for the 2015 general elections, President Buhari’s All APC made promises to end Boko Haram terrorism and secure the country for it to be efficiently managed; to restructure the economy, halt its downward slide and create jobs and to fight corruption because, as the president repeatedly says, “if Nigeria doesn’t kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria.”

His climactic victory against the then incumbent Goodluck Jonathan, his strong message on the three issues as listed above, his practical and serious approach helped to awaken a nation misled by characters who placed self above nation for sixteen years and more.

The Buhari administration has established for itself an anti-corruption reputation and has been in office nearing four years without a major scandal. The African Union has on account of this, selected the President as the continent’s anti-corruption champion.

The Buhari administration can pat itself on the back for this achievement when it is viewed against the established culture in which corruption is the norm.

To win the war against corruption and institute transparency in the affairs of government, the Buhari administration introduced a number of fiscal reforms and plugged several leakages.

In the firm belief that the party was not mistaken about the problems facing the country, Candidate Buhari went into the February, 2019 campaign on the same issue platforms. The President and his party looked certain of victory from the sea of crowds that attended his political rallies all over the 36 states of the federation. He was the only candidate to have campaigned at least once in each state and the Federal Capital Territory.

These rallies attracted large crowds, mostly of the poor who are trusting in his impeccable qualities of honesty and integrity, and have bought into the idea that he will quickly push their country onto the top by lifting up the economy, creating jobs, securing the nation and ending the nightmarish corruption which had become the order of the day. Some of the events were marked by incidents of road accident, podium or building collapse and stampede leading to tragic losses of life.

At many of those well-attended rallies, the venues fell short of the people gathered. Thousands of supporters outside tried to barge into the inner rings of the venues. Pleas were not heard by surging crowds which resorted sometimes to throwing chairs, sachet water and bottles into the no-man zones in front of the stage.

It was evident from the commencement of the campaign that President Buhari had a a two-pronged election strategy, one to showcase the achievements of his administration in its first term and two, to cash in on his popularity with the lower rungs of the population.

The party itself doubled down on President Buhari by zeroing in on his image as a diligent, coolheaded and incorruptible leader. In that enduring appeal, the APC saw a trump card going into the election.

Nobody can question President Buhari’s achievements. They are there for all to see.

The administration has significantly curtailed corruption to the point of abolishing what is called “grand corruption.” Given Treasury Single Account,TSA, the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information Scheme, IPPS, the Bank Verification Number, BVN number and Whistle Blower schemes, it is no longer possible for people in authority to, for instance, request the withdrawal of millions, or sometimes billions of Naira or US Dollars to be shared among party members as was the practice under the past administrations. To boot, the Buhari administration has signed onto the global Open Government Partnership, OGP.

Reforms are being carried out in the justice sector with a number of domestic legislations and international agreements to facilitate the identification, tracing, freezing, recovery and forfeiture of ill-gotten assets.

The administration’s primary sectors of agriculture and solid minerals have experienced growth of 180 and 565 percentage points respectively. Nigeria has today achieved near self-sufficiency in rice production.

Government has launched a series of funding and capacity development initiatives to support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. The work of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), inaugurated by President Buhari in August 2016 has resulted in moving Nigeria up 24 places on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings, and earning a place on the list of 10 most improved economies. In this regard, the administration has issued a number of Executive Orders on improving efficiency in the business environment and promoting local content.

The Buhari administration has also demonstrated a single-minded commitment to upgrading and developing Nigeria’s transport, power and health infrastructure.

Road projects are ongoing across every state of the country, with many of these projects having been abandoned for many years.

The country’s narrow-gauge rail network of 3,500 Kms is currently being upgraded; Abuja’s light rail system has been completed and commissioned with a link to the Abuja-Kaduna rail line, which has equally been completed and launched. The Ibadan-Lagos standard gauge rail is being test run. Ibadan-Kano has been awarded.

The administration has successfully reconstructed the Abuja Airport runway, completed and commissioned new terminal buildings in Port Harcourt and Abuja with Lagos, Kano, Enugu and the others soon to be inaugurated.

Several water supply projects and dam/irrigation projects have been completed and many more on the way to being delivered. About 100 ecological projects have been awarded and completed in the six geopolitical zones.

The Buhari administration has more than doubled power generation capacity. It has increased generation to 8,100 MW and expanded transmission to more than 7,000 MW capacity, and has successfully deployed thousands of solar power systems to rural and urban households.

This is an administration that has been investing in people. It has introduced a social Investment Programme (SIP), which so far, has four components. These are the N-power employment scheme that is hitting 500,000 this year, the home grown school feeding program that feeds more than nine million school children across the federation, the Government Enterprise and Empower Program, GEEP giving out interest-free loans to millions of market women, traders, artisans and farmers and the conditional cash transfer, CCT which pays N5,000 monthly to the poorest and most vulnerable households in the country.

In dealing with security, one of the first major steps by the Buhari administration was the revitalisation of the Multi-national Joint Task force, MNJTF aimed at combating transborder crime and the Boko Haram insurgency. The MNJTF has the support and participation of neighbouring countries Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Benin, in addition to Nigeria.

On the day of his inauguration, the President had directed the relocation of the command and control centre of the Boko Haram war to Maiduguri, the epicentre of the insurgency.

The military has since proclaimed victory over the Boko Haram terrorists, following the capture of their operational and spiritual headquarters, “Camp Zero” in Sambisa Forest.

So far, more than one million displaced persons have returned to their homes and communities. About 20,000 hostages have been freed. One hundred and six (106) Chibok Girls, abducted in April 2014 and 105 Dapchi Girls abducted in February 2018 have been released and reunited with their families

In the area of diplomacy and international relations, the Buhari administration has re-established Nigeria’s position and influence in regional and global arena.

As a political leader, Muhammadu Buhari enjoys three formidable assets-- his record as a disciplined former Army General, his reputation as an honest leader who has not allowed corruption to flourish under his watch when he served as a state Military Governor, Minister of Petroleum and Military Head of State and the public perception of his record as one who stands for and by the truth, Mai Gaskiya.

The main opposition to President Buhari, the Peoples Democratic Party failed to realize how much these qualities meant to ordinary Nigerians; they did not reckon with the disillusionment of the citizens with their perceived acts of commission and omission for the 16 years they were in power.

They must by now, have realized with a with benefit of hindsight, that demonization and denigration of an individual does not bring in poll dividends. In their campaigns, they chose to demonise and denigrate Muhammadu Buhari as President. It did not pay.

Before and after this election, there is no face in the opposition who can match President Buhari’s inspiring character and personality. Many, including this reporter believe that it wasn’t the rail, road or achievements in the power sector that won this election for President Buhari. No doubt, these and many others are important. They may have added a bit here and a bit there. But what won it for him, was the focus by the voter on the single most important factor of Mai Gaskiya.

Mallam Garba Shehu is the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity

This seems to be a season of international commendations for the microcredit scheme of the Federal Government.

In recognition of its impact driving financial inclusion in Nigeria, the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) and its products have earned recent recognition from the United Nations, African Leadership Institute and Oxford University.

GEEP, a microcredit initiative of the Federal Governmentstarted in 2016, includes MarketMoni, FarmerMoni, and the TraderMoni scheme which generated some controversy during the elections. However, with about 2 million Nigerians at the bottom of the pyramid accessing credit in 3 years and being brought into financial services of bank account and mobile wallets, there is consensus on the scale of impact the initiative wields. GEEP is today the largest public microcredit scheme in the world. 54.2% of its beneficiaries are women.

In a March session of 62ndUnited Nations Commission in New York, GEEP was commended for pushing the envelope in technological innovations for successful last-mile delivery of credit at massive scale. This was in recognition of the programme’s pioneering roles in building a completely digitised loan operation, positioning of Bank Verification (BVN) as digital collateral to aid financial inclusion, use of facial recognition for de-deduplication, GPS-based mapping and profile of candidates to markets, and exhaustive data capture to truly formalise the informal sector.

The radical approach to GEEP’s operation was perhaps a major influence for the recent recognition bestowed on the programme’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Uzoma Nwagba, by a partnership between the African Leadership Initiative and University of Oxford.

Last week, the COO, together with 22 other emerging African leaders picked across the continent, was announced as a recipient of 2019 Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellowship. The Desmond Tutu Fellowship is set up by AFLI and Oxford to identify and cultivate young African leaders whose works have achieved “far reaching impact on the continent.”

GEEP, a financial inclusion scheme driven by technology has registered over 7million micro-enterprises in less than 3 years – and is on a mission to deliver access to finance and financial inclusion at Nigeria’s base of the pyramid.

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Some Nigerians are calling on the DSS to arrest Ben Murray Bruce.

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Over 12m Nigerians currently beneficiaries of Programmes

*9.5 million pupils now being fed under School Feeding programme

*1 million poorest households to benefit from Cash Transfer

*Next Level: 10m Nigerians to benefit from GEEP schemes, with 1 million new additions to N-Power in the offing

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT
PRESS RELEASE
HOMEGROWN SCHOOL FEEDING NOW IN 30 STATES AS FG TARGETS MILLIONS MORE FOR SOCIAL INVESTMENT SCHEMES
*Over 12m Nigerians currently beneficiaries of Programmes
*9.5 million pupils now being fed under School Feeding programme
*1 million poorest households to benefit from Cash Transfer
*Next Level: 10m Nigerians to benefit from GEEP schemes, with 1 million new additions to N-Power in the offing.
In continuation of its efforts to invest in the country’s human capital development, the Buhari administration has continued to make significant strides through its National Social Investment Programmes (N-SIP).
President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s NSIP, is aimed at empowering Nigerians and improving their livelihood through several initiatives.
Millions of Nigerians nationwide are currently benefitting from the different schemes under the N-SIP, which is the largest social welfare scheme in the history of the country.
Through its Conditional Cash transfer (CCT) scheme, the administration is supporting the most vulnerable in society, while developing a skilled workforce for economic productivity by providing jobs for millions of Nigerian youths through the N-Power programme, and improving the learning and cognitive skills of Nigeria’s children through the Home-Grown School Feeding programme (NHGSFP).
Also, the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) provide financial support through micro-credit schemes to small traders and businesses at the bottom of the financial pyramid. Beneficiaries include petty traders, women cooperatives, youths, famers and agricultural workers.
Subsequently, in the Next Level of the Buhari administration, about 10 million Nigerians are expected to benefit from GEEP, which includes TraderMoni. MarketMoni and FarmerMoni. While the Cash Transfer scheme aims to reach one million poorest households, one million new beneficiaries are expected to be added to the N-Power scheme, arguably the largest job creation and youth employment scheme in Africa.

The administration’s National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP), which has a target of reaching 12 million pupils, is currently feeding over 9.5 million public primary school (classes 1-3) pupils with one free, balanced and nutritious meal a day in 30 states nationwide; while it has empowered 101,913 cooks in these states.
The 30 states currently benefiting from the school feeding programme are: Anambra, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Ebonyi, Enugu, Kaduna, Kebbi, Kogi, Sokoto, and Nasarawa.
Others include Taraba, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Plateau, Delta, Zamfara, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Niger, Katsina, Ondo, Edo and Gombe.

The HGSFP has not only helped to increase enrollment rates of pupils in these communities, it is also effectively tackling early year malnutrition, while improving the cognitive skills of children.

The School feeding programme has also provided sustainable income for local farmers, cooks, which has increased growth and productivity in the local economy.

As of March; 297,973 Nigerians in 20 states (including the Borno IDP camps) are current beneficiaries under the National Cash Transfer Policy Programme (Conditional Cash Transfer), which started in December 2017; with over 5,000 savings groups and cooperatives formed as a result.

The following states are currently receiving payment: Adamawa, Anambra, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Ekiti, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kogi, Kwara, Nassarawa, Niger, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, and Taraba.

The Conditional Cash Transfer is designed to deliver timely and accessible cash to beneficiary households and so enhance their capacity for sustainable livelihood. The programme provides beneficiaries - poor and vulnerable households - with a monthly transfer of N5,000 with the sole aim of taking them out of poverty.

In the same vein, the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), which has the MarketMoni, FarmerMoni and TraderMoni schemes, currently has a combined total of over 1.7 million Nigerians benefiting from these schemes.

So far, since after the national and state polls, 30,000 minimum beneficiaries have been added to the TraderMoni scheme, which provides interest-free loans starting from N10,000 to petty traders nationwide and is payable within six months.

In addition, upon repayment of the N10,000 loans, some beneficiaries in some states, including Lagos, Osun, Borno, Ogun and Benue, have now started receiving the 2ndimproved interest-free TraderMoni loan of N15,000.

Managed by the Bank of Industry, GEEP schemes provide financial support through micro-credit schemes to beneficiaries which include petty traders, women cooperatives, youths, famers and agricultural workers.

In the same vein, the Administration’s N-Power scheme, which is designed to provide jobs for unemployed young graduates, and is arguably the largest job creation and youth employment scheme in Africa, has currently engaged 500,000 youth graduates deployed to provide public health services in teaching, health, agriculture and tax and monitoring; and a further 200,000 non-graduates in training or attached to organisations as interns.

N-Power beneficiaries across the 36 states and the FCT are provided with a N30,000 monthly stipend, in addition to technology devices with relevant content for continuous learning. Many N-power beneficiaries have gone on to become entrepreneurs who are building successes in their chosen vocations.

Revealed: How NEPZA Top Officials Plot To Corner N42Billion FG Funds, Frustrate Rapid Industrial Schemes.
As Special economic zone plans garner support from global industry concerns & institutional investors. A deliberate plot hatched by some top officials of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, NEPZA, to corner over N40B meant for the establishment of Special Economic Zones in the country has been unearthed, raising contrived dust over the Buhari administration’s plan to create Special Economic Zones targeted for the rapid industrialization of the country. When recently the Minister of Industry, Trade & Investment, Dr. Okey Enelamah presented the ministry’s 2019 Budget details to the relevant Senate committee, questions where raised about the creation of a limited liability company with 25% FG interest, the retention of three FG officials as directors, and the allocation of government’s funds to the company. Mr Jime CEO But informed sources explained that the Senators involved were only acting on information provided by NEPZA officials to deliberately mislead them into concluding that the said funds belonged to NEPZA, and not to the limited liability company formed specifically for the purpose, ie the Nigeria Special Economic Zone Investment Company. According to a top government official involved in what seems like a presidential review of the unfolding controversy, “the Federal Government adopted a model to speedily and rapidly develop the Special Economic Zones using a PPP model as was done in other countries like China and a number of African countries.” Continuing, the source said, “the strategy involved the setting up of a limited liability company that included the FG and some institutional investors like African Development Bank, ADB, the African Finance Corporation, AFC, the Bank of Industry, BOI, AFREXIMBAMK, and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, NSIA in a 25% —75% FG and institutional investors ratio. And to secure FG’S interest, three government officials were put forward in the interim as directors in line with the usual practice when such companies involving FG are set up.” Said another industry source, “using government officials including aides is nothing to worry about since they are there to protect government interests at the take-off stage, pending when a proper board can be in place and the company ready to go full throttle. Besides the people chosen as interim directors are those who are driving the project and are knowledgeable within the ministries involved being Finance on the one hand and Industry, Trade & Investment on the other.” Besides, as is done elsewhere around the world, such government representative directors are not entitled to any beneficial interests in the company shares. “Bringing up the issue of these directors was simply a mudslinging attempt to mislead the public, but it has no fuel at all, considering that it is a global practice and the directors are interim and non- beneficiaries,” the source explained. Investigations however revealed that the NEPZA immediate past Managing Director, Emmanuel Jime and the acting MD Engr. T.D Nongo, to whom Jime handed over, devised the entire plot to ensure that the N42B allocated for the development of the Special Economic Zones be controlled and disbursed by NEPZA instead of the Special Purpose Vehicle established by a Presidential directive straight from President Muhammadu Buhari’s desk. But in order to ensure this, they needed support in the National Assembly. Said a top official of one of the investigating agencies of the government “this was how the top NEPZA hierarchy sold a carefully designed package of outright falsehood and suppression of relevant facts to the National Assembly and decided to smear the President’s plan in order to corner the funds and control disbursement of the money instead of allowing the limited liability company formed for that purpose to be in charge.” According to that investigative agency source, “what we now know is that while Jime went to run for election in the last round of elections, for which he had to resign as NEPZA MD, the most senior officer to whom he handed over the reins of NEPZA is actually also one of the main fund-raisers/coordinators of his gubernatorial campaign.” The source added that “therefore the campaign of calumny against the President’s industrial plan and against the Industry, Trade & Investment Ministry is being fueled by both Jime and Nongo. “At stake is the control of Project MINE”, – the name of the plan to speedily industrialize the country through the promotion of Made in Nigeria goods for Export, for which MINE is an acronym. “They are both bent on controlling the N42B approved in the budget,” it was disclosed. The NEPZA officials started with the argument that the agency is the one through which the FG can make investments in the Free Trading Zones. So, the matter was referred to the Attorney-General of the Federation for legal advice. And it was after the AGF counseled that NEPZA was a regulatory agency and not the exclusive implementing agency for such projects that the officials, determined not to let go of the funds connived to develop a plot to smear the whole effort by raising questions and provoking sensational narratives around a model that is best global practice and that enjoys the support of major international institutional investors. “If this were indeed fishy how do you think such institutional investors whose global operations depend mainly on their transparency and credibility be part of it, considering that the institutional investors are coming up with 75% of the money?, an industry source wondered. Between the FG and the institutional investors, the investment company, the Nigeria Special Economic Zone Investment Company, NSEZCO, is expected to raise $500m in equity by 2023. While many of the strategic investors have already signed on, the MINE project which the NSEZCO will be delivering has secured significant international partnerships already. For instance Shandong Ruyi, the leading textile and garment group in China has already announced its commitment to invest $2B to the cotton, textile and garment industry for the Special Economic, (free trading) Zones the NSEZCO will put up in Abia, Kano and Lagos States. Equally, CCCG Industrial Investment Holding Company, CIHC, of China, which is ranked 91st in Fortune 500 and is the third largest international contractor in the world, has also signed a letter of intent to invest in the forthcoming Special Economic Zone in Lekki, specifically in the areas of power, water, access roads and bridges. “These are some of the critical and significant plans that few NEPZA officials are trying to scuttle, “ according to a government official aware of the presidential review of the controversy sparked last week when the Industry, Trade & Investment Minister briefed a Senate committee on the project. Some of the Special Economic Zone projects are the much talked about Enyimba Economic City in Abia, the Lekki-Epe Model Industrial Park, Funtua Cotton Cluster, and several others being planned for Edo, Kwara, Sokoto, Ebonyi, and Benue States among others.

Continue reading at https://persecondnews.com/2019/04/10/revealed-how-nepza-top-officials-plot-to-corner-n42bfg-funds-frustrate-rapid-industrial-schemes/ | PER SECOND NEWS

HOW AN EFFECTIVE NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE CAN HELP HEALTHCARE DELIVERY IN NIGERIA, BY OSINBAJO

*Adds: Scheme Central in FG’s Next Level Plans

An effective National Health Insurance scheme remains the best panacea for the development of the health sector and an efficient healthcare delivery in the country, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

Speaking while receiving a delegation of the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, in his office earlier today, Prof Osinbajo said, “We have a good opportunity to do something about the National Health Insurance; it is obvious that government, both Federal Government and State Governments, cannot adequately provide healthcare for almost 200million Nigerian people.”

Citing India as an example, he mentioned that India has the most privatized healthcare system in the world, with individual States being responsible for providing healthcare.

In addition, VP Osinbajo emphasized the need for “Doctors to be remunerated properly regardless of their location, either rural or urban locations. We must find a logical way of addressing this issue.”

Continuing he said, “We must ensure that the states pick up their own part of the responsibility of providing healthcare in their States. With the National Economic Council, NEC, there is the opportunity to talk to State governors and one of the things we do is to look at the human development indices, especially for Primary Health Care.”

“There are States that are simply not doing enough and we must ensure that they step up to the plate. States must be held to account because a lot of the responsibilities are theirs.”

But he emphasized that National Health Insurance is the key in resolving a lot of the financial problems in the Health Sector, adding that this administration has made the National Health Insurance central to the plans for the healthcare system in APC’s Next Level document.

Speaking earlier, the Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole, mentioned the ministry’s strides in achieving the Universal Health Coverage towards the expansion of the National Health Insurance Scheme.

He thanked the Presidency for the presidential assent of the Appropriation Act, which for the first time, approved the release of the 1% for the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund, and disclosed that the Ministry of Finance has released the first quarter allocation of N13.7billion.

In addition, the Minister of Health said the Basic Health Care Provision Fund would also help in fast-tracking the development of the National Health Insurance Scheme.

In his own remarks, the President of the Nigerian Medical Association, Dr. Francis Faduyile, congratulated the President and Vice President on their victory at the 2019 Presidential elections. He also acknowledged the administration’s efforts in the health sector, which includes the signing of the Residency Training Act, the release of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund, as well as the recently improved Cancer Centre in Lagos University Teaching Hospital.


Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity
Office of the Vice President
8th April 2019

Dear Professor Yemi Osinbajo, you have exhibited uncommon wisdom, remarkable vision, and exemplary leadership. I wish you peace, good health, and happiness. Congratulations and happy birthday!