₦airaland Forum

NSIO PRESS STATEMENT



* Confers Prestigious Social Innovation award on Special Adviser

* It demonstrates the commitment of the Nigerian Government towards reducing poverty... Mrs Uwais


Efforts by the President Buhari Administration to reduce poverty in Nigeria through its various Social Investment Programmes have continued to receive thumbs up from well-meaning individuals and organizations within and outside the shores of the country.

The latest is coming from Schwab Foundation, a sister organization of the World Economic Forum WEF, following its conferment of the prestigious Public Social Intrapreneur award on Mrs Maryam Uwais MFR, the Special Adviser to the President on Social Investments.

Mrs Uwais joins 40 other individuals selected from different countries across the World to receive the award in recognition of their innovative approach and potential for global impact.

The list includes start-up founders and chief executive officers, multinational and regional business leaders, government leaders and recognized experts who are working to address social and environmental issues with innovation, in areas ranging from water purification to financial inclusion to combatting
hate.

For more than 20 years, the Schwab Foundation has recognized social entrepreneurs as a new breed of leaders –
Hide quoted text
values-driven, inclusive, compassionate and entrepreneurial, developing new sustainable models for business, human
development and environmental initiatives – and embedded them in the platforms of the World Economic Forum.

The 2019 awardees were formally inaugurated during the World Economic Forum's Sustainable Development Impact Summit held on Sunday, September 23, 2019 in New York, United States of America.

Mrs Uwais, in a goodwill message to the global gathering, (following her inability to be present in New York), described the award as an International endorsement of efforts by the Government of President Muhammadu Buhari to address the challenges relating to poverty and unemployment through the faithful implementation of the National Social Investment Programme N-SIP.

The Presidential Aide said the recognition is a call to action for the FGN to commit even more resources, assuring of continued transparency, efficiency and dedication in achieving the task of reducing poverty by 100m people in 10 years, in line with the target set by President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR.

"I am truly encouraged by this International endorsement of our efforts, through the structures & processes we have put in place towards ensuring that we drive implementation and set standards at Sub-National level in Nigeria (where the work is primarily done).

This award acknowledges that the Nigeria is serious about reducing poverty and unemployment, while improving our human capital indices. It is also a testament to the willingness of our legislators (at the National Assembly) and the Governors in the States to cooperate and partner with the Federal Government in its bid to uplift the conditions of its hitherto less privileged citizens. The close collaboration from the Federal Government Ministries and Agencies, as well as the Governors and officials of the States and Local Government, has enabled us work towards our objectives, as one united and indivisible country.

I am humbled by this recognition and thankful to the Almighty for this opportunity to serve my country and it's citizens. I am also grateful to the team that has worked assiduously towards achieving our modest successes. It has been a collective effort, personally led by the Vice President of Nigeria, Prof Yemi Osinbajo SAN GCON.''

The Schwab Foundation provides a veritable platform of expertise, knowledge and resources, and a network we can engage with, for the work ahead. It is a privilege for me, to be able to learn, share and engage with the very best in social entrepreneurship, for the benefit of Nigeria and its citizens"

Mrs Uwais, whose appointment as Special Adviser to the President on Social Investment was recently renewed, has since 2016 been in charge of the National Social Investment Office, a portfolio of the Federal Government which coordinates all components of the Social Investment Programme in an inclusive manner, that is not only reducing poverty but also fostering financial inclusion in Nigeria.

Nearly 10 million pupils in 32 states across the country are currently benefiting from the School Feeding Programme, while close to 650,000 poor and vulnerable households in 27 States are enrolled onto the National Cash Transfer Programme.

This is in addition to over 2 million people who have benefitted from interest and collateral-free loans through Marketmoni, Tradermoni, and Farmermoni facilitated under the Government Economic and Enterprise Programme GEEP, just as N-Power, a job enhancement Scheme, has profitably engaged over 540,000 young people in all local government areas of the country.


Justice Bibiye

Communications Manager, National Social Investment Office NSIO

23-09-19

bibiyetienabeso@gmail.com

This is fake news. Senate is not investigating the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
Osinbajo is not involved in any fraud, all are allegations.

So let us set some of this orchestration of lies, and rife speculations about the Vice President straight

1. Yes, the President in the exercise of his powers has formed a new Economic Advisory Council and replaced the Economic Management team otherwise led by his beloved VP. This is really a change in strategy and not a reduction of the statutory functions of the VP.

2. As the Chairman of the constitutionally created National Economic Council, the VP will continue to play a leading role in matters Economic in singular support and assistance of his Principal, Mr. President.

3. Only last Thursday the VP at the NEC meeting clarified that both NEC and the new EAC will interact.

4. On the issue of agencies under the VP, the truth is that NOTHING IS CHANGING & THERE ARE NO NEW DIRECTIVES. This is because nothing has gone wrong at all. A Presidency Statement already clarified this.

5. All the other stuff you read are all lies!

6. Let us review some of the lies so far. That the new presidential directives have effected the take over from VP his Chairmanship of NEMA, NDPHC? It is a lie. In fact on the same day NEC met last week, VP also presided over an NDPHC board meeting.

7. That there has been some kind of mismanagement of funds in agencies chaired by VP. There are wild speculations on this, but they are all FABRICATED without exception.

8. Specifically on the much nosed NEMA probe, the House of Representatives did not indict the VP. The report of the Committee is in the public.

The Committee said the VP, then Acting President did not seek appropriations for the money he approved to deal with the impending famine in the North-east.

9. But the Presidency issued a public statement to say, No, the money the Ag President approved for release in those dire emergency situation was sourced from the Rice Levy which HAD ALREADY BEEN APPROPRIATED in that year's budget. And that explanation settled the matter.

10. Why is it coming out now again? Desperate elements who just want to confuse those who are gullible. Please be above such fake news.

11. A new lie discovered is that some money was found in some private accounts related to VP family or that some FIRS funds were traced to VP'S office and that Asiwaju Tinubu and Baba Akande were informed of some financial scandals or that Asiwaju himself is behind the attempt to smear the VP. All of such sorts are grand LIES.

12. FINALLY, there is CERTAINLY a group of people within and outside government who want to attack the cordiality between the President and his constitutional deputy, the VP. So they are actively seeking to sow seeds of discord as some of them are afraid of what 2023 portends.

So let us set some of this orchestration of lies, and rife speculations about the Vice President straight

1. Yes, the President in the exercise of his powers has formed a new Economic Advisory Council and replaced the Economic Management team otherwise led by his beloved VP. This is really a change in strategy and not a reduction of the statutory functions of the VP.

2. As the Chairman of the constitutionally created National Economic Council, the VP will continue to play a leading role in matters Economic in singular support and assistance of his Principal, Mr. President.

3. Only last Thursday the VP at the NEC meeting clarified that both NEC and the new EAC will interact.

4. On the issue of agencies under the VP, the truth is that NOTHING IS CHANGING & THERE ARE NO NEW DIRECTIVES. This is because nothing has gone wrong at all. A Presidency Statement already clarified this.

5. All the other stuff you read are all lies!

6. Let us review some of the lies so far. That the new presidential directives have effected the take over from VP his Chairmanship of NEMA, NDPHC? It is a lie. In fact on the same day NEC met last week, VP also presided over an NDPHC board meeting.

7. That there has been some kind of mismanagement of funds in agencies chaired by VP. There are wild speculations on this, but they are all FABRICATED without exception.

8. Specifically on the much nosed NEMA probe, the House of Representatives did not indict the VP. The report of the Committee is in the public.

The Committee said the VP, then Acting President did not seek appropriations for the money he approved to deal with the impending famine in the North-east.

9. But the Presidency issued a public statement to say, No, the money the Ag President approved for release in those dire emergency situation was sourced from the Rice Levy which HAD ALREADY BEEN APPROPRIATED in that year's budget. And that explanation settled the matter.

10. Why is it coming out now again? Desperate elements who just want to confuse those who are gullible. Please be above such fake news.

11. A new lie discovered is that some money was found in some private accounts related to VP family or that some FIRS funds were traced to VP'S office and that Asiwaju Tinubu and Baba Akande were informed of some financial scandals or that Asiwaju himself is behind the attempt to smear the VP. All of such sorts are grand LIES.

12. FINALLY, there is CERTAINLY a group of people within and outside government who want to attack the cordiality between the President and his constitutional deputy, the VP. So they are actively seeking to sow seeds of discord as some of them are afraid of what 2023 portends.

Anyone who thinks that Prof. Osinbajo will stoop so low as to beg anyone in this circumstances DONT KNOW this man at all!
VP Osinbajo did not go to beg Abba Kyari or anybody. FOR WHAT? The VP is too busy doing his work for the good of the country. He performed well as acting president and even President Buhari thanked him for that. TraderMoni beneficiaries are already paying back the N10k loan to collect N15k.

Millions of petty traders are all benefitting from this loan scheme nationwide. TraderMoni is helping ordinary Nigerian traders. Osinbajo is not involved in any fraud. Ignore fake news broadcast.

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT

PRESS RELEASE



In response to a request for clarification by members of the National Economic Council regarding NEC’s relationship with the newly announced Economic Advisory Council, EAC, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has said both councils are for the benefit of the President.

Prof. Osinbajo spoke at the 97th NEC meeting today at the Council Chambers.
“If NEC want to be briefed regularly by the Economic Advisory Council, EAC, we will request the President to do that,” the VP explained to the Council observing that such interaction will promote synergy.

Below are highlights of NEC deliberations:

NEC (5TH IN 2019) 97TH NEC MEETING – THURSDAY, 19TH October, 2019

UPDATE ON THE NATIONAL LIVESTOCK TRANSFORMATION PLANBY THE GOVERNOR OF EBONYI STATE, DAVE UMAHI, CHAIRMAN OFNEC TECHNICAL COMMITTEE ON THE NLTP

The chairman reminded NEC that the Committee was to address the
Farmer/herder crisis
The Committee presented a National Livestock Transformation Plan 2019 – 2028.
The Plan is not targeted on only cows but a holistic strategy to address animal husbandry.
The Plan has six pillars:
Conflict Resolution
Justice and Peace
Humanitarian Relief and Early Recovery
Human Capital Development
Cross cutting issues
Economic Development
The Committee proposed an implementation guideline to guide FG and States
N100 billion has been budgeted to support the project.
FG is to contribute 80% in grant to support States, while States will contribute land, project implementation structure, personnel and 20% cost of the project.
Council Resolution
Need to look at the Trans-Human West Africa Regional Protocol – because the country cannot allow such movement of cattles without registering and monitoring them
Council emphasised the need to established the fact that NLTP is a creation of NEC and State Governors and is completely distinct from RUGA.
NEC adopted the National Livestock Transformation Plan on January 18, 2019. It is a creation of the National Economic Council.
States will determine, whether or not they are willing to participate, as FG did not impose this plan. Participation remains voluntary.
The role of the FG is to coordinate, monitor and help implement the plan.

UPDATE ON ACCOUNT

Honourable Minister of State for Budget and National Planning reported to Council that balances in the underlisted accounts as at 17th September, 2019 are as follows:
EXCESS CRUDE ACCOUNT (ECA) = USD 274, 583, 856 .78
STABILIZATION ACCOUNT = N23, 796, 349,487.76
DEV. NATURAL RES. ACCT FUND = N105, 135, 613, 817.27
UPDATE ON BUDGET SUPPORT LOAN FACILITY
The Honourable Minister of State also briefed in the Budget Support Facility that State Governments are expected to start servicing the loan from September 2019 and repayment is over 240 months
Council resolved that Governors should meet with the Ministry of Finance and Central Bank of Nigeria to sort out the details of repayment modalities and the Vice President will ensure same and ensure the meeting between the Governors, CBN and Finance Ministry in order to facilitate the speedy resolution of the matter.
UPDATE ON THE PRESIDENTIAL ENABLING BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT COUNCIL (PEBEC)
The Secretary of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) Dr. Jumoke Oduwole gave an update on building an Enabling Business Environment. She informed Council that
There is currently a reform wave in African countries, as contained in the African Development Bank (AFDB) Economic Outlook Report released in January, 2019.
That in the 2019 World Bank ease of doing business ranking, Nigeria is ranked 146 with Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) making up to 90% of Business in Nigeria.
That the Economic Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP) 2017-2020, which has three broad objectives; which includes restoring growth; Investing in people and Building a competitive economy has positioned Nigeria in the path of building a competitive economy.
That PEBEC is mandated to make Nigeria’s ranking to top 100 in the 2020 World Bank Doing Business index.
Achieve the required political buy-in across all arms and levels of government.
Furthermore, she told NEC that PEBEC has in the past 3 years achieved the following:
Moved up 24 places in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business ranking
32 Nigerian states, led by Kaduna, Enugu, Abia, Lagos and Anambra states have improved in their ease of doing business environment.
An independent EODB survey adjudged Nigeria’s reforms as impactful in terms of reduction in time, cost and procedures of doing business.
REPORT OF THE AD-HOC COMMITTEE ON CRUDE OIL THEFT,
PREVENTION AND CONTROL PRESENTED BY GOVERNOR EDO STATE

-The 13 member Ad-Hoc Committee which is chaired by the Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki in their report, told the Council that the Committee is constituted to address:
i. Impact of vandalism, oil theft and illegal bunkering on oil production;
ii. Effectiveness of the activities of the JTF and other Security Agencies
iii. Consider the set-up of Special Courts to prosecute offenders, among others.
The Terms of Reference of the Ad-Hoc Committee is to include:
· restoring and sustaining the three major pipelines;
· assessing the challenges and draw up a roadmap to guide further actions towards finding a lasting solution to the problem;
· co-opt individual or corporate body to facilitate the work of the Committee and update the Council regularly.
- The Ad-Hoc Committee in its findings discovered that there were losses. NNPC reported a loss of 22.64 million barrel of crude oil valued at USD 1.35 billion for 2019 half a year and possibly UDS 2.7 billion for a full year at a global oil price of USD 60 per barrel, if not checked.
- The losses were recorded on the following pipeline:
a. Nember Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) 9.2 million barrels
b. Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) 8.6 million barrels
c. Trans Forcados Pipeline (TFP) 3.96 million barrels
d. Trans Escravos Pipeline (TSEP) 877 Thousand barrels.

- Absence of governance structure for the pipeline such that no one is held accountable whenever there is a breach on the lines.
- Slow and inadequate prosecution of oil thieves, despite numerous arrests and seizures.
- Absence of petroleum products filling stations in most of its oil producing Communities that make them resort to illegal bunkering and refineries
- Huge internal and external markets of stolen crude oil which include Ghana as well as some neighboring countries.
-The Committee made the following recommendations to the Council:
i. The need to restructure the maintenance of all pipelines as a way of tackling the perpetrators of oil theft. ii. Have a legal framework that will ensure every criminal is duly prosecuted, imprisoned and all assets confiscated.
iii. Setting up Special Courts to try offenders, set-up of Legal Task Force to coordinate the prosecution of arrested offenders as well as train special judges to handle cases of oil theft.
iv. NNPC to engage the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to identify markets for the stolen products.
v. Governors of the oil producing states to step up actions to develop their communities with their 13% derivation allocation as well as implement programmes that will be impactful to make life easy for the people. They should also create employment opportunities for the youths in these regions.
vi. Propose a funding arrangement to be jointly funded by the Federal, State Governments and oil companies.

Council Resolution
Council resolve as follows:
Recommendations given will be presented to the President who is also the Minister of Petroleum for the final decision and implementation.
The Chairman of Council also asked NNPC to make a presentation to the Council on the state of PMS and smuggling across the borders.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Governors requested clarification from the Council Chairman on the relationship between NEC and the newly formed Economic Advisory Council. The Vice President explained that both Councils are advisory for the benefits of the President, while NEC is established by the Constitution. The Vice President added that NEC could be briefed regularly on the activities of the newly found EAC with the permission of the President.

Released by

‘Laolu Akande

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President October, 2019

Osinbajo loyalists are not the once raising the alerm
It is those who are bent on creating discord among the two men. Even the wailers or agent of PDP are involved.

When did he became an activist.
Timi Frank has loss relevance.

(Re: Buhari directs Osinbajo to seek approvals for agencies under him)


Our attention has been drawn to a sensational report by The Cable which claims that His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, has directed Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, to seek approvals for agencies under him.

The report suggests, falsely, that agencies under the supervision of the Vice President do not normally comply with established rules where presidential approvals are required. 

This is obviously misleading and aims only to plant seeds of discord in the Presidency while attempting to create unnecessary national hysteria.

The agencies in question are established by law and the Vice President has always insisted on due compliance with the enabling statutes and other established regulations. 

Depending on the particular scope of activity in question, agencies may require management approval only, at the level of the Director General or Chief Executive Officer.  In this category falls the great majority of their day-to-day activities. 

However, other activities, or procurements, with value exceeding a certain threshold, require Board approval. These may get to the agency Board chaired by the Vice President. In a few cases where Presidential approval is required, the Director-General must seek such approval from the President, through the Vice President. These rules have always guided the activities of statutory agencies and the ones under the Vice President’s supervision have always been so guided.  

To claim that in the first term of the Buhari administration, agencies of government have not been complying with the provisions (of getting final approvals from the President) is false, and the attempt to suggest the Vice President’s complicity in such irregularities is simply mischievous and reprehensible.

The effective and mutually respecting relationship between the President and the Vice President is well known to Nigerians and it is futile to insinuate otherwise. 

Even though the Vice President has a statutory role as Board Chairman of some government agencies under his office, with appropriate approval limits, which often do not include contract approvals; it is ludicrous to even insinuate that a Board Chairman approves contracts.

Evidently, the Federal Executive Council, which oversees Federal Ministries and agencies of government, is chaired by the President, and it is in its purview to approve or ratify award of contracts within the prescribed threshold. 

The Vice President remains committed to the service of his fatherland and will continue to do so despite the purveyors of fake news. We urge
media organizations, as gatekeepers to uphold truth, balance, fairness and objectivity in their reports.

LAOLU AKANDE
Senior Special Assistant to the President
Office of the Vice President
Sept 17, 2019

The President constituted the council in concert with the VP, least we forget the VP is the constitutional head of the economy.
So this is shouldn't be an issue.

According to the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) the number of MSMEs in Nigeria is at 37 million, employing 59 million persons contributing over 70% of the active labor force. That means over a quarter of our population are involved in small and medium scale businesses. And they are mostly artisans, petty traders and the likes. Of this large number, 43% fail due to lack of funds for daily sustenance or consistent sales and 38% do not grow beyond their initial start-up level. A major challenge of these businesses is they cannot meet the basic requirement of obtaining loans at commercial banks, and even when they do, they do not possess sufficient collateral for these loans. Research shows that the availability of microcredit facilities is one key step to boosting economies of developing countries like Nigeria. Yet this has not been the case, as credit facilities have in most instances been channelled to the high and mighty businesses.



Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo is oft heard saying that one the objectives of his administration is to invest in the lives of its people, especially those at the bottom of the pyramid. The visible and rigorous efforts of the initiatives of the National Social Investment Programmes are telling of this intent. The Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) is one of the schemes of the Social Investment Programmes. Through its sub-schemes, TraderMoni and MarketMoni, financial support is provided through micro lending to micro scale traders. These schemes seek to promote financial inclusion at the grassroots, assisting petty traders with the financial support to conduct their respective businesses. They serve a dual purpose: an economic intervention to drive economic advancement at the grassroots, as well as a social impact project. The implication of this is that these schemes are set to improve the nation’s economy by first improving the daily living conditions its beneficiaries.



Two commonplace errors I have often come across when conversations on Trader Moni come about: one, the notion that 10,000 Naira can barely make an impact in a person’s life, let alone a household or a business and secondly, the possibility of the scheme to have significant impact on a national or global scale especially in the long term.



These notions are evince that the divide between Nigeria’s poor and rich is palpable; that while to some a loan of 10,000 may seem as paltry sum and even useless, to a large number - a silent majority - it may seem synonymous with oxygen. The imbalance in the conversation flows from the fact that those who control the spaces of conversations, those who write history and shape narratives are the elite minority who cannot fathom the logic of the impact of 10,000 Naira to a small business. To them this money would function to simply cater for petrol or recharge card.



The beneficiaries of the scheme mostly do not have a voice. They are not on social media. They do not have smart phones to explain their stories - and even when they do, they are not literate to tell it. They are not invited to the TV stations to comment on the effects of these loans - their best chances at having their voices known is when the Vice President takes a tour to assess the programme in markets. They cannot write opinion pieces on newspapers or blogs. Yet these are the men and women who form the majority - the silent majority.



Whether they have a voice or not, it does not take away their reality. Take for instance Mrs Agbo Mnenna Mercy who heartily shared her growth story of selling basins of corn to trading in bags; to Mrs Anyor Doshima, a petty trader in Wurunkum market, Benue State, who through Trader Moni was able to make an increase in the number of livestock she owned from 50 to 70; to Solomon Ogunwale a trader in Oja Oba market, Oyo State, who has expanded his blending business and has now employed a new staff.



These seemingly little changes in their businesses have culminated in increase in their purchasing power as well as improvements in their living standards, and even nutrition. The enormity of Nigerians in this economic demography is one of the reasons why it is detrimental for this vast number to remain underfunded or unassisted. The scheme addresses a pertinent challenge of citizens in this demography; accessing capital without the added pain of high interest rates and rigid collateral demands which before now, has prevented them from expanding their businesses and employing more labour. The ripple effect of the seemingly little, stretches as far as improving productivity among the disadvantaged population, decrease in inequality as more women are empowered financially, and the improvement in living standards triggering more economic activities across the nation.



The thousands of petty traders who have benefitted from these schemes are proof that they are working. And impacting on the socio-economic lives of its beneficiaries. They are paying back these loans too - to access higher loans to continue the expansion of their businesses. It is not a quick-fix that would end poverty in Nigeria overnight. Like many great initiatives consistency and diligence are needed to ensure that the schemes do not lose track.



It was Confucius who said that he who intends to move a mountain must first start by carrying little stones. The little impact of each loan given to a family adds to the greater impact that Nigeria needs to end poverty, no matter how slowly. With over two million loans disbursed so far, this lifelines have done more for the economy than many can ever fathom.



Akinloye James is the President of the Initiative to Save Democracy.

According to the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) the number of MSMEs in Nigeria is at 37 million, employing 59 million persons contributing over 70% of the active labor force. That means over a quarter of our population are involved in small and medium scale businesses. And they are mostly artisans, petty traders and the likes. Of this large number, 43% fail due to lack of funds for daily sustenance or consistent sales and 38% do not grow beyond their initial start-up level. A major challenge of these businesses is they cannot meet the basic requirement of obtaining loans at commercial banks, and even when they do, they do not possess sufficient collateral for these loans. Research shows that the availability of microcredit facilities is one key step to boosting economies of developing countries like Nigeria. Yet this has not been the case, as credit facilities have in most instances been channelled to the high and mighty businesses.



Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo is oft heard saying that one the objectives of his administration is to invest in the lives of its people, especially those at the bottom of the pyramid. The visible and rigorous efforts of the initiatives of the National Social Investment Programmes are telling of this intent. The Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) is one of the schemes of the Social Investment Programmes. Through its sub-schemes, TraderMoni and MarketMoni, financial support is provided through micro lending to micro scale traders. These schemes seek to promote financial inclusion at the grassroots, assisting petty traders with the financial support to conduct their respective businesses. They serve a dual purpose: an economic intervention to drive economic advancement at the grassroots, as well as a social impact project. The implication of this is that these schemes are set to improve the nation’s economy by first improving the daily living conditions its beneficiaries.



Two commonplace errors I have often come across when conversations on Trader Moni come about: one, the notion that 10,000 Naira can barely make an impact in a person’s life, let alone a household or a business and secondly, the possibility of the scheme to have significant impact on a national or global scale especially in the long term.



These notions are evince that the divide between Nigeria’s poor and rich is palpable; that while to some a loan of 10,000 may seem as paltry sum and even useless, to a large number - a silent majority - it may seem synonymous with oxygen. The imbalance in the conversation flows from the fact that those who control the spaces of conversations, those who write history and shape narratives are the elite minority who cannot fathom the logic of the impact of 10,000 Naira to a small business. To them this money would function to simply cater for petrol or recharge card.



The beneficiaries of the scheme mostly do not have a voice. They are not on social media. They do not have smart phones to explain their stories - and even when they do, they are not literate to tell it. They are not invited to the TV stations to comment on the effects of these loans - their best chances at having their voices known is when the Vice President takes a tour to assess the programme in markets. They cannot write opinion pieces on newspapers or blogs. Yet these are the men and women who form the majority - the silent majority.



Whether they have a voice or not, it does not take away their reality. Take for instance Mrs Agbo Mnenna Mercy who heartily shared her growth story of selling basins of corn to trading in bags; to Mrs Anyor Doshima, a petty trader in Wurunkum market, Benue State, who through Trader Moni was able to make an increase in the number of livestock she owned from 50 to 70; to Solomon Ogunwale a trader in Oja Oba market, Oyo State, who has expanded his blending business and has now employed a new staff.



These seemingly little changes in their businesses have culminated in increase in their purchasing power as well as improvements in their living standards, and even nutrition. The enormity of Nigerians in this economic demography is one of the reasons why it is detrimental for this vast number to remain underfunded or unassisted. The scheme addresses a pertinent challenge of citizens in this demography; accessing capital without the added pain of high interest rates and rigid collateral demands which before now, has prevented them from expanding their businesses and employing more labour. The ripple effect of the seemingly little, stretches as far as improving productivity among the disadvantaged population, decrease in inequality as more women are empowered financially, and the improvement in living standards triggering more economic activities across the nation.



The thousands of petty traders who have benefitted from these schemes are proof that they are working. And impacting on the socio-economic lives of its beneficiaries. They are paying back these loans too - to access higher loans to continue the expansion of their businesses. It is not a quick-fix that would end poverty in Nigeria overnight. Like many great initiatives consistency and diligence are needed to ensure that the schemes do not lose track.



It was Confucius who said that he who intends to move a mountain must first start by carrying little stones. The little impact of each loan given to a family adds to the greater impact that Nigeria needs to end poverty, no matter how slowly. With over two million loans disbursed so far, this lifelines have done more for the economy than many can ever fathom.



Akinloye James is the President of the Initiative to Save Democracy.

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT
PRESS RELEASE

NEXT LEVEL: WHAT FG IS DOING TO IMPROVE GOVERNANCE, SERVICE DELIVERY – OSINBAJO


*VP adds: Ministers to render first performance report in December

“Let me speak quickly to what will be done differently on implementation of government plans in this dispensation. After the Presidential policy dialogue preceding the inauguration of Ministers, the President developed a list of specific mandates for each ministry. Each of those mandates has clearly spelt out action points.


“Every minister has a mandate with action point, some of the mandates have 7 or 8 points. The ministers are to render their first reports on performance in December. So, in some sense we are moving to a more measurable way of determining where ministers are going and what they ought to do. Of course there would be challenges of funding, clarity of plans etc.”



SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, VICE PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, AT THE OPENING SESSION OF THE 2019 ANNUAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE OF THE
PROTOCOLS


I am extremely pleased to be here and to have received the invitation to participate at this annual management conference of the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) for 2019.

Coming at a time when we are in the early months of the current administration it seemed to me to be a good time to come to the management gurus for some lessons on fresh ideas on management, especially the management of a complex democracy. With the quality of attendees today, I think I should award myself an initial pass mark for properly identifying the solution by picking the right conference to attend personally.

I also checked very diligently and found to my relief that there is no charge, open or hidden, for my category of attendee, which means that I can derive the immense benefits from this gathering of the brightest and best in management free of charge.

What remains is for me to consult with the President of the Institute as a true Nigerian to ask whether attendance at this one meeting qualifies me to start parading myself as a management expert henceforth.
The theme of the conference, “Managing the Challenges of Democracy”, really could not have been better framed. I think it was one of the illustrious past Presidents of the NIM, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar, who at the 2006 Conference, declared quite perceptively that all sectors of the Nigerian economy were suffering from endemic management failure.

To carry his prognosis a little further, I would say that the central question especially in the public sector today is not the lack of talent or well researched policies, but the weakness in getting things done, or implementation - doing things as opposed to talking about doing them.

Implementation is possibly the central management challenge today and it is, in my respectful view, at the heart of the challenges of managing our democracy. So, in every real sense, our problem is a management one.

If the NIM achieved nothing else but a prescription on how to resolve the problem, you would certainly deserve to be described as national heroes. But to take the prize you will need to ensure implementation beginning with all of us who are seated here today.

Let me set out some of the issues or, as researchers will say, the problematic, for your consideration.

First is the central question of governance, ethics in the management of public resources; second is the issue of merit over quotas and politics in the selection of talents and projects; third are the challenges in human capital development; fourth is the problem of scale, scale in social services; for example, education - providing 21st century education to millions of children as the country heads for third place in world population in a few decades. Lastly, but by no means the least, is the problem of poverty, and the creation of wealth and opportunities for millions.

Regarding the first, our approach as a government has been first to tackle grand corruption, which, in other words, is the direct looting of the treasury by senior members of government, and the second is changing systems that promote graft.

This we have done by the introduction and implementation of the TSA, PICA, continuous Audit of government-owned entities, the insistence on full implementation of IPPIS, especially for the armed and uniformed services who had for long avoided being on this transparent electronic platform; the whistleblower initiative and other measures aimed at bringing greater transparency and scrutiny to public finance and the conduct of public affairs.

The Next Level is to deepen the fight against corruption especially in government procurement processes and government delivered services. We believe that technology and automation will help, moving things away from the discretion of the desk officer, to the agnostic electronic platform.

We aim to ensure that every Nigerian is able to obtain passports and drivers licenses, etc without having to pay bribes or suffer needless delays. But how to do these efficiently is the implementation challenge, and of course, we are open to advice from the gurus.

Next is the question of moving more towards consistency in applying merit as a first consideration as opposed to quotas as a first consideration in public appointments. Every part of Nigeria has great talents. Even If we are picking talents from every State, that choice should be merit driven. The civil service has in the past three years insisted on examinations for promotion and even for permanent secretaries, that process must be maintained and final choices per state should follow the order of merit. There are many open questions on implementation. Again, over to you.

The issues of capacity in Human Capital Development, affordable health care for all, education, especially getting out-of-school children into the school system, education of girls, and relevant educational curricula, are front burner issues today.

Health care for all cannot come from budget allocations alone. As of last week, we had taken major steps in the provision of our universal coverage policy. In 2018, we implemented the allocation of 1% of the CRF to healthcare.

Consequently, we launched the first phase of the BASIC HEALTH CARE PROVISION FUND with the disbursement of N6.5 billion to the first 15 qualifying States and the FCT. The money goes to Social Health Insurance Agencies in the States to reduce the hardship of patients making out-of-pocket payments for healthcare. The Next Level is the implementation of compulsory health insurance for all Nigerians on a co-payment basis with government.

We are working at the level of the National Economic Council to achieve Mr. President’s June 20th charge to State governors to ensure full implementation of free and compulsory education in the first nine years of the school life of every Nigerian child.

The extensive use of technology, focusing on getting girls into schools, introducing mainstream subjects into the Quranic School system, and implementation of the STEAM curricula are some of the main components of the educational plans that we have going forward.

Some of you are familiar with the Homegrown School Feeding Programme. That programme has been particularly helpful in ensuring an upward trajectory in education enrolment in primary schools all over the country. Today we are in 32 States and feeding over 9.8 million children. There are many implementation challenges in how to ensure high quality education on scale. At the moment several programs including technology solutions are in use or being considered in various States. We need to efficiently identify the best options and apply them on scale.

The implementation of policies and programmes to address the challenges of poverty and wealth creation, jobs for millions of young active people now and in the future require collective thinking and action. While we have created appreciable value in agriculture, with the Anchor Borrowers programme by adding new jobs and acreage in paddy rice, sorghum, millet, cassava and yams, we recognize that it is in the agro-allied value chain that the greatest value lies for jobs and improved productivity.

So, for a crucial component of our mechanization of agriculture, we have a programme with the Brazilian government, they are making available a $1 billion facility to provide equipment, where we intend to build service centres in every local government to render extension services, leasing of farm equipment and provision of improved inputs.

In addition to that, there will be six assembly plants for tractors and other equipment. The enhancing of commerce in agriculture by the building of rural roads for access to markets and commodity exchanges are also priority items. The truth is that in every development plan to create the number of quality of jobs that we want, we will have to do a lot with what our agricultural outcomes are. What our plans are and how they are implemented, especially in the agro-allied value chain are important. The expansion of opportunities in manufacturing with the completion of the first phase of the special economic zones in Enyimba City in Abia, Lekki Free Trade in Lagos and the Funtua Cotton in Katsina are priorities and good progress has been made thus far. We already have investor-indication in the Afro-Exim Bank and the AfDB. The IFC is also supporting the initiative.

In addition, we are in collaboration with the Bank of Industry, investing in infrastructure, in small business and commercial clusters all over Nigeria. Examples are, Leather works clusters, shoe making, food processing clusters, printer clusters etc. These are to benefit from the provision of power, equipment, and other infrastructure.

Under what is described as our Energizing Economies scheme, we licensed and ensured the provision of power on a willing-buyer-willing seller basis to large and medium scale markets, such as Sabon Gari in Kano, Ariaria in Abia, and Sura market in Lagos. We intend to continue with the Energizing Economies scheme. We also have the Energizing Education scheme where we are licensing private power producers, providing power to 37 universities and 7 Teaching Hospitals. We believe that we can resolve some of the power problems by decentralizing power generation and distribution such that not just the DISCOS and GENCOS will be involved, but that anyone willing to produce power are able to do so, and we are able to license more people who can produce power, especially on a willing-buyer-willing-seller basis.

It was in providing a better scope for jobs, especially for young people in technology and innovation, that we have been facing some of the critical challenges, especially with access to credit. Today, there are many startups and innovation, but in a country our size, the question is providing credit on scale and on an accessible basis. So, the Bank of Industry has about N10 billion that it has put aside for innovation in technology. But N10 billion is not enough for a country our size.

So, we are talking to the AfDB, they are putting together a $500 million facility for innovation and for startups in technology, and we think that can give a lot of impetus to a lot of the talents that we see today in technology and innovation. We have also started a technology and entertainment advisory group, where we have a lot of the young people who are in technology and entertainment, advising government directly on the policies that are required for ensuring that technology and innovation is not stupefied by regulations. For example, a lot of the Fin-Tech companies are basically doing banking type transactions, but they can’t be regulated or licensed like banks. So, there is a need for a policy review in that area. What we have tried to do is to provide those kinds of policies working closely with the Central Bank.

With respect to small businesses, we have seen quite a bit of work being done, especially with the MSMEs; and already we have done MSMEs Clinics in 24 States, and we have also established one stop shops for regulatory approvals in some zones. The clinics which are attended by all regulatory authorities has been an eye opener for them, as they hear and see the problems of small businesses first hand. This is quite important because so many small businesses have been complaining about getting approvals from NAFDAC, SON, CAC etc. So, the clinics are important in ensuring that the regulatory agencies themselves understand what the issues are and that has led to some of the changes we see today.

It was in the process of thinking through the problems of access to credit for informal traders and businesses, and especially petty traders, the so-called-bottom-of-the-pyramid in the commerce chain that we developed with the Bank of Industry, the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, or what is better known as the MarketMoni and TraderMoni schemes. Thinking through the budget in a democracy with the large numbers that we have, obviously, what our focus should be on how to ensure that the bottom of the pyramid, which is the largest number, get some help and are empowered to do their own business as well.

One of the very important things is how countries as large as ours, and with the levels of poverty that we have, are able to structure their budgets in such a way as to cater for that bottom of the pyramid. That is something that has always escaped us and we cannot seriously talk about the welfare of the majority without budgets that think through the questions that address the welfare of the majority. What we have seen so far is that both schemes have greatly enhanced access to credit, improved the inventories of petty traders. It is evident that if we don’t find solutions to some of those issues, it will more or less become difficult to take people out of poverty. And we have seen some of these schemes work in other parts of the world. We have seen these schemes work in India, taking large numbers of people out of poverty. We think that these schemes will work here if they are faithfully and diligently implemented. What we have been able to do so far is 2 million people; we are merely scratching the surface.

There is some cheering news, the programme recently won the AfDB prize for financial inclusion. And we think that there is room for improvement. How do we scale up? We found that there is diligence in repayment, people found that they will get more when they repay their loans.

Let me speak quickly to what will be done differently on implementation of government plans in this dispensation. After the Presidential Policy Dialogue preceding the inauguration of Ministers, the President developed a list of specific mandates for each ministry. Each of those mandates has clearly spelt out action points. Every minister has a mandate with action points, some of the mandates have 7 or 8 points. The ministers are to render their first reports on performance in December. So, in some sense we are moving to a more measurable way of determining where ministers are going and what they ought to do. Of course, there would be challenges of funding, clarity of plans etc.

The full and effective performance of these mandates is, of course, an implementation challenge. We look forward to your contributions on the journey.

Let me again commend the NIM for these many years of provoking thought and action on making our nation work for the benefit of all.

Just a thought as I take my seat, reading the Code of Conduct of the NIM, it is so elegant that if just those of us in this room, including myself, could comply with that code, this country will be completely different. So, I throw the challenge to the NIM to walk the talk.

So, it is now my special pleasure to declare open this annual conference of the Nigerian Institute of Management 2019 for the benefit of all Nigerians. Thank you very much.


Released by:

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity
Office of the Vice President

16th September, 2019

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT


*VP adds: He led Zimbabwe and her people to freedom, majority rule

Former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe stood out as a leader because of his zeal, passion and selfless commitment to the emancipation of the people of Zimbabwe and the self realization of black people everywhere.

This view was expressed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, on arrival in Harare last night to attend the funeral of the late African leader.

“Nigeria most respectfully condoles with the Republic of Zimbabwe on the passing of her President, Robert Mugabe – who led the republic and her people to freedom and majority rule – alongside so many other patriots. His legacy of determined, proud and assertive black emancipation will live long in the hearts of Africans. We wish the people of Zimbabwe great peace and prosperity," the VP wrote, on behalf of Nigeria, on the condolence register for Mugabe at the airport.

Also, Prof Osinbajo, later while speaking with Zimbabwean journalists who approached him at the Harare International Airport, added that Mugabe was, "not only a great encouragement to the independent movements everywhere but more to the self-realisation for black people practically everywhere. So, his passing is indeed sad. I think that for most of us, especially those who are leaders today.”

Below are the comments of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to the Zimbabwean press, verbatim:

"First let me say that for all of us, the whole of Africa, the memories of the years of decolonization, the years of the struggle for black majority rule in various places are years that bring joy and confidence to most of us, especially leaders today.

“This is one of the reasons why President Robert Mugabe stood out as one of those leaders whose zeal, passion and selfless commitment to the emancipation of the people of Zimbabwe was not only a great encouragement to the independent movement everywhere, but more to the self-realization for black people practically everywhere.

“So, his passing is indeed sad. I think that for most of us, especially those who are leaders today, there’s a lot to learn from such an incredibly illustrious career, especially the role that he played in decolonization. And, of course, alongside the work that was done, not just by the frontline states, but by the likes of Nelson Mandela in South Africa and so many other African patriots; their lives and times, especially during the period of the struggle for black majority rule in Southern Africa and the support that other African countries gave, especially sub-Saharan African countries; Nigeria being, as you’ve noted, a frontline state. There are times when I think we should be extremely proud of what we achieved as black people."


Released by:

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity
Office of the Vice President
14th September 2019

I don't why people will just read things on the pages of newspapers and believe it, even in this era fake news.
The Vice President said in 10 year, 100 million people can be lifted out of poverty, which is possible considering the policies being put in place.
SAY NO TO FAKE NEWS!

Ye all coming here to wail as if that's not possible.
For those don't know what the VP had said. Read below:
"The President has promised that by the grace of God we are going to take 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next ten years"

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT

PRESS RELEASE



Below are excerpts of Vice President’s remarks during a visit Thursday afternoon at the palace of the Emir of Gwandu, Alhaji Muhammadu Bashar in Kebbi State.

I want to thank you very much for hosting us today, we are here for several things; the MSMEs, look at the new markets that have been rebuilt after the fire and for some of the schemes that have taken place. One of the very important schemes is what is called the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, which has the TraderMoni and MarketMoni. TraderMoni is the scheme where we give petty traders, N10,000, and when they pay back, N15,000, then N20,000 and it goes on and on to N100,000.

The President’s desire for this programme is that every hard-working citizen of this country should be able to have some support from government, no matter how little their inventory.

Today, at the market, I passed a woman who was selling vegetables and I asked her how much her whole inventory was, the whole thing was N500. It is for such people, such petty traders that the TraderMoni N10,000 is meant, so that they can buy more.

The President has promised that by the grace of God, we are going to take 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years and I believe very strongly that we are going to achieve it, but we can only achieve it with the able support of the State Governments.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity
Office of the Vice President
12th September 2019

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT

PRESS RELEASE



“We need an institution that will produce cutting edge Artificial Intelligence applications for education, business, medicine and security. One that can design the educational innovation required to train millions of children in and out of classrooms all across the country.”



REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, AT THE FUNDRAISING DINNER FOR THE NIGERIAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT ON THE 11TH OF SEPTEMBER, 2019.



PROTOCOLS.



I need not emphasize how honoured I am to join you here today at this historic meeting: a gathering of important thought leaders in business, politics and academia, in aid of the establishment of the Nigerian University of Technology and Management (NUTM).

Every once in a while, in the life of a nation or community, a vision emerges to do something truly extraordinary, something truly game- changing; to develop a construct capable of decisively making a difference in the community or nation.

Frankly, I think I do not exaggerate when I say that we are at such a moment here today.

A lot has been said already about the need for the school, and I am sure we have avoided the term, “an elite school”, because it suggests that the school is only for a select few. But the truth is, this is what this school is about, about setting up an elite school in the sense that it brings together the best minds and talents, but does not depend on their capacity to pay.

Indeed, there must be an institution whose sole objective is to inspire innovation, inventions and research that address the most crucial problems that we face as a nation and the world. How do we solve peculiar African health challenges such as Sickle Cell Anemia, fibroids and cancers, some that are specifically even African? We simply have not addressed those challenges from our institutions.

Clearly, we need an institution able to provide the atmosphere to invent agricultural inputs that will guarantee the huge yields per acreage or volumes in dairy and livestock to meet the demands of food security in our country today.

Every time we talk about agriculture, look at what we are producing and the size of our population and how much we import, it is very clear that somebody has to work on uniquely Nigerian solutions to some of these agricultural challenges.

We need an institution that will produce cutting edge Artificial Intelligence applications for education, business, medicine and security. One that can design the educational innovation required to train millions of children in and out of classrooms all across the country.

I have been around the country, practically every local government, one thing that is obvious is the need to crack (the problem of) education in Nigeria. It is getting increasingly out of hand, the sheer number of young people all over the country who require high-quality education but are not getting anything at all.

So, the question is, what sort of design or technology would work? In and out of the classroom, what would work? What do we do with languages? Are we going to teach using local language or dialect?

We must now produce world class economists, managers of commerce in a world increasingly disrupted by technology and innovation. We must convert our best young minds and talents, to creative thinkers, innovators in science, technology, the economy, commerce and public finance and in public sector related endeavors that truly make a difference in governance. Only a deliberately planned and resourced university can deliver these.

We already have several tertiary institutions of science and technology and management sciences all over the country. But what is proposed is an institution intentionally created as a world class centre for the training of the best Nigerian minds and talents. It is not an equal opportunity establishment, except that capacity to pay must not be an object, admission standards will be set very high, only the best are required in such an institution.

The institution must also engage the best academics and scholars, locally and internationally. This is not an institution that we have seen the likes before locally. The comparators are the deliberate creation of thinkers in the public and private sectors like ourselves here today.

The vision is clear, but the key, of course, is funding. As is the case with comparable institutions all over the world, the NUTM must have considerable resources to support high-quality research. The implications of this are vast.

To excite research, the NUTM ought to be able to attract to the residence, Nobel Laureates and international leaders of thought and innovation. Whether they spend 2 weeks, 5 weeks or a year, it will obviously cost money.

Provisions for the attendance and hosting of academic conferences locally and internationally must be made. The challenge we have is whether we are prepared to dream this big dream, see it through, and consistently fund and creatively find sustainable ways of keeping it adequately resourced.

I am convinced that the founders have not just the zeal, but the will to see this to fruition. I was privileged to be invited to the first event to introduce the Nigerian University of Technology and Management to people such as yourselves in Abuja, when ideas were at the preliminary stages. But what we have seen between then and now, is the market. I think so much progress has been made and I’m excited to see the progress. It is not surprising given the calibre of individuals who are the founders.

I think what this evening calls for is how to ensure that this dream becomes a reality. It is only the beginning. A lot of inspiring things have been said already about why we need to participate in this activity, in founding it and sustaining it. But frankly, whether you and I choose to do it, somebody will do it. I am so convinced that it will be done. That is the thing with great ideas, somebody, somewhere, someday will do it.

I really hope people here in this room are the ones that will pick up this great idea and really work towards it and ensure it is done.

I want to congratulate the founders for doing an excellent job so far, and to make my own personal commitment and commit on behalf of the government, to do all that is necessary to ensure that this sees the light of day.

Obviously, I won’t be making any large donations, we are still struggling with a budget deficit, but I am sure that everything else that is required to ensure this happens, especially from the side of government, I will work with others to ensure that.

I also want to say on behalf of Mr. President, that this a project that he is very keen to see happen and I am sure with his backing and with the able support of so many in and out of government, we will see the NUTM come to life and remain alive and live up to the dreams charted out for it today and in the future.

Thank you

Released by:
Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity
Office of the Vice President
12th September, 2019

The MSME Clinics assemble Government agencies under one roof to provide on spot solutions to the challenges faced by MSMEs. These include
Access to Finance, Business registration, Product registration and certification.

STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE


President Muhammadu Buhari says the ruling of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on the February 23, 2019 poll, is victory for Nigerians who trooped out to overwhelmingly elect him for a second term in office.

“Good conscience fears no evil report. I was unperturbed all along, because I knew Nigerians freely gave us the mandate. We are now vindicated,” the President declares.

He dedicates the victory to God, and to Nigerians, while also commending the judiciary for “dispensing justice without fear or favour.”

President Buhari extends a hand of fellowship to those who had felt aggrieved at the outcome of the election, and went to court, noting that it was within their democratic rights.

He notes, however, that with the pronouncement of the judiciary, “it is time for the country to move forward as one cohesive body, putting behind us all bickering and potential distractions over an election in which Nigerians spoke clearly and resoundingly.”



Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President
(Media and Publicity)
September 11, 2019

The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) has commended members of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) for not being deterred by threats and intimidation from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its agents to taint its sense of justice.

This, the group said, is proof that the Justices are men of honour that cannot be intimidated by social media bullies bent on arm-twisting them to ignore the evidence tabled before the tribunal.

BMO said in a statement signed by its Chairman Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke, that it was expecting nothing less than the outright dismissal of the petition like the panel members did.

“It was glaring to everyone, aside from PDP elements, that the petition challenging the overwhelming electoral victory of President Muhammadu Buhari was not only frivolous, but also useless as Festus Keyamo famously said soon after the case was filed.

“However, the Tribunal has now further shown how ridiculous the electoral challenge was and made it clear that the President was duly qualified to contest in the February 23, 2019 election in the first place, on the basis of educational qualification and professional attainment.

“To quote the panel directly, it said President Buhari ‘is not only qualified but also eminently qualified’ to stand for election. This is a direct message to naysayers.

“And to make matters worse for the petitioners, the Tribunal questioned the sense in querying the President’s assertion that his certificates were with the Army even when the Army authorities alluded to it when the matter was brought up in 2015., and even went further to quote the President's grades in the subjects he sat for.

“It is also worthy of note that the Justices were emphatic in brushing aside claims by the petitioners that results were transmitted through electronic means to a server at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)."

The group then urged opposition elements who claimed to be awaiting the Tribunal verdict before recognising the President to keep their promise.

“We know that a few people, including the elder statesman Pa Ayo Adebanjo, factional leader of the Yoruba socio-cultural group Afenifere, had insisted that they would not recognise President Buhari until they know the outcome of the Tribunal.

“And now that the five-member panel has affirmed that the President was duly elected, we expect that a gentleman like Pa Adebanjo will toe the path of honour.

“We acknowledge that it is within the right of the opposition to go to the Supreme Court but we hope that the former Vice President would see the handwriting on the wall and accept that he lost the election fair and square."

BMO also solicited the support of Nigerians for the success of President Buhari’s second term in office and assured them that they would not be disappointed.

1. What is NLTP?
• A holistic plan developed from the recommendations of the extensive national policy dialogues conducted by the FMARD in 2016/17 on modernizing the livestock subsector and the findings of extensive stakeholder consultations by the National Economic Council (NEC) Farmer-Herder Crises Committee on the drivers of the conflicts in 2018.

2. What are the pillars of NLTP?
• The plan has 6 pillars in order to systematically address the concerns of livestock modernization as well as resolve farmer-herder conflicts sustainably. Pillars: Conflict Resolution, Justice and Peace, Humanitarian Relief and Early Recovery, Human Capital Development; Crosscutting Issues of (Research, Youth and Gender) and Economic Investment (cattle production along the value chains).

3. How is NLTP different from RUGA?
• NLTP was developed from recommendations based on extensive stakeholder consultations by the National Economic Council (NEC) Farmer-Herder Crises Committee on the drivers of the conflict in 2018 and the plan was approved by all 36 governors in January 2019. This is different from RUGA; the plan was to finalize on design and procurement process, before engagement with States and Local Governments for identification and provision of sites while the Ministry of Interior would be engaged to finalize the logistics and modalities of mobilizing the Agro- Rangers for the provision of security.
• While RUGA focuses only on livestock, NLTP caters to the concerns of both pastoralists and crop farmers for a mutual coexistence.
• RUGA will provide amenities such as basic water, shelter, health and security infrastructure as well as feed sources and pasture, while the NLTP addresses the concerns of livestock modernization through the following six pillars: Conflict Resolution, Justice and Peace, Humanitarian Relief and Early Recovery, Human Capital Development; Crosscutting Issues of (Research, Youth and Gender) and Economic Investment (cattle production along the value chains).

4. What is the fate of RUGA?
• RUGA has been suspended indefinitely by President Muhammadu Buhari

5. Who owns the land?
• The State governments own the lands. Federal Government will never impose themselves on State Government’s land.

6. Is this a land grab?
• No, it not.

7. Would there be any displacement of people who already occupy grazing reserve areas?
• People who already occupy the lands will not be displaced, rather there will be an agreement between them and the State Government on portions of land that can be used for ranching and crop farming. The ultimate goal is peaceful co-existence for all stakeholders.

8. Role of Federal Government?
• The co-ordination of the NLTP will be carried out at the Federal level by the NEC NLTP Steering Committee through the Project for Agriculture Coordination & Execution (PACE) Secretariat to be domiciled in the Office of the Vice President. In phase one, the PACE Secretariat will initially support the development of pilot ranches in each of the 7 pilot states (Adamawa, Benue, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba and Zamfara). States can also opt-in with private land provisions to help shape the success of the pilot phase.

9. What is the role of Governors/States?
• Each State Governor is responsible to put in place a suitable delivery mechanism for the NLTP. Project for Agriculture Coordination & Execution (PACE) office domiciled in the Office of the Vice President, will support them. Governors would have the State Steering Committees (state livestock office) sitting in their offices and approve and manage the budgets for the state livestock project management teams (SLPMO)

10. How is this plan being implemented?
• Over 95 pilot ranches are to be built in partnership with the State Governments, private investors and development partners within gazeted grazing reserves only. 6 state governors have identified 28 gazetted grazing reserves for the project.

11. Why is Federal Government concerned about herders/livestock farmers?
• Because of the need to sustainably resolve the farmer-herder conflicts through an integrated approach that addresses the concerns of pastoralists and crop farmers.
• The need to urgently address the negative impacts of climate change on the limited resources of land, water and pasture within the grazing reserves via landscape approach that integrates crop-livestock-forestry production system.
• The urgent need to address the security, human and economic crises created by these conflicts as well as develop the human capital necessary for driving modern crop and livestock agriculture.

12. Who are the stakeholders working on NLTP?
• Federal Government, State Government, Private Investors, Pastoralists, Crops Farmers, Traditional Rulers.

13. Is NLTP for Fulanis?
• The plan does not speak of Fulani settlements, but rather how to provide focused integrated support to pastoralists and crop farmers to modernize their farming activities in an atmosphere of peace and mutual coexistence.

I wonder how Osinbajo would be responsible for his travial, The man doesn't have that time to start witch hurting anyone. The most important thing for him now is governance to make Nigeria better.

Someone should tell Adoke to go face his problems and leave the VP our of it.
Osinbajo is not responsible for his self impose exalt.

STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE

In the wake of the xenophobic attacks by South Africans against other Africans including Nigerians, President Muhammadu Buhari sent Amb. Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, Director-General, National Intelligence Agency (DGNIA) as his Special Envoy to South Africa, to convey a Special Message to his counterpart, President Cyril Ramaphosa. The Special Envoy, who was in Pretoria from Thursday, 5th to Saturday, 7th September 2019 conveyed:

· The deep concern of President Buhari and Nigerians about intermittent violence against Nigerians and their property/business interests in South Africa.



· President Buhari stressed the need for South African Government to take visible measures to stop violence against citizens of brotherly African nations.



· President Buhari is worried that the recurring issue of xenophobia could negatively affect the image and standing of South Africa as one of the leading countries on the continent, if nothing is done to stop it.



· The Special Envoy conveyed the assurance of President Buhari that the Nigerian Government is ready and willing to collaborate with the South African Government to find a lasting solution to the involvement of few Nigerians in criminal activities, and to protect the lives and property of the larger groups of other law abiding Nigerians and indeed Africans in general, against all forms of attacks including xenophobia.



· President Buhari further assured that the Nigerian Government will guarantee the safety of lives, property and business interests of South Africans in Nigeria.



· On his part, President Ramaphosa agreed that the violence was most disconcerting and embarrassing, adding that his government completely rejects such acts, which undermine not only the country’s image but also its relations with brotherly African countries.



· President Ramaphosa reaffirmed his stand against criminality and committed to do everything possible to protect the rights of every Nigerian and other foreign nationals in the country.



· The Special Envoy also interfaced with his South African counterpart, where they reviewed the situation of foreign emigrants in general and Nigerians in particular. They agreed to work together to find a permanent solution to the root causes of the recurring attacks on Nigerians and their property.



· President Buhari has taken note of the report and instructed the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs to continue to engage with appropriate Authorities on the concrete measure the South African Government is expected to take.



· President Buhari has also given instruction for the immediate voluntary evacuation of all Nigerians who are willing to return home.





Femi Adesina

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

September 9, 2019

Atiku Abubakar's confirmation that 50 Million Naira was given to the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library on his behalf has raised more questions regarding the motive of such a huge donation, especially on the eve of an election.
According to the Buhari Media Organisation (BMO), the secret donation came to light during a €150 million money-laundering probe by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

In a statement signed by its Chairman Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke, BMO said Nigerians deserve an explanation as to why Atiku, former Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last election, made such a huge offering to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

It also noted that the timing of such a donation, on the eve of national elections, was suspect.

“Many questions have arisen from this gift that looks more like a bribe. One of the pertinent questions is: Could the sudden change in stance by Obasanjo towards Atiku in the lead up to the election, despite earlier branding same Atiku as corrupt, and vowing not to ever forgive or support him, be a fruit of this ill-timed gift?”

“This is what Obasanjo said about Atiku then: ‘If I support Atiku for anything, God will not forgive me. If I do not know, yes. But once I know, Atiku can never enjoy my support. I do not have personal grudges with anyone. If you do not do well for Nigeria, you do not do well for all of us.’

“Obasanjo's subsequent declaration of fondness and forgiveness for Atiku, which coincided with the donation period, raises a lot of questions.


“It also confirms Obasanjo's hypocrisy, that he could turn around after he had publicly called Atiku all manner of names, and describing him as corrupt and lacking in all forms of morality."


BMO stated that it was not surprising that Atiku would seek to use money to change Obasanjo’s attitude towards him as even the same Obasanjo had in his book, My Watch, stated that Atiku Abubakar trusted in money to buy his way out on all issues.

“But Obasanjo's change of heart should not surprise any Nigerian. The former President is not one who can readily boast to truly have Nigeria’s interest at heart. Evidence abounds that show he has always put money first and Nigeria last.

“His inability to explain how $16 Billion was spent on power under him, the unprecedented corruption that signposted his tenure, and the alleged vote-and-conscience-for-sale strategy he used to buy legislators with Ghana-Must-Go bags of money to push his selfish agenda, are a few examples.

“Atiku must tell Nigerians the truth, even if he would do this for once, why he gave 50 Million Naira as a donation to Obasanjo’s library, just before the election and before Obasanjo endorsed him for President. For once, Atiku should honour Nigerians with the truth.”

*How they were disappointed by verification 


As the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal kicked off few months ago, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) sent a team of lawyers and other party agents to the University of Cambridge to confirm the authenticity of the West African School Certificate (WASC) of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The opposition party did not only send a delegation but also made a request seeking potential evidence, citing doubts about the authenticity of the President's WASC results.

A source close to the PDP disclosed that the Party representatives were stunned when their frantic efforts within and outside Nigeria led only to a finding that the President did indeed write the WASC Cambridge examination, passed and passed with six (6) credits.

The source said apart from the PDP and its associates, some media houses also requested Cambridge to provide them with a confirmation of the President's certificate. 

“Cambridge Assessment International Education issued the Certifying Statement that indeed President Buhari sat for his examinations in 1961 when it received a request from the President to do so."

This revelation is coming amid the circulation on Friday of a pre-2015 election video, slanted to give the impression that the President's certificate is still a contentious issue.

In a press statement on Friday by Oladele Peter, the Secretary of Initiative to Save Democracy (ISD), the group said it is sub judice for the opposition party to continue this futile attempts at preempting the judgment of the Presidential Election Tribunal.

“The desperation of the PDP is frightening, very frightening to say the least. They will stop at nothing and I expect Nigerians to be aware of their antics by now. They have peddled all kind of falsehood against the President especially the claim that he does not have a certificate but have always failed."

He noted that the first attempt to ridicule the President was in 2014 before the 2015 elections, stressing that, if they have any evidence contrary to what has been presented in court and what they themselves discovered during their surreptitious investigations and the evidence sourced from reputable Cambridge University and tendered in open court, they should present it.

“The PDP is free to present its counter-evidence if there is any but they know that there is no such evidence. They are only playing on the emotions of Nigerians by peddling fake news; a 2015 video deliberately slanted. It is  time Nigerians become more aware of this,” he said.

Mr Peter said it is another signal of desperation that the opposition party has even gone to the extent of populating an old video in which the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed was deliberately taken out of context.

“This is a very old video, for those of us who watch Channels TV we were stunned to see the video making the rounds, it is old and ridiculous. If you watch the video, you will find that Mr. Mohammed never said they should pardon the President, instead he said if someone does not find his or her certificate after 53 years they could be pardoned.

According to him, "it is unbelievable how the opposition party and its backers continue to push a media campaign hoping to confuse everybody, yet in the court of law, their case was clearly shown to be hopeless and baseless."

Besides the Cambridge University credentials, the President's lawyer, Wole Olanipekun also presented in court a class photograph of the President and his classmates including the former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Umaru Abdullahi and Late Shehu Musa 'YarAdua.
The Cambridge University Certifying Statement was obtained personally by the President’s Chief of Staff, Mallam Abba Kyari.

While Malam Suleman Mai Adua, Buhari’s classmate in Katsina Provincial Secondary School presented to the court the group photograph of the school’s 1961 set.

*How they were disappointed by verification 


As the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal kicked off few months ago, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) sent a team of lawyers and other party agents to the University of Cambridge to confirm the authenticity of the West African School Certificate (WASC) of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The opposition party did not only send a delegation but also made a request seeking potential evidence, citing doubts about the authenticity of the President's WASC results.

A source close to the PDP disclosed that the Party representatives were stunned when their frantic efforts within and outside Nigeria led only to a finding that the President did indeed write the WASC Cambridge examination, passed and passed with six (6) credits.

The source said apart from the PDP and its associates, some media houses also requested Cambridge to provide them with a confirmation of the President's certificate. 

“Cambridge Assessment International Education issued the Certifying Statement that indeed President Buhari sat for his examinations in 1961 when it received a request from the President to do so."

This revelation is coming amid the circulation on Friday of a pre-2015 election video, slanted to give the impression that the President's certificate is still a contentious issue.

In a press statement on Friday by Oladele Peter, the Secretary of Initiative to Save Democracy (ISD), the group said it is sub judice for the opposition party to continue this futile attempts at preempting the judgment of the Presidential Election Tribunal.

“The desperation of the PDP is frightening, very frightening to say the least. They will stop at nothing and I expect Nigerians to be aware of their antics by now. They have peddled all kind of falsehood against the President especially the claim that he does not have a certificate but have always failed."

He noted that the first attempt to ridicule the President was in 2014 before the 2015 elections, stressing that, if they have any evidence contrary to what has been presented in court and what they themselves discovered during their surreptitious investigations and the evidence sourced from reputable Cambridge University and tendered in open court, they should present it.

“The PDP is free to present its counter-evidence if there is any but they know that there is no such evidence. They are only playing on the emotions of Nigerians by peddling fake news; a 2015 video deliberately slanted. It is  time Nigerians become more aware of this,” he said.

Mr Peter said it is another signal of desperation that the opposition party has even gone to the extent of populating an old video in which the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed was deliberately taken out of context.

“This is a very old video, for those of us who watch Channels TV we were stunned to see the video making the rounds, it is old and ridiculous. If you watch the video, you will find that Mr. Mohammed never said they should pardon the President, instead he said if someone does not find his or her certificate after 53 years they could be pardoned.

According to him, "it is unbelievable how the opposition party and its backers continue to push a media campaign hoping to confuse everybody, yet in the court of law, their case was clearly shown to be hopeless and baseless."

Besides the Cambridge University credentials, the President's lawyer, Wole Olanipekun also presented in court a class photograph of the President and his classmates including the former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Umaru Abdullahi and Late Shehu Musa 'YarAdua.
The Cambridge University Certifying Statement was obtained personally by the President’s Chief of Staff, Mallam Abba Kyari.

While Malam Suleman Mai Adua, Buhari’s classmate in Katsina Provincial Secondary School presented to the court the group photograph of the school’s 1961 set.

*How they were disappointed by verification 



As the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal kicked off few months ago, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) sent a team of lawyers and other party agents to the University of Cambridge to confirm the authenticity of the West African School Certificate (WASC) of President Muhammadu Buhari.

A Cambridge source said that the opposition party did not only send a delegation but also made a request seeking potential evidence, citing doubts about the authenticity of the President's WASC results.

The source said that the PDP representatives who visited Cambridge were stunned to discover that the President did write the examination, passed and were even dumbfounded when they cited the well kept records of the Cambridge University.

The source said even the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and associates requested Cambridge provide them with a confirmation of his certificate. 

“Cambridge Assessment International Education had to issue a certifying statement that indeed President Buhari sat for his examinations in 1961. It was because the institution was inundated with requests for the verification of his result.”

The source said the institution is surprised that the opposition party still claims that the President does not have a certificate even after it had demanded for it and was handed evidence.

This revelation from Cambridge is coming amid the circulation on Friday of a pre-2015 election video, slanted to give the impression that the President's certificate is still a contentious issue.

In a press statement on Friday by Oladele Peter, the Secretary of Initiative to Save Democracy (ISD) said it is sub judice for the opposition party to continue to make attempts at preempting the judgment of the Presidential Election Tribunal.

“The desperation of the PDP is frightening, very frightening to say the least. They will stop at nothing and I expect Nigerians to be aware of their antics by now. They have peddled all kind of falsehood against the President especially the claim that he does not have a certificate but have always failed."

He noted that the first attempt to ridicule the President was in 2014 before the 2015 elections, stressing that, if they have any evidence contrary to what has been presented in court and what they themselves discovered at Cambridge and which was tendered in the open court, they should present it.

“The PDP is free to present its counter-evidence if there is any but they know that there is no such document or evidence. They are only playing on the emotions of Nigerians by peddling fake news; a 2015 video deliberately slanted. It is  time Nigerians become more aware of this,” he said.

Mr Peter said it is another signal of desperation that the opposition party has even gone to the extent of populating an old video in which the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed was deliberately taken out of context.

“This is a very old video, for those of us who watch Channels TV we were stunned to see the video making the rounds, it’s old and ridiculous. If you watch the video, you will find that Mr. Mohammed never said they should pardon the President, instead he said if someone does not find his or her certificate after 53 years they could be pardoned.

According to him, "it is unbelievable how the opposition party and its backers continue to push a media campaign hoping to confuse everybody, yet in the court of law, their case was clearly shown to be hopeless and baseless."

Besides the Cambridge University Certificate the President's lawyer, Wole Olanipekun also presented in court class photos of the President and his classmates. The Cambridge University Certificate was obtained personally by the President’s Chief of Staff, Mallam Abba Kyari who travelled to the UK to secure it in mid-July.

While Malam Suleman Mai-adua, Buhari’s classmate in Katsina Provincial Secondary School presented to the court the group photograph of the school’s class six of 1961 set.

The same country you leave and curse today will come to your aid tomorrow. No nation is 100% employed or perfect, just like humans, every country is thriving to be the best. Statistics has it that Nigeria has the highest number of employed people in Africa. It is also fact that Nigeria has the most successful people in Africa. This same Nigeria is the number one best economy in Africa. And the fact is, Nigerians at home are more successful than Nigerians abroad.

Don't leave yours to go make others better because you watch too much foreign movies that portrays them better. Mind you, the world is full of competition today, if you don't value your greatness, no one will because no nation wants another to be greater than them.

You will meet your home the way you leave it. No greener pasture anywhere but too much opportunities everywhere depending on how you can identify and make good use of the one at your disposal. I am not against exploration for the world is now a global village but wherever you go always think of your country first because that will be your badge wherever you go and your last resort whenever anything happens.

#SayNoToXenophobia
#BelieveInNigeria
#LetsJoinHandTogether
#LetsMakeNigeriaBetter
#GodBlessNigeria

Liberty Badmus

The last few days have been painful for Nigerians and other foreign nationals living in South Africa. Two people have been confirmed dead, businesses have been destroyed, properties burned down and security officials say they are finding it hard to calm the violence. The reason for the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians is largely due to poverty, growing inequality, high level of unemployment and lack of opportunities; the South African denizens who are victims of these believe immigrants, especially Nigerians, are taking up their opportunities and have resorted to violence.



President Buhari in a strongly worded statement expressed his displeasure over the treatment of Nigerian citizens, condemning possible negligence on the part of law enforcement agents in South Africa and their failure to protect the lives and property of Nigerians. He also instructed his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, to summon the South African High Commissioner to Nigeria for discourse on how to ensure safety of lives and property.



The Minister had the previous day taken to Twitter on the issue. He wrote: ”Received sickening and depressing news of continued burning and looting of Nigerian shops and premises in #SouthAfrica by mindless criminals with ineffective police protection. Enough is enough. We will take definitive measures. @NigeriaGov @DigiCommsNG @GovernmentZA @DIRCO_ZA”. He later shared photos of his joint press conference with the High Commissioner of South Africa to Nigeria, Bobby Moroe, where he demanded compensation for affected victims and family members, as well as justice by prosecuting those involved in perpetrating these attacks.



The Nigerian Government via its Twitter handle did not spare words too, a tweet from the official handle with the phrase “Enough is Enough” attracted thousands of retweets and engagements.



The Federal Government has already despatched a Special Envoy to convey to President Cyril Ramaphosa the countries displeasure of the killings of Nigerians, and to register that they have to pay for the losses of lives and properties. One of the highest forms of registering displeasure in a diplomatic setting. They are expected to arrive Pretoria latest Thursday, September 5, 2019.



The dispatch of a special envoy is akin to sending the highest rank of diplomatic representation to another country.



Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, at the end of an event he attended in Kano addressed the press with a stern face condemning the xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in South Africa, deeming it as unfortunate considering the role Nigeria and Nigerians played in pulling down apartheid. He also cited the fierce attacks as completely contrary to the ideals of all great South African leaders, many who gave up their lives for the country’s emancipation. Professor Osinbajo added that ‘Besides, these acts of bigotry are entirely contrary to the very ideals that all the great South African leaders, including the present President fought for, and for which many gave their lives.’ He further expressed his worries and the government’s plans to take this up with the right authorities in SA in order to ensure we bring an end to these attacks, one he calls ‘absolutely unacceptable and unconscionable."



The Federal Government through the Minister of Information has drawn the line reiterating that it will no longer condone the mistreatment of Nigerian citizens in South Africa. However, the Federal Government has appealed to Nigerians not to attack South African companies operating in Nigeria in retaliation for the ongoing xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in South Africa.



Several Nigerians and groups have called on other citizens to boycott South African products and companies, including DSTV, Shoprite and MTN. They are also demanding that the Vice President withdraw from the World Economic Forum event in Cape Town coming up later this week. This request drives many pertinent questions, one of which is: In a world where diplomacy is urgently required, more than ever, should the Vice President boycott like other African leaders have announced to do, or rather should he attend and make the anger of Nigerians known in person, on South African soil?



Nathanniel Adoji is a journalist and public affairs commentator.

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT

*VP says it shows progress under Buhari administration’s Next Level road map

Solar power projects being commissioned under the Energizing Education Programme of the Buhari administration is a testament to the fulfilment of its Next Level agenda, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

Prof. Osinbajo stated this on Tuesday in Kano State, where he commissioned the 7.1MW solar hybrid power plant in Bayero University Kano, which is the largest off grid solar hybrid power plant in Africa.

The Vice President further said the solar hybrid power plant was ‘just one touch point of progress and impact within this Administration’s Next Level agenda. The Federal Government is committed to powering Nigeria; one university, one market, one community at a time.”

This is the second solar plant to be commissioned by the Vice President within a period of about one month, following the first one in August - a 2.8 MW decentralized solar hybrid power plant at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu Alike Ikwo (FUNAI).

BUK is the second of the 37 federal universities and 7 teaching hospitals under the Federal Government’s Energizing Education Programme designed to provide sustainable and clean power supply around the country. It includes a solar hybrid power plant, renewable energy workshop and training centre and a solar powered street-lighting project.

“Notably today, we are also commissioning the largest off-grid solar hybrid power plant in Africa. This is something we, as Nigerians, should all be proud of. This was only possible because various levels of government worked in tandem with the growing renewable energy private sector.”

“The installed 7.1MW decentralized solar hybrid power plant funded by the FGN green bond will supply over 58,000 students and staff with clean, safe and reliable electricity. I am sure that the entire student body, management and staff of Bayero University are proud to be beneficiaries of this, most especially as the only Federal University in Kano State and one of the longest standing ones. As a result, students can now focus on their academics and vocational training in a safer and illuminated environment,” Prof. Osinbajo said.

The Vice President emphasized that the ultimate goal of the Buhari administration’s Next level roadmap policies and objectives under the Energizing Education Programme is “to increase access to modern technical education in safe and illuminated learning environments, empower the girl child, create jobs in the power sector value chain, amongst others.”

He added, “Thus far, this project created 182 energy related jobs from power system engineers to electricians as well as trained 20 young female STEM students with the skills to contribute to strengthening our energy sector. It is initiatives like this that create the impact for Nigeria’s socio-economic growth.

“This significant initiative upholds the Federal Government’s adherence to global best practice, as we transition to cleaner sources of energy in line with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. These projects being implemented by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) are strategic to fulfilling our commitments to the Agreement as they strive to reduce Nigeria’s carbon footprint.

“The leveraging of renewable energy technologies is in line with the Federal Government mandate and related activities. Nigeria’s plans to reduce carbon emissions by 20% unconditionally and 45% with international support by 2030 aims to limit the damaging effects of climate change.

“This remarkable off grid solar hybrid power plant being commissioned today, is already on its way to bringing these goals and objectives to fruition.”


Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity
Office of the Vice President
4th September, 2019