₦airaland Forum

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT

PRESS RELEASE



*FG gives immediate employment to NYSC honorees

*Awardees to also get automatic scholarships up to Doctorate level

*VP commends youth scheme for promoting national integration and cohesion

“The NYSC is an indisputable national heritage, established in 1973 by His Excellency and elder statesman, General Yakubu Gowon, who was just 39 years old at the time, to promote national integration and cohesion. Beyond this, the programme has become an important complement to national development, by making available manpower to meet Nigeria's requirements in education, health, infrastructure development and many other areas.

“To all of today's honourees, let me make it clear that you are not just the future of this country, but also its present. You must all see yourselves as the leaders that you are. But leadership comes with responsibility and continuous sacrifice. The successes you have achieved and are being rewarded for today should inspire you to even greater feats in your various spheres of influence.” – Vice President Osinbajo



ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, VICE PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, AT THE (COMBINED 2015, 2016 AND 2017) PRESIDENT’S NATIONAL YOUTH SERVICE CORPS (NYSC) HONOURS AWARDS CEREMONY, AT THE BANQUET HALL, STATE HOUSE, ABUJA ON FRIDAY, 26TH APRIL, 2019

PROTOCOLS

I am delighted to be here to address you on this special occasion of the conferment of the President's NYSC Honours Awards on these worthy young men and women who have diligently served the nation through the National Youth Service Corps.

I am especially pleased by the fact that we are gathered here to honour a time-tested tradition; the recognition and celebration of young Nigerians, who by hard work, innovation, sacrifice and selfless service, have distinguished themselves as NYSC members in various States. I commend both the Management and Staff of the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the NYSC, for reviving this noble ideal of recognising and rewarding excellence and service of Corps members.

The NYSC is an indisputable national heritage, established in 1973 by His Excellency and elder statesman, General Yakubu Gowon (retd.), who was just 39 years old at the time, to promote national integration and cohesion. Beyond this, the programme has become an important complement to national development, by making available manpower to meet Nigeria's requirements in education, health, infrastructure development and many other areas.

The NYSC has from the beginning been about opportunities; opportunities for young Nigerians to serve, to earn a living, to travel, to see and learn about Nigeria and go beyond their comfort zones and to build lifelong friendships.

The important roles that young people, especially members of the NYSC played in ensuring the peaceful conduct of the 2015, 2019 general elections, and several other elections, offer clear evidence that when positively engaged in nation-building and national activities, our country stands to gain tremendously from its brilliant sets of young people.

At this point, I invite us all to rise and observe a minute of silence in honour of Corps members whom, in their service to this Nation, lost their lives.

Please permit me to speak briefly on 3 core ideas that may be useful to remember here, especially as this is a gathering of Nigeria's present and its future, especially you, the brightest and best being celebrated today.

One, it is the exceptional individuals in society who are the true builders of institutions and nations. These exceptional individuals like you, are not necessarily those from the wealthiest homes or most fortunate circumstances. Indeed, they may be from the most humble circumstances and they may not even be the most academically successful of their peers. But they are the young men and women who somehow, know that true greatness comes from serving others and one’s community.

Second, it is the vision, innovation and handwork of one person that would make the difference in the life of a community or a nation. We have seen this in the outstanding work of many of you here today that indeed, with your own innovation, vision and contribution, you profoundly impacted the communities you served. Just one person can make a substantial difference in the life of a community.

The third is that enduring individual success is a function of the courage and resilience we bring to our lives. I was challenged here by the remarkable courage of those Corp members who suffered various accidents while in service. They belong to the group that has been described as the ‘Hope Alive’ group.

The fact that these young men and women have gone through these harrowing personal injuries, but are still determined to engage the future with hope and confidence, is proof that they will still experience the joys of great success and fulfilment in their lives and their future is bright.

But it is a great lesson to all of us that whatever setbacks we experience in life, should be used as a stepping-stone and should not be seen as the end of our lives. Indeed, it may even be the beginning of a greater future.

To all of today's honourees, let me make it clear that you are not just the future of this country, but also its present. You must all see yourselves as the leaders that you are. But leadership comes with responsibility and continuous sacrifice.

The successes you have achieved and are being rewarded for today should inspire you to even greater feats in your various spheres of influence.

I, therefore, charge you all to continue to be the light for others to follow, whilst also seeing yourselves as lifelong ambassadors of the NYSC.

In line with our policy of encouraging and rewarding excellence among our youths, I hereby announce immediate employment into the Federal Civil Service for all the Award winners today.

In addition, the Federal Government offers each one of you automatic scholarships up to Doctorate level in any Nigerian University of your choice.

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I commend the National Selection Committee for the painstaking and rigorous process that brought these young men and women to national limelight.

The entire nation owes a huge debt of gratitude to the managers of the NYSC, and successive batches of Corps members, for the patriotic zeal with which you have collectively implemented the cardinal programmes of the scheme over the past four and a half decades.

May I also pay tribute to the founding father of the NYSC and all those who worked with him. It is those ideals that you knew would serve the youth of our country so well and we see this today, many years after you founded this great scheme, being demonstrated by these young men and women who were not even born at the time when this was launched.

I thank you very much and also congratulate you.

I also commend the efforts of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development and the NYSC to create jobs through skills acquisition and other youth entrepreneurship development initiatives. The Federal Executive Council has recently approved the 2019-2023 National Youth Policy presented by the Ministry of Youths and Sports Development for implementation by the Ministry and all stakeholders.

This is to enable the NYSC build on its achievements; and all stakeholders must discharge their statutory obligations as spelt out in the enabling Act. I urge all States and Local Governments to give greater support to the scheme, especially through the provision and upgrade of Permanent Orientation Camps, Lodges for Corps Members, and other welfare facilities.

Once again, may I congratulate all the honorees on this well-deserved recognition and honour. The entire nation salutes your determination, courage, selfless service, discipline, and hard work which you all exhibited during your service year.

God bless you all, God bless Nigeria.

I thank you.

Released by:

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity
Office of the Vice President
28th April, 2019
Copyright © 2019, Office of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, All rights reserved.

Official statement and rejoinder to Sahara Reporters' false allegations leveled against the DG, NISER

It has come to the attention of the National Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER) the report by Sahara Reporters, an Online Tabloid, published on the 23rd of April 2018, with spurious allegations leveled against the institute and the Director General by unknown persons.

It is pertinent to state that all of the allegations in the Sahara Reporters' publication are false and baseless, and should be disregarded by the public.

One wonders why Sahara Reporters would allow its medium to be used for such irresponsible journalism. Their reporter did not make a serious attempt at "hearing the other side" or investigating the real facts of the case before publishing unfounded allegations.

More surprising is that Sahara Reporters chose to drag the good name of Nigeria’s Vice President into this false narrative and biased reportage, simply as clickbait, and in bad taste.

In my position as Director General of the Nigerian Institute for Social and Economic Research (NISER), I am constrained to respond to these baseless charges.

As to the false allegations, these are the facts:

Unlike the baseless claims in the report, that the DG sold three 500KV electricity generators each valued at 30 million Naira for the sum of N700,000; as of today, the two working 500KV generators have not been sold and remain on the NISER premises.

In addition, the 500KV generator which was sold was purchased in 1987 (30 years old) and have not worked since 2011. The pre-auction valuation of all generators was done according to Federal Government guidelines by the Federal Ministry of Works. However, the auction price was N1.7 million not N700,000 as claimed by Sahara Reporters.

Other generators sold in the past year were sold as scrap. Three of which were purchased in 1993. One of these generators, which was donated as project equipment, was so old that no record of their dates of purchase existed. Total revenue realized from the 2018 auction of unserviceable equipment was N4.7 million and proceeds of the sale domiciled with the Federal Government.

The process of sale of these generators followed government procurement guidelines to the letter and at no time was the DG part of the procurement process. (I have deliberately recused myself from any procurement process within the institute to avoid any slight hint of favoritism or bias).

The Vice President did not and has never defended me in any case of corruption. The case in question was defended by Kola Awodein and co. Incidentally I was found innocent on all charges and discharged and acquitted by a tribunal of three serving judges. All allegations were found to have been fabricated by political opponents.

The N500,000 research fieldwork grant was not reduced to N50,000. This claim is false. After discovering incidences of abuse and data forgery, management put in place an arrangement where researchers now receive their grants in tranches. AT each point, the researcher must prove that he/she actually went out into the field to collect the data before receiving the next installment.

Researchers have not gone on international conferences only because of budgetary constraints. However, in 2018 researchers attended conferences in South Africa, Cote d’ivoire and Kenya all sponsored by the conference organizers. Furthermore, NISER has invested heavily in the retraining of research staff within NISER some of whom went on to support the Minimum wage macroeconomic modelling exercise.

No research professor has resigned his appointment in NISER (The claim in the report is a complete fabrication).

I did not refuse Sahara Reporter’s request for a discussion. I asked that the request be put in writing for record purposes and that my accusers be identified. Surprisingly, one hour 30 minutes after the reporter's discussion with my secretary (I never did speak to them), their article was published.


Background and context

For the records, NISER was established in 1950 (not 1906) as WISER (West African Institute of Social and Economic Development). At independence in 1960, WISER became NISER relocating to the university of Ibadan and later moved to its own premises in the early seventies. Government, recognizing the critical role that NISER was mandated to play in economic development, that the institution was in a state of disrepair and for some time had suffered neglect and underinvestment, determined to reposition the agency for the benefit of the country.

In July 2017, when I assumed office, NISER an institution set on a small campus akin to a university, lacked running water, had no internet services and was receiving 4 hours of power a day from the public grid. The institution had lost its position on the global Think Tank rankings. At a point in its history, NISER ranked in the top one hundred Think tanks in the world. Presently, it is not ranked in the top 100 research institutes in Africa and is not certainly recognized in the world.
Research standards had declined and output was so low that there were only 8 publications on the website in 5 years. My mandate was to reposition the institute, restore the standards of scholarship and reestablish its lost glory.

Our story of positive change and development:
Since I assumed office as DG we have, in spite of federal government budgetary and funding constraints, put in place running water, instituted High speed broadband internet services campus wide and put a generator in the central building where the accounts, administration director of research and the DG’s offices are housed. The proposed sale of the giant generators was part of an optimization program, meant to provide funds to power the research buildings in a sustainable manner since the institute could not afford to fuel such huge generators.

Research standards have been strengthened and are now being rigorously enforced, and strict criteria for promotion reestablished. Government has provided initial funding for the physical renovation of the campus to begin. This process is being conducted is strict adherence to federal government procurement guidelines.

It is clear that any process of change this ambitious is bound to have detractors. Those members of staff of the institute who were invested in the status quo will be aggrieved by the disruptions and will fight back.

The label that I am “Osinbajo’s man”, meant to disparage me, is one that I wear with great pride. It is a privilege and indeed an honour to serve under an administration that is led by a President and Vice President who stand for rectitude, integrity and vision and remain committed to making Nigeria better.




Dr. Folarin Gbadebo-Smith
Director General
Nigerian Institute for Social and Economic Research
April 25th, 2019

President Muhammadu Buhari has commissioned a state-of-the-art primary school that was named after Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in Maiduguri, Borno state on Thursday.

The Yemi Osinbajo Primary School is one the completed projects by outgoing Borno governor, Kashim Shettima who has served two terms.

The President also commissioned a huge boarding primary school for children orphaned by Boko Haram. The school which is named after him is located at the Baga road by-pass in Maiduguri.

He also named projects after former Borno governors, Ali Modu Sheriff and Mala Kachallah.

Other projects commissioned by the President on his one-day visit include Industrial layout located in Njimtilo, Borno State University also located at Njimtilo and the Legacy Gardens Housing Estate named after Zanna Mustapha, a former late deputy governor of the state.

Others include ten Kilometres road In Pompamari, Aliko Dangote Mega Primary School and a General Hospital project.

After the commissioning, President Buhari commended Governor Shettima for the Mega Primary schools constructed for children orphaned by Boko Haram in the state and expressed hope that the orphaned children will surely get quality education and brighter future with the educational facilities.

“I am pleased to be in Borno state on a state visit. I sincerely appreciate the good people of Borno state and as well commend your loyalty and support at all times.

“Since my arrival in Borno state, I have commissioned different projects. I am highly impressed by Governor Shettima’s unique approach towards establishment of educational centers particularly at the primary level.

“As demonstrated by Governor Shettima, it is essential to give priority attention to primary school education in order to ensure formidable education at the tertiary level in line with international best practices.

“Borno state focusing on education is very imperative due to the peculiar security challenges posed by Boko Haram terrorists whose ideology is against girl child education.

“The terrorists in their crusades of malice against girl child education abducted Chibok Schoolgirls in Borno and Dapchi Schoolgirls in Yobe state and unfortunately, some of the girls are still in captivity but we won’t give up on them. As I have always said, as a Nigerian and as president, I assure all that we will do the needful to ensure that all Nigerians whose loved ones are in the hands of the Boko Haram terrorists regain their freedom”.

No amount of political brinksmanship by Senate President Bukola Saraki can water down the damning verdict delivered by the people of Kwara State on his four-year stint as head of the legislative arm of government.
According to the Buhari Media Organisation (BMO), this is clearer than any skewed self-appraisal Saraki may want to do to present himsel as "one of the best Senate Presidents in the nation’s political history" and, in the process, paint the Executive in bad light.
BMO said in a statement signed by its Chairman Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke, that what Saraki got at the polls was instant judgement for his treachery to the All Progressives Congress (APC) throughout his tenure as Chairman of the National Assembly.
“We agree with the APC’s National Leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu that the outgoing National Assembly leadership was antagonistic to President Muhammadu Buhari for the better part of its tenure.
“His predecessor David Mark was in that office for eight years and hardly was there a time he was openly confrontational against the late President Umaru YarAdua or former President Goodluck Jonathan of the same political party, except when he accused the Jonathan administration of shielding the former Pension Reform Task Team leader Abdulrasheed Maina from prosecution and issued an ultimatum to the then President to break all links with the controversial civil servant.
“Not surprising, Benue State people rewarded Mark with what looked like an indefinite Senate tenure in recognition of his contribution to an excellent Executive-Legislature relations, until he opted against a return to the upper chamber.
“This cannot be compared to the blatant rejection of Saraki and every single one of his minions who stood for different elective positions only a few weeks ago in a state that he had an almost total control of for about 16 years.
“If this is not a just reward delivered by his immediate constituents for his antagonistic and self-centred leadership of the Senate, we don’t know what it is, especially as even a neophyte knows that all politics is local,” it said.
The group noted that Saraki’s response to Tinubu’s position showed that indeed the Senate under him was bent on imposing a ‘noxious, reactionary and self-interested legislation on the nation.’
BMO said: “In an apparent bid to paint the Executive bad, Saraki, through his media aide, had argued that President Buhari sent only 11 bills to the National Assembly in four years.
“But he also shot himself in the foot, nay,7 feet, by admitting that only two of the bills had been passed as at April 22! Two Executive bills passed in almost 4 years while more than 200 private members bills were passed within the same period!
“At least 26 bills passed by the Senate were of course rejected by the President for several reasons. These include the Peace Corps Bill which several senators including the leadership were believed to have backed for selfish reasons.
“We also know that the President initially rejected the Electoral Act (amendment bill) because the lawmakers left out the Smart Card Reader, aside from the very many errors and the ‘landmines’, including electronic transmission of results so close to election date”.
BMO added that all these happened because the National Assembly in general and the Senate in particular did not have the benefit of a self-less leadership.
"Aside from indulging in subterfuge, the Senate had the misfortune of having a President who would readily abandon his duty post or shut down the upper chamber at his whims and caprices.
“At other times, he would prefer to play the role of a bagman to a failed Presidential candidate as they gallivant around the world cooking up what is now famously known as the Dubai strategy which ultimately collapsed and cost him his only claim to fame.
“So there was really no time for the Senate President to concentrate on the job, to the extent that under his watch, National Assembly staff shut down the Legislative complex on more than one occasion, and also threatened to prevent the presentation of the 2019 budget in December last year if their demands were not met.
“And when it was time for what turned out to be a referendum on the tenure of Saraki and his co-travellers in the Senate, the ever-discerning Nigerian voting public ensured that only one out of the multitude of senators who joined him to move to the PDP was re-elected".

The Initiative to Save Democracy has asked the Labour Party, Ogun State Branch to leave the Vice President out of its loss and focus on more concrete issues as it presents it case to the State Election Tribunal.

Mr James Akinloye, the President of the Group in a statement shared to journalists condemned what he called “petty and unscrupulous comments” by the Chairman of the Labour Party where he claimed that the Vice President had a hand in the disbandment of the Justice Chinwe Onyeabo led Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in the State.

“I was dumbfounded to see such a statement credited to the Chairman of a party. It did not come from some local political tout who had remixed some beer parlour gist, but it came from a Party Chairman. That was low, petty and not the kind of discuss we expect in our political space.” Mr Akinloye noted.

“Such behaviour from a political party is simply irresponsible. It smacks of indecent communication and a lack of understanding of governance and politics.”

“The Initiative to Save Democracy notes that asides the fact that such is untrue, it smacks of ignorance of procedure. One which a Party Chairman should be well grounded on. It is imperative that our political party leaders are well grounded on the system, else how can they change it or improve on it.”

The group went further to state that such a claim by the Labour Party Chairman was an insult to the readers and fell far below reasonable arguments.

The group advised the Party and its leadership to focus more on presenting a robust case if it had any to prove its matter before the tribunal and stop feeding the public with fake news.

“The Vice President is not on that level. He is a renowned democrat, a technocrat per excellence, an academician, and a legal luminary. It is never in his character to stoop low to thwart democratic processes. Far from it - he has spent his career building institutions. Keep him away from your uncouth attention seeking comments.” The statement read.

I used to criticize Prof. Osinbajo for everything wrong with Nigeria. I must confess that I also said things that I am now ashamed of, I think it was down to my knowledge base at the time.

Please before you begin to demand heaven and earth from Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, please educate yourself with this piece. The man deserves more appreciation and respect.

Constitutionally, the executive functions of the Nigerian vice president includes participation in all cabinet meetings and, by statute, membership in the National Security Council, the National Defence Council, Federal Executive Council, and the Chairman of National Economic Council.

Although the vice president may take an active role in establishing policy in the Executive Branch by serving on such committees and councils, the relative power of the Nigerian vice president's office depends upon the duties delegated by the president.

Let's wait until he becomes President in 2023 then hold him accountable for every action of the government.

The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) has dismissed comments attributed to the National Christian Elders Forum on the conviction of Justice Walter Onnoghen by the Code of Conduct Tribunal as an embarrassment to Christendom. The goup said the infractions the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria was found guilty of were not done on behalf of Nigerian Christians.
In a statement signed by its Chairman Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke, BMO said that Solomon Asemota’s claim that it was a jihad against Christianity amounts to an insult to all Christians.
“We are shocked to read a statement issued on behalf of the National Christian Elders Forum by a senior lawyer of Chief Asemota’s calibre, who was bent on whipping up religious sentiment against Justice Onnoghen’s conviction.
“It is a reprehensible attempt by a senior citizen, ostensibly on behalf of other elder statesmen of his ilk, to make it look like Christianity was the target of the conviction when it was clear that the law was followed to the letter.
“Where were the members of this amorphous group when the out-going CJN put up all sorts of obstacles to frustrate the system, including suspending the statutory meeting of the National Judicial Council (NJC) before his suspension from office by President Muhammadu Buhari on the basis of a valid CCT order paved way for the NJC to take up the matter?
“We know that Chief Asemota has enough clout to have an insight into the NJC’s recommendation on Justice Onnoghen, even though it has not been formally published, but the unchristian-like bitterness for the President would not allow him and his group to accept the truth.
“It is therefore an insult to the intelligence of all Christians in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country like Nigeria for an individual or group to seek to paint their skewed position as that of millions of people of the same faith,” it said.
BMO urged Nigerian Christians not to be conned by a group of political elites who have never seen anything good in the Buhari administration and are always looking at playing divisive politics.
The group said: “Playing up our faultlines as a nation is a wicked and regular past time of a group of elite that benefitted from the misdemeanours of the past. They did it in the run-up to the election but failed to get Nigerians to toe their line as President Buhari received a second term mandate with an overwhelming majority.
“Now they are bent on using the CCT ruling as a ploy to advance their private war against a President who had in several ways denied them the abuse of state privileges that they had taken for granted.
“When a group of elders insist we look at things that serve equity from a religious point of view, they are merely inciting the common Nigerians to rise and serve their own primordial selfish interests.
“We dare say that what the Tribunal found Justice Onnoghen guilty of are what Christianity abhors; desecration of the temple of justice, dishonesty, lies, and above all, abuse of office.
“People who claim to be elders of the Christian faith in Nigeria should be condemning such acts and praying for the former CJN rather than making comments that are embarrassing to the Church.”
BMO also urged Nigerians to be wary of more attempts by similar groups to play up divisive sentiments over the fate of the convicted former Chief Justice of Nigeria.

STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE


In an action that broke the old tradition of staying above politics, the Catholic Bishop of Yola Diocese, Rt. Rev. Fr. Stephen Mamza delivered a homily in which he spoke angrily against President Muhammadu Buhari, whom he described as “sleeping on duty as Commander-in-Chief.” This is not a fair comment.

There is so much that has changed in the past three to four years in and around Yola, and the Catholic Church in particular that a true assessment would show that but for the Change Administration of President Buhari, things would have continued the way they were, or even get worse. These could not have happened if a Commander-in- Chief was asleep.

Bishop Mamza was, and is still a strong member of the Adamawa Peace Initiative, API, composed of religious and community leaders which did the lovely work housing and feeding 400,000 displaced people from Northern Adamawa and Borno States in 2015. The API also did the extraordinary work of easing tensions between Muslims and Christians during that period and ensured that both groups did not turn on one another based on suspicion.

As widely reported by the local and international press, in the premises of St. Theresa’s Cathedral where Rev. Mamza ministered, there were more than 1,500 IDPs, mostly women and children on whom the church administered food rations and issued bags of maize, cooking oil and seasoning. We are truly touched and very grateful for the work that the Bishop and the others had done in that difficult period.

Now that Boko Haram has been degraded, the more than 400,000 displaced people absorbed by the Adamawa community have all gone back to Borno State and to those council areas in northern Adamawa.

In addition to the capital,Yola, the towns of Michika, Madagali and Mubi which had been occupied by Boko Haram during their military advances have since been retaken by the Nigerian military, whose personnel are also clearing litters of Boko Haram’s carnage and are, through the support of the administration as well as local and international partners, rebuilding roads and bridges, power lines, burnt schools, markets, destroyed churches and mosques.

Without an iota of doubt, the Northeast is better off with President Buhari than it was under the previous administration. That should explain the massive turnout of voters in the region, in spite of threats to life and property, to vote for the return of the President for a Second Term of four years.

Sadly, one of the realities of today’s Nigeria is that it easy to blame President Buhari for the violence all around us. Community leaders are too scared to blame the warlords and the sponsors of killings we live with because they fear for their own lives.

What is happening in several communities racked by inter-ethnic and religious violence is arising from the refusal of community leaders to point at known criminals in their midst for the law enforcement agencies to act against them. They rather blame President Buhari for their woes.

It is indeed an irony that in the week that Bishop Mamza was speaking, another Bishop with a known commitment to peace, and results to show for his work in neighbouring Plateau State, is being dispatched to go to Taraba, Adamawa and Benue States to work in collaboration with security agencies in mending broken inter-communal relationships.

This senseless violence can never be condoned by the administration and we sympathize with the families of those who lost loved ones as well as those injured. The administration’s intense security efforts and peace building will not only continue, but will expand in response to such explosions of violence in the country.

Garba Shehu
Senior Special Assistant to the President
(Media & Publicity)
April 22, 2019

Anyone in doubt of President Muhammadu Buhari’s intention to open new frontiers in his anti-corruption crusade should take a second look at the list of individuals declared wanted over the Malabu Oil scandal, the Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) has said.

The list, according to the group, shows that the President is not prepared to spare so-called sacred cows in line with his commitment to bringing to book any individual or group that may have committed crimes against the Nigerian people.

BMO said in a statement signed by its Chairman Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke, that the decision was an unprecedented step that previous Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administrations could not mutter the political will to take. .

“When news filtered out from an Abuja High Court sitting in Jabi few days ago that warrants have been issued for the arrest of some powerful Nigerians, including two former ministers, Dan Etete and Mohammed Adoke as well as their alleged international collaborators over the Malabu oil scandal, not a few Nigerians were stunned.

“This is understandable because it is rare in the country for high calibre people like a former Petroleum minister and a former Attorney General to be called by any Nigerian authority to account for their misdeeds in office.

“But this is an administration led by a man that has left no doubt about his intentions to work more in the interest of the people. We at BMO are not surprised at the turn of events in a scandal involving one of Nigeria’s most lucrative oil wells.

“We welcome the development and commend the leadership of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for keying in into the President’s zero-tolerance stance on corruption”

The pro-Buhari group also wants President Buhari to ensure that everyone who played any role in the long-drawn scandal have their day in court.

“We expect the EFCC to ensure diligent prosecution of a case that has since spawned international investigations and court hearings in the UK, The Netherlands, and Italy. This is with a view to clearing the air on claims made in an Italian court that former President Goodluck Jonathan was bribed with $200m to ensure that the controversial OPL is handed back to Dan Etete after the Obasanjo administration revoked the licence awarded to his company by the Abacha regime.

“It is against this backdrop that we welcome the order for the arrest of Aliyu Abubakar, the man believed to be the middle man who acted as fronts for top officials of the Jonathan administration.

“This would hopefully ensure that everyone who may have benefitted from the $520m allegedly paid by the Abacha-era petroleum minister answer for their crimes against the people.

“And hopefully it would also send a clear signal to oil majors and corrupt politicians that there is indeed a new ‘Sheriff in town’ who would not tolerate under-the-table deals to the detriment of national interest,” the group said.

BMO also urged Nigerians to resist the temptation of reading political meanings to a case that has a lot of international dimension when the trial eventually opens in July 2019.

“The matter has been a subject of investigation and court hearings in three countries and now that the Nigerian end is about to lead to the trial of high profile people, we hope that some individuals and groups would not seek to make the country a laughing stock of the international community by storming the court premises with placards pronouncing the accused persons as victims of political witch-hunt.

“This is because there is the likelihood that names of more prominent Nigerians would be mentioned, especially as former Attorney General Mohammed Adoke is reported to have said he acted on instructions and that a number of powerful people had foreknowledge of the transaction”

No foreign policy - no matter how ingenious - has any chance of success if it is born in the minds of a few and carried in the hearts of none - Henry Kissinger

By Ayo Akanji

Everyone loves a bit of fresh air. When it comes, everyone adjusts, stretching every inch of their limbs to allow the body get the maximum it can. If people can adjust to fresh air, think what they will do when they see or meet the person who made sure it came about. This scenario perfectly describes Nigeria. The burst of fresh air came in 2015. Our limbs are outstretched, expecting fan blades to blow us into prosperity. The one who brought that about is respected - at home and abroad. Everyone wants to come close to him.

They want to hear him talk. His reputation has etched his name into folklores exclusively reserved for the greats and unborn. He is invited around the world with the latest being an invitation by King Abdullah II bn Al-Hussein of Jordan to participate in the World Economic Forum (WEF) and His Highness Sheikh Muhammad bn Rachid Al-Maktoum of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to participate in the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM).

He is seen as a leader in the African Continent. In Jordan, he delivered an address at the opening plenary alongside King Abdullah and the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guitieres. He towered above, and we are not just talking about his height here allowing his voice to resonate while passing his message across, much to the awe of those who watched and listened. To further the cause of his country and continent at large, he held bilateral meetings with world leaders on the sidelines. He later joined world economic leaders at an informal gathering at the Prince Hussain bn Talal Convention Centre.

His retinue made for the United Arab Emirate (UAE). Nigeria and Africa as a whole was accorded respect. There, he met with the Crown Prince Abu Dhabi, the Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE's Armed Forces, Sheikh Muhammad bn Zayed Al Nahyan. The two Generals sat and discussed issues ranging from education, agriculture, health care, climate change and population growth. Issues about the fight against terrorism came into the discussion as both men are leaders in the fight against terrorism in their regions.

However, President Buhari met Khalid bn Kalban, MD and CEO of Bubai Investments, Khalifa Abdullahi Al-Qubai, Deputy Director General of the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, Lulu Group, Amea Power/Rotana Hotel Chain, Dubai Investments, Skipperseil Group, Nakheel Properties among other top players in business in the UAE business community. His speech was something the Arabs confessed to enjoying. Not only did it make a strong case for Nigeria being the top investment destination for any investor that wants to get his money back in the shortest possible time, it solidified Nigeria's leadership status in the West African subregion and Africa at large.

In the same vein, for those pandering with the lazy conspiracy of Mr President traveling while crisis are rearing in some few states, the facts remain that - they misunderstood the new order President Buhari is instilling in our political history, building “Strong Institutions” attracting the requisite support Nigeria so really need.

We need to remind the doomsday purveyors that, King Abdullah II of Jordan, donated 200 Armored fighting vehicles to the Nigerian Armed Forces which has been deployed in the theatre of operations.

Conversely, President Buhari is committed to serving as a rallying point to create a support base and bringing together sub-regional players in West Africa to join this laudable security architecture dubbed the Aqaba process which plays a strategic role in consolidating efforts to combat extremism and terrorism globally, an initiative of His Majesty King Abdullah.

The Aqaba Process is a series of international meetings launched by King Abdullah in 2015 to bolster security and military cooperation, coordination and exchange of expertise among regional and international partners to counter terrorism. Organized with a regional focus for each round, the meetings foster discussions by experts on security challenges. The process is part of King Abdullah’s vision to step up global cooperation in countering terrorism and violent extremism, based on close coordination and consultations that cover military, security and ideological aspects.

However, President Buhari has led high-powered delegations to attend three of such meetings since the inception of the current administration.

President Buhari delivered a keynote address with the theme: “Mapping the Future of Foreign Direct Investment: Enriching World Economies through Digital Globalization”, where amongst other things, he talked about the effort being put in place to ensure Nigeria is back to the happy days since his assumption of office. He talked on how digitizing key operations is now a big part of public reforms in Nigeria. He talked about how Nigeria is working towards having the largest database in Africa with over 30m people already captured. Nigeria is taking the lead in cybersecurity in West Africa. He presented his points and arguements succinctly to a thunderous ovation at the end. The man rounded off by meeting his countrymen domiciled in the country.

Lastly, over the weekend - President Buhari was in Chad and participated in the one-day Extraordinary Session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Sahel- Saharan States, CEN-SAD ensure key stakeholders cooperate in their resolve of rooting out terrorist from the Sahel region. He has been profoundly committed in a sustainable fight not just in the Sahel region but equally the Lake Chad region under the auspices of the Multi National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) and also advocating for the deliberate recharging of the lake.

His trip has shown clearly that Nigeria is now accorded respect because of who is in charge. Our leadership status in the African Continent has further been strengthened. The one who has brought us fresh air will continue to do so. He will continue to get invited to talk, to strike deals, for bilateral meetings all over the world. It's natural for people to want to be associated with such a person. What we should is to be calm and see what these trips will bring to us; good or success? Prosperity or progress? Either ways you look at it, Nigeria wins at the end.

Akanji is a strategist

I have always wondered how Abubakar Atiku came to believe that he won an election that was monitored from polling booth to polling booth in Nigeria, by foreign observers, newspaper reporters, online news media, bloggers and all manner of busybodies in Nigeria, and he lost by 3.9 million votes!

I think I now have a few ideas as to why he thinks he could fool us with that funny story or why maybe he himself may believe the story. Some people took money from him and told him that they could hack the INEC server and put in figures for him. Simple.

Atiku’s main argument in his election petition is that INEC’s server showed that he won the election by 1.6million votes. He also gave the details of the purported results from the server.

He claims that card readers were used to send the results electronically to the INEC server! Everyone saw just how ridiculous the figures were. Fortunately for truth, the lawyers are not good at maths.

So his lawyers didn’t see from the figures that the total votes of President Buhari and Atiku added up exactly to the total number of accredited voters! Meaning that there were zero votes for all other candidates, zero cancelled or invalid votes in all of the polling booths all over Nigeria! This should ordinarily be enough to throw out the petition without more and show Atiku that he has been caught out in his scam or he has been scammed.

But the PDP and Atiku are accustomed to 419 and propaganda. They now say that they will call Microsoft and Oracle ( how about Google and Huawei?) to show that the INEC server actually made him the winner of the election! How can this make any sense?

Firstly, we were all at our polling units on Election Day. Card readers were used to verify our voters cards. Then we voted. Votes were counted manually (by hand in our presence ) and entered into a form by the INEC officials. The forms were then signed by party agents. This is the authentic result.

Most observers and online reports posted these results. I have not heard that anyone who was at his polling booth on Election Day saw any INEC official inputting results on the card readers andposting them electronically to a server!
What Atiku and his PDP fellow travelers want to sell to us is that after the votes were counted and declared, they were then entered into the card readers and posted electronically on to the INEC server!

Question is: who did the postings? Did the party agents see what was being posted by the INEC officials? If in fact the INEC officials secretly posted the results, how do we know if they were the same results properly counted at the polling booths? Or was the posting done after collation at the local government and State collation centres? If so, who saw this happen? Did the party agents see what was being posted? Every thing done by INEC at the State and National Collation centres were transparent, in full view of cameras and live television. So when and why were these postings done secretly?

The truth of the matter is clear for all to see. There were no electronic posting of results from polling booths or collation centres.

What happened could be either of the following: Atiku was tricked to believe that there was an INEC server that could be accessed or hacked to post results favorable to him. He must have paid a lot for it. The fake results were posted.
As of Monday when Atiku was seeing the authentic results as they were brought forward by Returning Officers, Professors from different Universities announcing, Atiku started to complain that the results he had were different from those being announced!

Or perhaps, Atiku is trying to save face after a bruising defeat. He wants to cast as much doubt as possible by inventing a tale, a ridiculous tale that there is an INEC server that only he has access to and not surprisingly it contains information that he won the elections!

The only question to ask him is how did you access the server? If you have exclusive access to it, then the integrity of the server is in doubt. It means you could change figures as you wish! All told this is just too silly . Dear Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, it is time to go home. Cameroun?

I have always wondered how Abubakar Atiku came to believe that he won an election that was monitored from polling booth to polling booth in Nigeria, by foreign observers, newspaper reporters, online news media, bloggers and all manner of busybodies in Nigeria, and he lost by 3.9 million votes!

I think I now have a few ideas as to why he thinks he could fool us with that funny story or why maybe he himself may believe the story. Some people took money from him and told him that they could hack the INEC server and put in figures for him. Simple.

Atiku’s main argument in his election petition is that INEC’s server showed that he won the election by 1.6million votes. He also gave the details of the purported results from the server.

He claims that card readers were used to send the results electronically to the INEC server! Everyone saw just how ridiculous the figures were. Fortunately for truth, the lawyers are not good at maths.

So his lawyers didn’t see from the figures that the total votes of President Buhari and Atiku added up exactly to the total number of accredited voters! Meaning that there were zero votes for all other candidates, zero cancelled or invalid votes in all of the polling booths all over Nigeria! This should ordinarily be enough to throw out the petition without more and show Atiku that he has been caught out in his scam or he has been scammed.

But the PDP and Atiku are accustomed to 419 and propaganda. They now say that they will call Microsoft and Oracle ( how about Google and Huawei?) to show that the INEC server actually made him the winner of the election! How can this make any sense?

Firstly, we were all at our polling units on Election Day. Card readers were used to verify our voters cards. Then we voted. Votes were counted manually (by hand in our presence ) and entered into a form by the INEC officials. The forms were then signed by party agents. This is the authentic result.

Most observers and online reports posted these results. I have not heard that anyone who was at his polling booth on Election Day saw any INEC official inputting results on the card readers andposting them electronically to a server!
What Atiku and his PDP fellow travelers want to sell to us is that after the votes were counted and declared, they were then entered into the card readers and posted electronically on to the INEC server!

Question is: who did the postings? Did the party agents see what was being posted by the INEC officials? If in fact the INEC officials secretly posted the results, how do we know if they were the same results properly counted at the polling booths? Or was the posting done after collation at the local government and State collation centres? If so, who saw this happen? Did the party agents see what was being posted? Every thing done by INEC at the State and National Collation centres were transparent, in full view of cameras and live television. So when and why were these postings done secretly?

The truth of the matter is clear for all to see. There were no electronic posting of results from polling booths or collation centres.

What happened could be either of the following: Atiku was tricked to believe that there was an INEC server that could be accessed or hacked to post results favorable to him. He must have paid a lot for it. The fake results were posted.
As of Monday when Atiku was seeing the authentic results as they were brought forward by Returning Officers, Professors from different Universities announcing, Atiku started to complain that the results he had were different from those being announced!

Or perhaps, Atiku is trying to save face after a bruising defeat. He wants to cast as much doubt as possible by inventing a tale, a ridiculous tale that there is an INEC server that only he has access to and not surprisingly it contains information that he won the elections!

The only question to ask him is how did you access the server? If you have exclusive access to it, then the integrity of the server is in doubt. It means you could change figures as you wish! All told this is just too silly . Dear Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, it is time to go home. Cameroun?

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT 
PRESS RELEASE



*Over 12m Nigerians currently beneficiaries of Programmes

*9.5 million pupils now being fed under School Feeding programme

*1 million poorest households to benefit from Cash Transfer

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

 
 
In continuation of its efforts to invest in the country’s human capital development, the Buhari administration has continued to make significant strides through its National Social Investment Programmes (N-SIP).
 
President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s NSIP, is aimed at empowering Nigerians and improving their livelihood through several initiatives.
 
Millions of Nigerians nationwide are currently benefitting from the different schemes under the N-SIP, which is the largest social welfare scheme in the history of the country.
 
Through its Conditional Cash transfer (CCT) scheme, the administration is supporting the most vulnerable in society, while developing a skilled workforce for economic productivity by providing jobs for millions of Nigerian youths through the N-Power programme, and improving the learning and cognitive skills of Nigeria’s children through the Home-Grown School Feeding programme (NHGSFP).
 
Also, the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) provide financial support through micro-credit schemes to small traders and businesses at the bottom of the financial pyramid. Beneficiaries include petty traders, women cooperatives, youths, famers and agricultural workers.
 
Subsequently, in the Next Level of the Buhari administration, about 10 million Nigerians are expected to benefit from GEEP, which includes TraderMoni. MarketMoni and FarmerMoni. While the Cash Transfer scheme aims to reach one million poorest households, one million new beneficiaries are expected to be added to the N-Power scheme, arguably the largest job creation and youth employment scheme in Africa.
 
The administration’s National Home-Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP), which has a target of reaching 12 million pupils, is currently feeding over 9.5 million public primary school (classes 1-3) pupils with one free, balanced and nutritious meal a day in 30 states nationwide; while it has empowered 101,913 cooks in these states.
 
The 30 states currently benefiting from the school feeding programme are: Anambra, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Ebonyi, Enugu, Kaduna, Kebbi, Kogi, Sokoto, and Nasarawa.

Others include Taraba, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Plateau, Delta, Zamfara, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Niger, Katsina, Ondo, Edo and Gombe.

The HGSFP has not only helped to increase enrollment rates of pupils in these communities, it is also effectively tackling early year malnutrition, while improving the cognitive skills of children.
 
The School feeding programme has also provided sustainable income for local farmers, cooks, which has increased growth and productivity in the local economy.
 
As of March; 297,973 Nigerians in 20 states (including the Borno IDP camps) are current beneficiaries under the National Cash Transfer Policy Programme (Conditional Cash Transfer), which started in December 2017; with over 5,000 savings groups and cooperatives formed as a result.
 
The following states are currently receiving payment: Adamawa, Anambra, Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Ekiti, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kogi, Kwara, Nassarawa, Niger, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, and Taraba.
 
The Conditional Cash Transfer is designed to deliver timely and accessible cash to beneficiary households and so enhance their capacity for sustainable livelihood. The programme provides beneficiaries - poor and vulnerable households - with a monthly transfer of N5,000 with the sole aim of taking them out of poverty.
 
In the same vein, the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), which has the MarketMoni, FarmerMoni and TraderMoni schemes, currently has a combined total of over 1.7 million Nigerians benefiting from these schemes.
 
So far, since after the national and state polls, 30,000 minimum beneficiaries have been added to the TraderMoni scheme, which provides interest-free loans starting from N10,000 to petty traders nationwide and is payable within six months.
 
In addition, upon repayment of the N10,000 loans, some beneficiaries in some states, including Lagos, Osun, Borno, Ogun and Benue, have now started receiving the 2ndimproved interest-free TraderMoni loan of N15,000.
 
Managed by the Bank of Industry, GEEP schemes provide financial support through micro-credit schemes to beneficiaries which include petty traders, women cooperatives, youths, famers and agricultural workers.
 
In the same vein, the Administration’s N-Power scheme, which is designed to provide jobs for unemployed young graduates, and is arguably the largest job creation and youth employment scheme in Africa, has currently engaged 500,000 youth graduates deployed to provide public health services in teaching, health, agriculture and tax and monitoring; and a further 200,000 non-graduates in training or attached to organisations as interns.
 
N-Power beneficiaries across the 36 states and the FCT are provided with a N30,000 monthly stipend, in addition to technology devices with relevant content for continuous learning. Many N-power beneficiaries have gone on to become entrepreneurs who are building successes in their chosen vocations.

Nigerians have been advised to stop the trend of reinforcing negative stereotypes in matters that are purely criminal.

The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) which gave this advice said there is a need to separate the actions of a few people from that of their ethnic nationalities.

In a statement signed by its Chairman Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke, the group said that the media should help by reporting such cases clearly without profiling a particular ethnic group.

“Majority of Nigerians from various ethnic groups are good people who should not be criminalised because of the activities of a few misguided ones who are clearly in the minority.

“We have all seen the furore that trailed the recent arrest of five Nigerians in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over their involvement in the robbery of a Bureau De Change (BDC) in Sharjah, Dubai.

“While it is true that the suspects are from a particular ethnic group, it is not enough to criminalise everyone from that group as armed robbers; in fact it is reprehensible to play up the ethnicity of the Nigerians just to tarnish the image of a whole people.

“This is almost always the case when certain criminal activities are perpetrated in some parts of the country and almost immediately some media outlets would carry screaming headlines attributing the acts to a people from a particular group, even without proof.

“A typical example is a homicide case in Anambra state which the police are still investigating but has since been blamed on ‘Killer Fulani herdsmen’. This made the police spokesman to wonder whether the reporter was there when the crime was perpetrated,” the group said.

BMO pointed out that it would be better to identify criminals without necessarily dragging in their ethnicity.

It said: “It is an act that has been going on for a while. The impression that has been created over the years is that certain acts of criminality are the exclusive preserve of various ethnic nationalities.

“It is bad to the extent that people from the Fulani ethnic stock are viewed as vicious killers; the average Igbo is seen as a ritual killer or an armed robber while the Yoruba is mentioned when cases of drug couriers or Nigerians in UK jails are mentioned.

“All these are as a result of the activities of a few people from these ethnic groups and there is no reason to tarnish the image of the majority of Nigerians who are daily involved in productive ventures and doing the nation proud locally and internationally.”

Nigerians have been advised to stop the trend of reinforcing negative stereotypes in matters that are purely criminal.

The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) which gave this advice said there is a need to separate the actions of a few people from that of their ethnic nationalities.

In a statement signed by its Chairman Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke, the group said that the media should help by reporting such cases clearly without profiling a particular ethnic group.

“Majority of Nigerians from various ethnic groups are good people who should not be criminalised because of the activities of a few misguided ones who are clearly in the minority.

“We have all seen the furore that trailed the recent arrest of five Nigerians in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over their involvement in the robbery of a Bureau De Change (BDC) in Sharjah, Dubai.

“While it is true that the suspects are from a particular ethnic group, it is not enough to criminalise everyone from that group as armed robbers; in fact it is reprehensible to play up the ethnicity of the Nigerians just to tarnish the image of a whole people.

“This is almost always the case when certain criminal activities are perpetrated in some parts of the country and almost immediately some media outlets would carry screaming headlines attributing the acts to a people from a particular group, even without proof.

“A typical example is a homicide case in Anambra state which the police are still investigating but has since been blamed on ‘Killer Fulani herdsmen’. This made the police spokesman to wonder whether the reporter was there when the crime was perpetrated,” the group said.

BMO pointed out that it would be better to identify criminals without necessarily dragging in their ethnicity.

It said: “It is an act that has been going on for a while. The impression that has been created over the years is that certain acts of criminality are the exclusive preserve of various ethnic nationalities.

“It is bad to the extent that people from the Fulani ethnic stock are viewed as vicious killers; the average Igbo is seen as a ritual killer or an armed robber while the Yoruba is mentioned when cases of drug couriers or Nigerians in UK jails are mentioned.

“All these are as a result of the activities of a few people from these ethnic groups and there is no reason to tarnish the image of the majority of Nigerians who are daily involved in productive ventures and doing the nation proud locally and internationally.”

By Sunday James Akinloye

Anything you in the media these days call for a double check and Daily Trust, along with some supposed respected national newspapers seem to be leading the way with ‘Fake News’

Take for example, the Daily Trust’s reportage on the establishment of Special Economic Zones (SEZ), and its presentation in a report titled, “Enelamah, this is very fishy”. Painting a picture of what happened, Daily Trust laced its account with falsehood and lies, writing it to soothe their paymasters.

That’s not where it stopped; the report tried to distort history and facts but that is what I will set straight here for those following the drama that has snowballed from NEPZA and NSEZCO’s debacle on SEZ.

The facts are simple and easy to understand except for those who are trying to cash out from the prosperity of Nigeria. Let’s start from the beginning. President Muhammadu Buhari and his administration sought to increase the export of locally made goods across the world so it conceived Project MINE.

Project MINE (Made in Nigeria for Exports) was initiated to develop SEZs across Nigeria’s geo-political zones to world class standards in collaboration with private partners. The idea is to position Nigeria as the pre-eminent manufacturing hub in sub-Saharan Africa and as a major exporter of made in Nigeria goods and services regionally and globally.

President Buhari then set up a Project Steering Committee under the leadership of the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade & Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah, comprising the leadership of the Ministry and members drawn from the Economic Management Team and the leadership of several Government Agencies: Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, Nigeria Investment Promotion Council, Nigeria Export Promotion Council, Nigerian Office of Trade Negotiations, Bureau of Public Enterprises, Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, Bank of Industry and the Nigerian Export-Import Bank; as well as the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, and Africa Export-Import Bank.

The Ministry of Industry, Trade & Investment (MITI) then set up a special vehicle to achieve this goal, that vehicle was NSEZCO and it was at this point that all hell broke loose, mostly because an agency in the MITI, which is NEPZA (Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority) was not particularly happy about this positive development.

The agency leadership felt that its own direct operations should be the vehicle that drives SEZ, even when their functions have been clearly spelt out in the constitution. NEPZA was set up as a regulatory agency but it wanted to do more than the constitution’s provision.

After NSEZCO birthed, NEPZA approached the Attorney General of the Federation to demand whether NSEZCO was legal and it could act as a special vehicle. This is how the office of the AGF responded;
Two critical factors that implicated the need for NSEZCO are operational efficiency and access to international capital market with limited or no direct burden on the Federal Government in like manner as NLNG.

The use of NSEZCO to implement Project MINE is to facilitate the creation of commercially-oriented, efficient and effective institutions, in line with international standards.

In section 1(2), the NEPZ Act explicitly recognizes that an EPZ may be operated by any of three types of entities:
(i) public entity;
(ii) private entity; or
(iii) a combination of public and private entity.

The response of the AGF also covered the question and claim by NEPZA that NSEZCO was a private institution. The truth is that NSEZCO is a public-private partnership with the Federal Government of Nigeria holding 25% and private entities like AfDB, Afreximbank, BoI, etc holding 75% shares.

The structure of NSEZCO is no different from that of NLNG, Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company Limited and Development Bank of Nigeria Limited, so this is not new to Nigeria at all, and has always worked perfectly fine within all legal frameworks.

Not satisfied with the submission of the office of the AGF, NEPZA cons the Senate Committee on Trade to blow the matter out of proportion. The Committee chaired by Senator Sabo Mohammed, claimed that NSEZCO was a private company even after PPP explanations where clearly made.

The committee chairman produced a CAC document showing that Dr Bakari Wadinga, Mr Olufemi Edun and Ms Oluwadara Owoyemi were directors of NSEZCO. However, what he mischievously failed to outline is that Dr. Wadinga was appointed interim director for the Federal Government, pending commencement of full operations, while the others where interim directors for the private partners. All this was done in agreement with all partners involved, as listed in the ownership structure.
The highly erroneous position of the Senate Committee shows why many Nigerians have little or no faith in the activities of the Nigerian Senate.

The Senate and Daily Trust also inserted a mischievous conclusion. “This is fishy, very fishy. Besides, the creation of NSEZCO negates the Buhari administration’s objectives of pruning the number of existing MDAs,” Daily Trust claimed.

“The Senate and Presidency must get to the root of this matter. Unless the public gets a cogent explanation, the inescapable conclusion is that someone tried to play hanky panky with public funds.”

This claim however negates the position of President Buhari. At the signing ceremony for the investment partnership between NSEZCO and its strategic investment partners on February 8, 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari said:

“When we decided to continue with the implementation of the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan of the previous Administration and launched our Economic Recovery and Growth Plan to fast track implementation, we had a vision of Nigeria as the pre-eminent manufacturing hub in Sub-Saharan Africa and a major exporter to our immediate West African sub-region, the rest of Africa and indeed the World. Special Economic Zones have an important role to play in achieving this vision. Special Economic Zones (SEZ) offer investor friendly incentives, world-class infrastructure and ease of doing business in order to attract local and foreign investment and have been used as a catalyst for rapid and inclusive development, job creation, industrialization and diversified export earnings in several countries.”

The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) has hailed the military authorities, the Police and other security agencies over their successes in recent, frontal offensives to stem the tide of insecurity in the country.
BMO said this is a result of the obvious change in strategy, after series of security meetings presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.
In a statement signed by its Chairman Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke, the group said that the success stories of the last few days are a consequence of proactive actions initiated by the President.
“It’s not even one week after President Buhari held an extraordinary meeting with Service Chiefs, heads of security agencies and ministers saddled with the responsibilities of overseeing security agencies and we are already seeing results on different fronts.
“What Nigerians heard was that the President issued a marching order for the security agencies to be ruthless with bandits, kidnappers and other criminal elements, but the swift manner that the military and other agencies have acted showed that new strategies must have been deployed.
“And because of the international dimension of the security challenge, especially in Northern Nigeria, President Buhari was in Chad at the weekend for an emergency regional security meeting involving about 29 countries
“It was a good opportunity for the President to seek international support for his quest to stifle supply line of small arms and light weapons to bandits and insurgents terrorising some parts of the country,” it said.
The group noted that it was gratifying that the military and the police have risen to the occasion by recording great feats in Borno and Zamfara states as well as the Abuja-Kaduna corridor.
This, BMO said, is a reflection of the new vigour the security chiefs are bringing to the efforts to check the spate of security challenges in the country.
it said: “Recent security updates from theatre of internal operations have shown that the strategies mapped out at various meetings are working and yielding results.
“We know that Fighter jets and helicopter gunships only a few days ago located and destroyed eight bandits' camps, including their logistics base in Kagara forest, killing several bandits in the process. This comes few days after a number of hideouts of the bandits in other parts of Zamfara were targeted by the Air Force.
“And in Borno, Nigerian and Cameroonian troops killed as many as 27 insurgents in a clearance operation in the Northern part of the state. The large cache of arms recovered from the terrorists may just be one of the largest weapons haul by soldiers fighting the war against insurgency. No fewer than 5 gun trucks, 2 anti aircraft guns, several General Purpose Machine guns, rocket propelled grenades and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition were recovered.
“The Police authorities, on their part, have launched “Operation Puff Adder” that only last weekend saw the operatives taking the battle to kidnappers in Akilbu forest along the Abuja-Kaduna highway and killing about 9 of them in the process.
“Also, three notorious kidnappers who abducted a Channels TV reporter Friday Okeregbe, in Abuja about a week ago, were arrested few days after those who kidnapped the director of the Lagos State Fire Service Rasaq Musbau and six others were picked up by a Police anti-kidnapping team".
BMO said President Buhari has acquitted himself well on the basis of the performance of security forces against banditry, insurgency and kidnapping in recent days. It also poured encomiums on the officers and men on the fields of battle.
"The nation appreciates the sacrifices of these gallant men and women who daily put their lives on the line in the interest of, and in protection of their fatherland. We believe the country is solidly behind them", the group said.

Nigeria is an African power. It’s economy, its politics, its people and the character of these rare diverse heterogeneous society has easily made it the Giant of Africa. So there is no wonder that as a country, we were invited to the 25th National Commemoration of the Rwandan Genocide that held in Kigali, Rwanda. Representing Nigeria and its President was Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo - A pastor and an academician with depth of experience in law and governance.

So when the writer of “Osinbajos Crocodile Tears in Kigali” asked “What is the Situation in Osinbajos Nigeria? And answered with the word “pathetic” my first thought was that the writer either did not appreciate who the Vice President was, or did not appreciate Nigeria from a holistic point of view, or both – which is most likely.

It is surprising for one to think of the Nigerian state and the statements of the Vice President as a pun or as Casmir Igbokwe dubbed it in his article as“Crocodile Tears”, we all know that the Vice President has continuously shown that he is a man of Integrity, a man of God and would never disrespect the Nigerian people by playing politics with their lives.

As a country, I do believe that we are not yet where we should be – we are not yet at El-Dorado – but it is undeniable that progress is being made across board. Albeit slow and steady, nonetheless it is progress and that is what is key.

While speaking on the issues surrounding the NDIGBO people, the writer was quick to mislead his readers by pushing the narrative that the present government appointments were mostly Northern deliberately forgetting to take a broader look at appointments shared in the country. The Chief of Naval Staff, the Director General of NIMASA, the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Governor of the Central Bank, the Head of Service among numerous others are all from the Southern parts of the country. Perhaps the writer willfully forgets that the Southern parts of the country is not limited to the South East alone, but also covers the South South and the South West – each clamoring for more representation as much as the other.

The southern parts of Nigeria is also as diverse in tribe and culture as the North.

The single narrative of the “Sidelined Igbos” deployed by the writer cannot stand the test of reality when one fact-checks the many benefits they enjoy in personnel and policies in this government.

Across the country are various construction projects, in every state of the Federation a federal project is ongoing. The President Buhari administration is working overdrive in terms of infrastructure deployment. Of key interest to any observer of the infrastructure being deployed across the country is the famous Second Niger Bridge. It finds itself in the heart of the South East and South South and has been an item clamored for by these people for decades.

The Buhari Administration has committed over N31Billion to the main works of the 2nd Niger Bridge. Work is over 51 percent completed. With little resources, President Buhari’s administration is doing quite a bogus lot for the people of the region.

The writer attempts to suggest tolerance of hate speech by the Buhari administration. Such a pedestal claim does not stand a place in reality. The President has been very categorical on this, and willingly signed the Peace Accord to enthrone sanity in the communications and campaigns during the electioneering periods.

It is so easy to dwell in the negatives of society forgetting the many good the world has to offer. That Nigeria has moved four places up in the Human Development Index and has also moved up in the Ease Of Doing Business Ranking are testaments to a country in upward motion. Nigeria today has attained self sufficient in rice production and has began even exportation. Foreing Direct Investments into the country has reached record levels; insecurity is being tackled ruthlessly and sincerely.

The various Social Investment Programs of this Administration prove that indeed better days for Nigerians are here. The programmes have reached a record 12 Million direct beneficiaries.

Terrorism is being fought day in day out in the areas of the North East and the Buhari administration can beat its chest to say it has recorded tangible achievements here. The banditry in Zamfara is being taken seriously. The full force of Nigeria’s military and other security arms have weighed in and are bombarding these criminals daily. The“Operation Sharan Daji”has been launched specifically to deal with the Zamfara bandits. Progress is being made.

The Vice President has also shown utmost sincerity and has never tried to downplay the killings in these areas. He has visited Benue, Plateau and Kaduna over killings that occurred in the areas – especially communal and inter-tribal clashes. He has advocated for forgiveness and offered pragmatic solutions towards peace building in these societies. He has seen to the facilitation of Peace and Reconciliation Committee in states like Kaduna, and Benue among many others.

It is not in the nature of the Vice President both as an academician and as a man of God to play politics with the life of the people. Security is everyones responsibility and the Vice President has emphasized that time and again.

He rightfully pointed out during his remarks to journalists in Kigali “We must not allow a repeat of what happened in Rwanda.” Statements like that of Casmir Igbokwe tell only a lopsided truth that fuel division, fuel hate and promote tension. These were the harbingers of the nasty events of the Rwandan genocide. Mr. Igbokwe has not learnt his lesson. It appears in fact, that Professor Osinbajo’s sermon was indeed for him.

The problem with the single story is that it shows a thing as a single thing, forgetting that there are two sides to a coin. Nigeria just like any other country is as diverse in its triumphs and problems and it is highly unfair to Igbokwe’s reader and Nigerians to view our complexities from only the negatives.

The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo is a father and God fearing man, he has shown this time after time, will never play politics with his people.



Muhammad Gulani, is a political commentator and writes from Zaria, Kaduna

The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) has refuted the International Monetary Fund (IMF’s) ranking of Nigeria in the management of the sovereign wealth fund, without conducting an appropriate survey for primary data sources.

It will be recalled that the global financial institution had ranked Nigeria as the second from the bottom in its ranking of management of sovereign wealth fund.

Wondering how this could be, BMO reminded IMF that just a year ago the Director of Strategy and Communications of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds, in an interview, listed Nigeria as an example of a well-governed sovereign wealth fund. “One would expect the International Monetary Fund to take a cue from her position”, the group said.

In a statement signed by its Chairman Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke, BMO said: "discerning Nigerians will reject the IMF ranking based on indicators like Transparency and Good Governance."

The Pro-Buhari group noted that the IMF report was sourced from the Natural Resource Institute and World Wide Governance Indicators, not even from the IMF, and therefore not reliable. “A situation where the IMF depended on secondary sources for gathering of data in ranking an important country like Nigeria is unacceptable.”

"How does the IMF expect Nigerians to take its ranking seriously when it relied on secondary data without conducting an interview with the management of Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority for information on the management of the sovereign wealth fund", the group wondered.

"The NSIA is structured in three separate investment funds; Stabilization Fund, Future Generation Fund, and Nigeria Infrastructure Fund. Two of those Funds are invested globally while the Nigerian Infrastructure Fund of the Sovereign Wealth Fund is being invested in the development of critical infrastructure like the second Niger Bridge, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, East-West Road, and the Mambilla Hydro Project."

The group wondered how the management of these funds can be said not to be transparent enough, when evidence of Infrastructural projects funded by the Sovereign Wealth Fund abound in all parts of the country.

"What parameters did the secondary data source use in reaching such conclusions?. On Governance, Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority has a governing board which plays its supervisory role in the management of the Funds and the activities of the fund are transparent, accountable and verifiable.

The approval of the sum of N1.3 billion by the Federal Government to pay backlog of death benefit to the next-of-kin of 497 deceased staff of 116 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) has yet again demonstrated President’s Buhari’s compassionate approach to governance.

The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) in a statement signed by its Chairman, Mr. Niyi Akinsuji and Secretary, Cassidy Madueke, said the payment of the benefits to the families of the deceased will bring succour to the families who lost their breadwinners.

“The payment of the outstanding death benefits is yet another proof that President Muhammadu Buhari is always conscious of the welfare of civil servants and all Nigerians, and would always implement programmes and measures that would enhance the well-being of the citizens of the country who elected him to manage their affairs.

“The 497 benefitting families could use part of the money to pay school fees, buy food, pay rent and clear pending bills as their loved ones rest in peace”.

BMO said it is significant that some of the death benefits which comprise life insurance payment, cost of transporting the bodies of deceased staff for embalment and funeral, are part of the conditions of service for Federal civil servants.

The statement added that the painstaking screening of 563 claims for death benefits by the next of kins of the deceased and the clearance of the eligible 497 for whom N1.3 billion would be paid, was conducted with sensitivity and respect for the late staff and their survivors in 116 MDAs.

BMO also welcomed the assurance given to the families of the deceased civil servants by Didi Walson-Jack, the Permanent Secretary, Service Welfare Office (SWO), Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) that payment of the entitlement would commence before the end of April 2019.

be recalled that the Pension Reform Act, 2014 (as amended) provided that every employer of labour with not less than five employees must insure them to a minimum of three times of their annual total emoluments.
In another development, the group also applauded President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration for a holistic pursuit of prison reforms in the country, noting that before Buhari, prisons reform had received only lip-service from the Federal Government and this led to so many people languishing in prisons across the country unjustly.

“We therefore consider it laudable on the part of the Federal Government to have approved N2.8Billion for the digital monitoring of prisons in Nigeria.”

The project, according to the Attorney General and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, is to ‘’ensure the digital connection and networking of all Nigerian prisons and make monitoring from the office of the Attorney General, the Police and selected courts easy.

“This is the right step in the right direction considering that at a point about 70% of prison inmates were ‘awaiting-trials’ and in some cases had overstayed the period their alleged offences would have attracted if they were convicted.

“We are also delighted that the move will lead to the decongestion of Nigerian prisons and that it demonstrates the Federal Government’s commitment to ensure that innocent people do not remain in prison unjustly.

“It will also help in the quick dispensation of justice as the relevant authorities, including the office of the Attorney General, the Police and the Judiciary will have first-hand knowledge of the happenings in the various prisons and act expeditiously to save the innocent detainees and ensure speedy dispensation of justice,” the group added.

The vision of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is to make Nigeria the pre-eminent manufacturing hub in Sub-Saharan Africa and a major exporter of locally made products to West African sub-region, the rest of Africa and indeed the World.

To achieve this goal, Project MINE (Made in Nigeria for Export), a Presidential Initiative, under the supervision of the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment was developed to establish “world-class” Special Economic Zones (SEZs) across Nigeria and boost the manufacturing of ‘Made in Nigeria’ goods for export, regionally and globally.

Project MINE was designed to achieve some very important economic goals that would put Nigeria on the world map. What were the objectives of Project MINE? To increase manufacturing sector’s contribution to GDP to 20%, create 1.5 million new direct jobs and generate over US$30bn annually in foreign exchange earnings by 2025, amongst others.

It was no surprise that a lot of Nigerians were elated at the establishment of Project MINE but if the manufacturing sector was going to achieve this goal, it needed a vehicle to drive the laudable export agenda.

With many projects ongoing, funds could be sparse to achieve Project MINE, so the Federal Executive Council (FEC), Economic Management Team (EMT) and Project MINE’s Steering Committee (including various stakeholders) endorsed Project MINE’s implementation strategy to use a sustainable Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model to develop world-class SEZs across Nigeria.

It’s not the first time this PPP model had been used in Nigeria, other government units like Nigeria LNG, Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company Limited and Development Bank of Nigeria Limited have adopted similar PPP models.

To get the PPP into full gear, a special purpose public-private partnership (PPP) entity – Nigeria SEZ Investment Company Limited (NSEZCO) – was designed to enable institutional investors participate in Project MINE alongside the FGN, and to apply global best practices and processes to the long-term financing and development of SEZs.

In June 2018, the FEC approved NSEZCO as the vehicle for implementing Project MINE and for co-investment between the FGN, development finance institutions and other institutional investors. Given that NSEZCO is a PPP, it was incorporated at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), on 12 of June 2018 as a limited liability company under CAMA, with the FGN represented by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), holding 25% of the shares in NSEZCO at incorporation.

The remaining 75% shareholding was held in trust by A&O Secretarial Services Limited, the Company Secretaries, on behalf of Strategic Investment Partners including African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Bank of Industry Limited (BOI), Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and African Development Bank (AFDB).

With kick off in sight, the Federal Government released N14.3billion as its contribution. The money was domiciled in the account of Nigeria Export Processing Zone Authority (NEPZA) for Project MINE but then something happened.

*What Happened With NEPZA?*

For some reasons, NEPZA established by Act No. 63 of 1992 as an agency of government with responsibility for licensing Free Zones and regulating the Free Zone Scheme in Nigeria felt the need to overstep its boundaries and scurry more powers.

The agency wrote the Senate Committee on Trade and Investment quoting quoted Section 2(2) in which it falsely claimed that NSEZCO was a privately owned company that was trying to take over the functions of NEPZA. The agency urged the Senate Committee to halt the transfer of funds from its account to that of NSEZCO, the vehicle for Project MINE, even when it is on record that the money meant for Project MINE was only domiciled in the account of NEPZA on the order of the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment.

But it didn’t end there; NEPZA also sought some interpretation from the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF). In a letter dated 30 October 2018 and titled, ““Request for Legal Advise On The Propriety or otherwise of a directive to transfer funds appropriated in favour of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority for the execution of some capital projects under the 2017 and 2018 Appropriation Acts respectively into a private company’s account” the letter was signed by Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Jime, Managing Director of NEPZA.

In the letter, NEPZA raised two issues for legal advise; (i) Whether the establishment of the Nigeria Special Economic Zones Company (NSEZCO) Limited to take over the functions of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority is lawful.

(ii) Whether it is lawful for fund appropriated in favour of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority for the implementation of some capital projects in the Free Zones under the regulatory mandate of NEPZA can validly be transferred into the account of a private Limited Liability Company without any prior amendment of the respective Appropriation Acts as well as the NEPZA Act.

*Response of the Attorney General of the Federation*

The response of the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation was explicit to say the least. In responding to NEPZA, the office of the AGF broke down the functions of the NSEZCO and that of NEPZA, stating categorically that, “NEPZA letter sought the advice of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation on: Whether the establishment of the Nigeria Special Economic Zones Company (NSEZCO) Limited to take over the functions of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority is lawful?

“It is imperative to state unequivocally that the NSEZCO was not established to take over the functions of NEPZA. The mandates of both entities are distinct with little or no area of overlap,” the AGF responded in its letter dated 6th February 2019.

The AGF then went further to state that, two critical factors that implicated the need for NSEZCO and they are *operational efficiency* and access to *international capital market* with limited or no direct burden on the Federal Government in like manner as NLNG.

The use of NSEZCO to implement Project MINE is to facilitate the creation of commercially-oriented, efficient and effective institutions in line with international standards.

The AGF pointed that NEPZA had claimed that “The Authority (NEPZA) shall be the *only* (the highlighted word is not part of the enactment) body corporate, with perpetual succession and a common seal and may sue and be sued in its corporate name and shall be capable of acquiring, holding, or disposing of any property movable or immovable for the purpose of carrying out its functions.”

The AGF further stated that in section 1(2), the NEPZA Act explicitly recognizes that an EPZ may be operated by any of three types of entities:
(i) public entity;
(ii) private entity; or
(iii) a combination of public and private entity.

The office of the AGF then raised a valid question in its submission, “If anything, the critical question is: were the provisions in the Appropriation Acts made for Project MINE or for NEPZA? The answer is unequivocal that the provisions were made for Project MINE. The funds were appropriated for the purposes of Project MINE, but domiciled in NEPZA at the specific request of the Honourable Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment.

*Money Domiciled in NEPZA should be appropriated to NSEZCO*

The AGF says another related question which ought to be answered is, is NEPZA the implementing entity for Project MINE? The answer is beyond doubt in the negative because the strategy for Project MINE requires a distinct vehicle that leverages the competencies of the co-investors in the vehicle, including sound governance practices and access to the international capital market to secure the success through sustainable performance. It is also needful to point out that Project MINE is not under NEPZA.

Finally, none of sections 2(2), 4(a) and 5(2) (a)-(c) of the NEPZ Acr individually or collectively give NEPZA exclusive rights to do everything relating to investing in, promoting and developing Zones inside Nigeria. If that was the case, then even Oil and Gas Export Free Zones will all be under the supervisory purview of NEPZA. Moreover, the focus of Project MINE is on Special Economic Zones – SEZs which is wider than EPZs that is the remit of NEPZA for purposes of regulation. SEZ is not coterminous with EPZ. Thus, it appears that NEPZA may have relied on a conceptual error.

AGF noted that the HMITI chose to collaborate with NEPZA in the furtherance of Project MINE. Against this backdrop, funding for Project MINE has been domiciled in NEPZA while NZESCO was in formation. In 2016, NEPZA was the domicile of the start-up grant from the President for Project MINE at the request of the HMITI. Project MINE was not a line item in the Appropriation Acts.

As a fact known to the management of NEPZA and the Budget Office of the Federation, all monies for activities of Project MINE were appropriated through NEPZA. The appropriations in 2017 and 2018 with respect to matters of Project MINE were only domiciled in NEPZA. They were not for purposes of NEPZA. NEPZA is not the implementing agency for Project MINE and the development of SEZs. Therefore, sums explicitly appropriated for SEZs under NEPZA are unequivocal indication of an understanding that NEPZA is the domicile for the appropriation and therefore should be stopped from denying this salient fact.

*NEPZA Flouting Presidential Order*
At the signing ceremony for the investment partnership between NSEZCO and its strategic investment partners on February 8, 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari said: “When we decided to continue with the implementation of the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan of the previous Administration and launched our Economic Recovery and Growth Plan to fast track implementation, we had a vision of Nigeria as the pre-eminent manufacturing hub in Sub-Saharan Africa and a major exporter to our immediate West African sub-region, the rest of Africa and indeed the World. Special Economic Zones have an important role to play in achieving this vision. Special Economic Zones (SEZ) offer investor friendly incentives, world-class infrastructure and ease of doing business in order to attract local and foreign investment and have been used as a catalyst for rapid and inclusive development, job creation, industrialization and diversified export earnings in several countries.”

*As Special Economic Zone garners support from global industry and institutional investors.

A deliberate plot hatched by some top officials of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, NEPZA, to corner over N40 billion meant for the establishment of Special Economic Zones in the country has been unearthed, raising contrived dust over the Buhari administration’s plan to create Special Economic Zones targeted for the rapid industrialization of the country.

When recently the Minister of Industry, Trade & Investment, Dr. Okey Enelamah presented the ministry’s 2019 Budget details to the relevant Senate committee, questions where raised about the creation of a limited liability company with 25% FG interest, the retention of three FG officials as directors, and the allocation of government’s funds to the company.

But informed sources explained that the Senators involved were only acting on information provided by NEPZA officials to deliberately mislead them into concluding that the said funds belonged to NEPZA, and not to the limited liability company formed specifically for the purpose, ie the Nigeria Special Economic Zone Investment Company.

According to a top government official involved in what seems like a presidential review of the unfolding controversy, “the Federal Government adopted a model to speedily and rapidly develop the Special Economic Zones using a PPP model as was done in other countries like China and a number of African countries.”

Continuing, the source said, “the strategy involved the setting up of a limited liability company that included the FG and some institutional investors like African Development Bank, ADB, the African Finance Corporation, AFC, the Bank of Industry, BoI, AFREXIMBAMK, and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, NSIA in a 25% —75% FG and institutional investors ratio.

And to secure FG’S interest, three government officials were put forward in the interim as directors in line with the usual practice when such companies involving FG are set up.”

Said another industry source, “using government officials including aides is nothing to worry about since they are there to protect government interests at the take-off stage, pending when a proper board can be in place and the company ready to go full throttle.

Besides the people chosen as interim directors are those who are driving the project and are knowledgeable within the ministries involved being Finance on the one hand and Industry, Trade & Investment on the other.”

Besides, as is done elsewhere around the world, such government representative directors are not entitled to any beneficial interests in the company shares. “Bringing up the issue of these directors was simply a mudslinging attempt to mislead the public, but it has no fuel at all, considering that it is a global practice and the directors are interim and non- beneficiaries,” the source explained.

Investigations however revealed that the NEPZA immediate past Managing Director, Emmanuel Jime and the acting MD Engr. T.D Nongo, to whom Jime handed over, devised the entire plot to ensure that the N42B allocated for the development of the Special Economic Zones be controlled and disbursed by NEPZA instead of the Special Purpose Vehicle established by a Presidential directive straight from President Muhammadu Buhari’s desk.

But in order to ensure this, they needed support in the National Assembly. Said a top official of one of the investigating agencies of the government “this was how the top NEPZA hierarchy sold a carefully designed package of outright falsehood and suppression of relevant facts to the National Assembly and decided to smear the President’s plan in order to corner the funds and control disbursement of the money instead of allowing the limited liability company formed for that purpose to be in charge.”

According to that investigative agency source, “what we now know is that while Jime went to run for election in the last round of elections, for which he had to resign as NEPZA MD, the most senior officer to whom he handed over the reins of NEPZA is actually also one of the main fund-raisers/coordinators of his gubernatorial campaign.”

The source added that “therefore the campaign of calumny against the President’s industrial plan and against the Industry, Trade & Investment Ministry is being fueled by both Jime and Nongo. “At stake is the control of Project MINE”, – the name of the plan to speedily industrialize the country through the promotion of Made in Nigeria goods for Export, for which MINE is an acronym.

“They are both bent on controlling the N42B approved in the budget,” it was disclosed.

The NEPZA officials started with the argument that the agency is the one through which the FG can make investments in the Free Trading Zones.

So, the matter was referred to the Attorney-General of the Federation for legal advice. And it was after the AGF counseled that NEPZA was a regulatory agency and not the exclusive implementing agency for such projects that the officials, determined not to let go of the funds connived to develop a plot to smear the whole effort by raising questions and provoking sensational narratives around a model that is best global practice and that enjoys the support of major international institutional investors.

“If this were indeed fishy how do you think such institutional investors whose global operations depend mainly on their transparency and credibility be part of it, considering that the institutional investors are coming up with 75% of the money?, an industry source wondered.

Between the FG and the institutional investors, the investment company, the Nigeria Special Economic Zone Investment Company, NSEZCO, is expected to raise $500m in equity by 2023.

FOREIGN INVESTORS ARE WAITING
While many of the strategic investors have already signed on, the MINE project which the NSEZCO will be delivering has secured significant international partnerships already.

For instance Shandong Ruyi, the leading textile and garment group in China has already announced its commitment to invest $2B to the cotton, textile and garment industry for the Special Economic, (free trading) Zones the NSEZCO will put up in Abia, Kano and Lagos States.

Equally, CCCG Industrial Investment Holding Company, CIHC, of China, which is ranked 91st in Fortune 500 and is the third largest international contractor in the world, has also signed a letter of intent to invest in the forthcoming Special Economic Zone in Lekki, specifically in the areas of power, water, access roads and bridges.

“These are some of the critical and significant plans that few NEPZA officials are trying to scuttle, “ according to a government official aware of the presidential review of the controversy sparked last week when the Industry, Trade & Investment Minister briefed a Senate committee on the project.

Some of the Special Economic Zone projects are the much talked about Enyimba Economic City in Abia, the Lekki-Epe Model Industrial Park, Funtua Cotton Cluster, and several others being planned for Edo, Kwara, Sokoto, Ebonyi, and Benue States among others.

There is need for Nigerians to support the various multilateral strategies of President Muhammadu Buhari in resolving the myriad of security challenges currently facing the nation.



According to the Buhari Media Organisation (BMO), in a statement signed by its Chairman Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke, President Buhari and his Service Chiefs have orchestrated formidable and actionable strategies to combat the hydra-headed security challenges.



“This is clearly seen in the massive destruction and degradation of camps and logistics hubs of insurgents, bandits, and kidnappers.”



The group is of the opinion that the “Federal Government has closely studied the situation and taken careful and profound observations of the intricacies of the various scenarios before deploying intense and sustainable strategies to confront and tame these challenges.



“The Buhari-led adminstration has made huge investments in the procurement of platforms and security infrastructure with the sole objective of restoring peace, securing the country and making it a safe place for all.



“The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has launched a formidable state -of-the-art Geospatial Intelligence Data Centre (GIDC). Images acquired from this hub would further enhance the gathering of actionable intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in tracking the movement of these non-state actors and would then be shared with other security agencies to deal effectively with these crises.



BMO noted that, “the synergy between the security agencies is navigating the onslaught against the criminals in a coordinated manner. NAF air assets, such as the Air Task Force (ATF) for operation Diran Mikita led to a decisive and successful blow on the bandits by OWN troops. This happenend over the weekend in Zamfara State and 25 bandits were neutralized, alongside their logistics base.



“The Federal Government is not complacent, but is actively engaged in protecting citizens and securing the country as enshrined in the Constitution of the country which the President swore to uphold, BMO stated.



“In a follow-up action from various security briefs, a Presidential directive to the Nigeria Police Force on the need for a re-evaluation of the security architecture and operational strategies was executed by the Inspector General of Police (IGP). In conjunction with sister security and intelligence agencies, ‘Operation Puff Adder’ was launched.



“Puff Adder is a holistic operation, aimed at reclaiming lost territories, securing key flash points and flushing out criminals who pose a threat to internal security across the country. Further to Operation Puff Adder, the Federal Government, acting on actionable intelligence, placed an immediate ban on mining activities in Zamfara and other red zone states and sternly threatened to revoke the license of companies found to disobey this order."



The Pro Buhari group also called on the host communities, traditional institutions, youth bodies and other relevant stakeholders to cooperate with the security agencies and assist them with credible intelligence in this endeavour. “As inhabitants in these theatre of operations - they play major roles in helping to rout these criminal elements.”



BMO urged members of the public to be wary of fake news shared on social media with the sole aim of misinformation, creating panic and overheating the polity. It also called on the public to follow the active handles of relevant security agencies online, to access the right information and warned fake news purveyors to desist from these dangerous shenanigans.

The security agencies have been urged to investigate the former Vice President Abubakar Atiku’s unholy romance with foreign bodies especially the United States of America, in pursuit of a mandate he never had.

The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) also accused Atiku of seeking to destabilise the country in a bid to realise his failed ambition to be President.

This, it said, is the reason he had been lobbying the US authorities to recognise him as authentic President, even though he overwhelmingly lost the February 23 Presidential election to President Muhammadu Buhari.

BMO said in a statement signed by its Coordinator Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke that the step the former Vice President is taking is a treasonable act that has its dire consequences.

“We had in the past drawn attention to the desperation of the failed PDP Presidential candidate to rule Nigeria at all cost and it is becoming more obvious with his latest gambit.

“Not satisfied with pushing out cooked-up figures which he and his party claimed they got from the server of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and are using as the basis of their legal challenge at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, Alhaji Abubakar is now using lobbyists in order to con the United States to his side.

“We at BMO are not surprised because we had raised an alarm even before the election that PDP elements had been preparing ground for what they called a ‘Venezuelan option’ by instigating the international community against the President Buhari-led administration, and by raising all sorts of false alarms.

“And now that news has filtered out that Atiku has hired some prominent American lawyers to lobby the US Congress and the Executive to recognise him as President, it beggars belief that a man who rose to the position of Vice President could be engaged in acts that amount to treasonable felony, especially as the legally authorised body in election matters, INEC, declared that he lost the Presidential election," the group said.

It also pointed that some of the measures being taken by the failed Presidential candidate to win American support is the ploy that he is the man to prevent 'genocide, poverty, corruption and strife' in Nigeria.

BMO said: “We have seen how banditry has suddenly threatened to spiral out of control in Zamfara State and some other parts of North-Western Nigeria almost immediately after the election. These are places that were relatively peaceful before and during the election and which also had a reasonable turn out of voters.

“It should not be a surprise that this spectre of violence is deliberately orchestrated and coordinated as part of a game plan to make the incumbent President look helpless and win US support for the failed PDP presidential candidate who is not even known to be popular in that part of the country ".

The pro- Buhari group urged the US authorities to guard against being used by unpatriotic Nigerians to work against an election that their representative in the country had hailed as largely free and fair.

It said: “Even though Ambassador Stuart Symington had, in the run up to the election appeared to show some sympathy for the opposition, apparently based on media reports that had been deliberately skewed to present the incumbent in bad light, he was fair enough to rate the election as reasonably credible.

“We also need to remind the Americans that the main local election observer group they funded, the Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth and Advancement (YIAGA) validated Buhari’s victory as declared by INEC, using a Parallel Voter Tabulation (PVT) compiled by 3,030 observers.

“Aside from that, the European Union, UK, France and Russia have since congratulated President Buhari on his re-election with all of them hailing the process as credible and transparent.

“We now wonder why Atiku Abubakar would take his desperation to the extent of seeking a Venezuelan-style US intervention in an election that he lost overwhelmingly, and at a time he has filed a legal challenge to the outcome of the election".

BMO also urged Nigerians to be prepared to defend the mandate they freely and overwhelmingly gave to President Buhari in February.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

*Says Maritime University poised to become Centre of Excellence, as Institution celebrates 1st Matriculation ceremony
The Nigeria Maritime University, Okerenkoko, Delta State, is proof of the unwavering commitment of the Buhari Administration to the development and progress of the Niger Delta.

This was stated by Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, during the University's maiden Matriculation ceremony, which held on Saturday, April 6, at its take-off campus in Kurutie, Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State.

Prof. Osinbajo, who was represented at the event by Mr. Edobor Iyamu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President, on Economic matters, Office of the Vice President, noted that President Muhammadu Buhari "is a man of his words and he has made that clear over and over again with regards to the Niger Delta, in the last four years."

It would be recalled that the take-off of the Maritime University was actualized under the Buhari administration following the commencement of its operations in 2017.

The take-off of the Maritime University is in fulfilment of the Buhari administration’s commitment to develop the Niger Delta in line with its New Vision for the region.

The Vice President's speech, which was delivered by Mr. Iyamu, highlighted the determination of the Buhari administration to change the narrative of a region that had been neglected in the past.

He said, "The seriousness with which we view the Niger Delta informed the series of unprecedented engagements that resulted in the comprehensive development Plan known as the New Vision for the Niger Delta; with the goal of ensuring that the huge resources of the Delta are put to work for the good of the people of the region.

"That New Vision has guided us every step of the way, and is what has helped propel the Ogoni Clean Up to fruition, and helped birth this University in which we are gathered today."

Congratulating the management and staff of the University in his speech, Vice President then urged students of the institution to become excellent ambassadors of this University.

"I congratulate you all on the commemoration of this milestone occasion, the inaugural matriculation ceremony. Congratulations also to all of the matriculating students. As the pioneer set of students of this landmark institution, you are all standing on the threshold of history, and we rejoice with you," he noted.

"We have a vision that the Maritime University will come to be known around the world as a Centre of Excellence in Maritime matters, and a repository of expertise and knowledge on the Niger Delta," he added.

The Vice President further noted that the Federal Government is focused on developing the human capital of the Niger Delta in different sectors, noting that in the near future, the region would not only be known for its oil and gas potential, but also in the quality of its human capital resources.

"These and more are examples of how we are walking the talk in the Niger Delta region, which we view not in terms of its past, but in terms of its potential. And this is a potential that is not limited to oil and gas, but is actually focused more on the development of human capital. We are confident that the Niger Delta will sooner than later come to be defined, not by crude oil, but by the quality of its human resource, the abundance of its agriculture, its rich cultural potential, and so on," he added.

He also noted the ongoing Ogoni Clean-up/remediation efforts, the establishment of modular refineries in the Niger Delta and the Presidential Amnesty programme that has helped to maintain the peace and stability on the region, and the Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme, aimed at ending gas-flaring in the region.

"And while the remediation is ongoing, there are also a lot of efforts aimed at ensuring that affected communities enjoy basic amenities like clean water, and that jobs and training opportunities are extended to them.

"Our Modular Refinery Programme is another important cornerstone of the New Vision for the Niger Delta. There are currently four modular refineries at different levels of completion, across the region.

"The Amnesty Programme has continued to receive funding and support from the Buhari Administration, because we understand just how important it is for the young people of the region. We will continue to ensure that it delivers on its mandate and responds fully to the needs and yearnings of the beneficiaries.

Prof. Osinbajo noted that the long-term impact of the administration's Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme, would not just improve health and the environment, but also increase economic opportunities as it would "create jobs and wealth for citizens and communities in the region."

The Nigeria Maritime University commenced full academic activities for the 2017/2018 academic year in April, 2018, with a total of 370 students spread across 13 undergraduate programmes in three Faculties, namely: Transport, Engineering and Environmental Management.

Earlier, in her address, the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Ongoebi Maureen Etebu, described the occasion as an epoch-making moment, praising the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration for providing the fertile environment for the institution to come into being.

Etebu said the university is a ship set to sail, as the school now boost of three vibrant faculties.

The matriculation ceremony was held for all in-takes from the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 academic sessions.

The occasion was attended by the Acting Governor of Delta State, Barr. Kingsley Otuaro; representative of the Hon. Minister of Education; the Pro-Chancellor/Chairman of the Governing Counciil, Nigeria Maritime University, Chief Timipre Sylva, Director-General/CEO, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, top government officials, traditional rulers from Gbaramatu Kingdom, amongst others.

Another highlight of the well-attended ceremony was the presentation of cash awards to some high-flying students, who have excelled in their respective course of studies, since the inception of the institution, with CGPA of 4.5 and above.

Released by:

Arukaino Umukoro
Special Assistant to the President,
Communication Projects/Niger Delta,
Office of the Vice President,
Federal Republic of Nigeria

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT
PRESS RELEASE

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has departed Nigeria to join other world leaders and top dignitaries to participate as a Special Guest in the ceremonies marking 25th National Commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi holding today in Kigali, Rwanda.

Some of the activities lined up for the event include the Kigali Genocide Memorial, the Wreaths laying ceremony and Lighting of the Flame by the President of the Republic of Rwanda and Special Guests.

April 7, 1994, marked the beginning of the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda perpetrated by the Hutu extremist-led government.


In 2003, the United Nations General Assembly officially proclaimed 7 April the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.

The Vice President is expected back into the country later today.


Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
7th April 2019

The Buhari Media organization (BMO) has described the lack of a response from Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to People’s Democratic Party (PDP) claim to have had access to its backend servers as worrisome and frightening.



In a statement, signed by Niyi Akinsiju and Cassidy Madueke, its Coordinator and Secretary respectively, the group noted that the claim by the PDP that it had gained illegal access to the servers of INEC through the assistance of some INEC officials was too grave a criminal confession for the electoral Commission to keep mum, as if it had consented to such a notorious allegation of breach.



“This is most frightening. That INEC is not alarmed or bothered by such blatant claim by the PDP to have procured the hacking of its systems - whether it is false or not- is most worrisome. We would have expected INEC to swing into clearing the air immediately and distancing itself from such a criminal conduct. But INEC has kept a deafening silence,” the statement read.



“INEC’s silence on this confession of criminality against it is not golden. It is suspicious and carries a weight of taint that must be called out.



“It can be likened to a scenario where a thief says he has robbed a bank and the bank remains silent on the confession of robbery against it, whether its safes and moneys are intact or not. Silence is very weighty in any such instance,” the statement continued.



BMO said that it knew that the claim by the PDP that it was in possession of results fraudulently fetched from the INEC servers was “a hoax and only an exhibition of the innate fraudulent character of the PDP. For instance, according to the group, the so-called results did not tally with reality, with fundamental errors such as the absence of votes of other political parties that participated during the election. Still, we believe that INEC ought not to be silent in the face of such wild allegations.



“The very character of the PDP is one of fraud, dishonesty and malfeasance; it is not out of its character to have made moves to procure the hacking into the INEC servers by some of the Commission’s staff. Its Freudian slip of this admission of the stupid attempt, however unsuccessful, must be dealt with and addressed with all sense of seriousness. This, INEC has failed to do.”



The group stated that this most recent claim by the PDP to have colluded with INEC staff to have access to INEC’s back-end servers raises serious posers as to an unholy romance between INEC and the PDP.

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT
PRESS RELEASE

*Recounts FG’s efforts in reforming Nigeria's business environment

“In the past three years, Nigeria has implemented more than 140 reforms to make doing business in Nigeria easier. The World Bank also reported in 2018 that 32 states of Nigeria improved their Ease of Doing Business environment led by Kaduna, Enugu, Abia, Lagos and Anambra states.

“In 2019, PEBEC set a goal to move Nigeria into the top-100 on the 2020 World Bank Doing Business Index (DBI). To achieve this, we will be pursuing the continued implementation of reforms across all indicators, including the implementation of legislative reforms, specifically the passage of the new Companies and Allied Matters Act and the Omnibus Bills; the expansion of the regulatory reform program which started with NAFDAC and NAICOM; and now to include other regulators; the establishment of a National Trading Platform for ports; and the concession of our major international airports.”

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


REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, VICE PRESIDENT, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, AT THE 2ND PEBEC AWARDS, HELD AT THE STATE HOUSE BANQUET HALL, ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 2019


PROTOCOLS


It really is a pleasure to be here this evening to celebrate the phenomenal successes of the PEBEC and especially the reforms, but more importantly to recognize specially some of those who made it all possible. Our incredibly selfless and committed private sector partners and the sterling performance of many in the public sector.

In the past three years, Nigeria has implemented more than 140 reforms to make doing business in Nigeria easier. Some of the successful reforms include the ability to:

- Reserve a business name within 4-hours

- Complete the registration of a company within 24 hours online

- Apply for and receive approval of a visa-on-arrival electronically within 48hrs

- File and pay taxes online

- Access specialised small claims commercial courts in Lagos and Kano states.

The World Bank also reported in 2018 that 32 states of Nigeria improved their Ease of doing business environment led by Kaduna, Enugu, Abia, Lagos and Anambra states.

In 2019, PEBEC set a goal to move Nigeria into the top-100 on the 2020 World Bank Doing Business Index (DBI). To achieve this, we will be pursuing the continued implementation of reforms across all indicators, including the implementation of legislative reforms, specifically the passage of the new Companies and Allied Matters Act and the Omnibus Bills; the expansion of the regulatory reform program which started with NAFDAC and NAICOM; and now to include other regulators; the establishment of a National Trading Platform for ports; and the concession of our major international airports.

PEBEC has now commenced the fourth 60-day National Action Plan (NAP 4.0) on Ease of Doing Business. NAP 4.0 is running from the 1st of March to the 29th of April, 2019. It aims to deepen the reforms delivered over the past 3 years and drive institutionalization of the whole reform process.

We have highlighted key action items in all of the focus areas to ensure that they do not unravel, and to ensure we drive sustainability. Some of the targets achieved in the last NAP 3.0 include:

- Driving registration for utilization of the National Collateral Registry to facilitate access to credit for SMEs

- Clearance of all pending NAFDAC registration applications to improve efficiency; and

- Creation of a strengthened single joint cargo examination interface in all airports & seaports for import and export to reduce the time spent at the ports.

NAP 4.0 will focus on initiatives such as

- Enforcing compliance with SLAs across all indicators/focus areas,

- Driving the passage of the CAM Bill 2018 for improved effectiveness of company law in Nigeria (and as you have heard, what we are waiting for is the signing into law of the bill)

- Enhancing efficiency in the small claims court, and

- Enhancing the application and approval system for visas on arrival, to mention a few.

The Council will continue to work extensively with all MDAs, the National Assembly and other key stakeholders. All of us who have been involved in this incredible journey will agree that it has been both exciting and fulfilling even if admittedly sometimes frustrating. But that is the way of progress.

I congratulate you all for the great successes and thank you all for keeping faith with our joint vision. In particular we must commend the National Assembly for the great efforts they have made in ensuring the passage of very strategic and important bills. We must also commend our private sector partners who have contributed immensely to the technical output of the EBES through the secondment of professional staff to the secretariat.

Let me specially mention the KPMG Professional Services, Deloitte, Procter and Gamble, Banwo & Ighodalo, Aluko and Oyebode. The NBA-SBL was also particularly instrumental in the drafting of the omnibus bill. About 40 law firms worked pro-bono towards this effort. Our nation is truly grateful to you.

We must also specially commend the Hon. Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okey Enelamah, for his focused and forthright leadership, and the incomparable and tireless Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, and her team.

To the rest of us, I think we have demonstrated that the work of creating a world class environment for commerce will be done by like minds in the Nigerian private and public sectors, and these are the exceptional ladies and gentleman such as yourselves who form the PEBEC family. Well done, everyone,

Thank you and God bless you all.

Released by:

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

President Muhammadu Buhari is a just and fair man who has the interest of Nigerians at heart. Therefore, the welfare and well-being of the Nigerian worker is guaranteed under his leadership, the Buhari Media Organisation(BMO) has said.



“They are safe and there is no need to worry about rumours of their employment. President Buhari is committed to their well-being. He knows their fears, hears their pleas and would not do anything to make their lives worse, he can only make it better.”



In a statement signed by Niyi Akinsiju and Cassidy Madueke, its Chairman and Secretary respectively, BMO stated that any fears as to the welfare of Nigerian workers under President Buhari were needless and have no place in reality.



“We have a President who is sincerely interested in the welfare of Nigerian workers. And he has demonstrated this times without number.



“This concern has been shown when he questioned the attitude of some Governors towards the payment of salaries to workers in their states.”



The group stated that the President’s expression of concern did not stop at merely lambasting debtor Governors for their dereliction of duty, but went further to make provisions to the Governors to address these issues relating to the welfare of workers in their states.



“President Buhari has made provisions for Budget Stabilization Funds and Bailout funds to States to assist them in paying the salaries of their workers.”



“He similarly made funds available to States by refunding owed moneys through the Paris Club Refund. President Buhari sternly requested that these funds be used to take care of the welfare of workers in States.”



The group noted that if during an economic recession, President Buhari did not retrench workers or consider payouts for them, then it is certain that he would never do anything that would negatively affect their welfare.



The group highlighted that President Buhari’s concern for the Nigerian worker had also been exemplified in the payment of backlogs of Pension Arrears owed by the Nigerian government.



“Pension Arrears owed by previous administrations are being cleared by President Buhari. Many ex-staff of the Nigerian Airways have received their payments, so also Ex-Biafran security personnel, among others", the group concluded.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo never said Kogi State government will be in trouble if he had died in a helicopter crash, transcript of his goodwill message has revealed.

Newspaper and online platforms had published reports that Prof. Osinbajo had claimed that the Kogi State Government would be in trouble if he had died in the helicopter crash.

Speaking at a special thanksgiving service at the Banquet Hall in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, Prof. Osinbajo thanked God for his live and for surviving the crash.


God is truly worthy of praise and thanksgiving. It is impossible to thank Him enough. I and my family, and so many of us here today have so many reasons to thank Him.

Occasionally, my wife and I reflect on how unlikely our journey here is. She frequently reminds me that all she wanted was a quiet life as one of the many families of academics living on the university campus. That was all that I promised, and that’s all that she really expected, but here we are.


If someone had said to me in 2013, “you will be campaigning across the country; attending rallies and that you would win the elections and become the Vice President of Nigeria”, I would, because I am generally polite, have said amen, but in my heart, I would have said what a crazy chap!

Anyone who knows how difficult it is to campaign for Local Government Chairman and win, will understand how difficult it is to accept that merely because someone said so, that you would be elected into any position. I’m sure many of us here today, also celebrating the success of the elections, national assembly members and governors-elect also, would accept that except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain who build it. It is impossible to know the outcomes of anything. It is the Almighty God who brings about the wonderful phase that we celebrate and thank Him for.

I realize that I have no special qualification to be here or to have enjoyed such an incredible promotion. Psalms 75:6 says for exaltation comes neither from the East nor from the West nor from the South, all the exaltations comes from God.

Psalms 75:7 says but God is the Judge; He puts down one, and He exalts another. I want to thank the Almighty God for exaltations. I want to thank Him also for all of us here present, and those believing God for exaltations. I believe the Lord God Almighty would promote you also in Jesus name.

On the 2nd of February 2019, God gave me and members of my family, friends and colleagues, even further reasons to know that if not for His mercies, we would have been consumed. We were going to Kogi for a two-day campaign tour, and then our helicopter crashed as we got in to land at Kabba. You know how it is when things happen, everybody becomes spiritual; everybody becomes a prophet, people saying why and how?

I remember in the split second when the incident occurred, for a second, there was absolute silence and nobody said anything. It was my brother who started shouting Jesus Jesus Jesus! But for a moment, there was complete silence in the helicopter.

On reflection, it occurred to me that if we had died, that is what would have happened, complete silence, nobody saying a single word. A few minutes later with all of the activities, all of us got out of the helicopter without a scratch. God is surely worthy to be praised!


I reflected over the various problems that would have occurred; the smaller problems would have been the rumours, how did it happen? Who did it? Why did they do it? With the way we are, I just felt sorry for so many people who would have been involved in conspiracy theories of things they knew absolutely nothing about. But God delivered them too because they would have had to explain themselves.

We bless the name of God that He not only wrought such a great deliverance, but that He did it in such a way that only He could take the glory. We give all the glory to Him!

I want to thank everyone who has supported in so many different ways, all through the campaigns and elections, so much support and prayers, so much love and kindness. I pray that the Almighty God would be kind to you also, you will never lack in support, you will never lack in care and affection, you will never lack the genuine prayers of those who want you to succeed in the mighty name of Jesus.

I pray that all of us will travel in aircrafts and the Almighty God will always deliver. It is by His grace that we are delivered. It is not by anything we do or we are careful not to do.

I recall that there was a gentleman who was talking about how it is always good to exercise, but another friend of ours reminded him that there was a particular gentleman who we all knew very well, who died while exercising. So I think that all we can depend on is the sheer grace of the Almighty God.

So we praise the Almighty God and I want each and every one of us who believes that the Almighty God is worthy of praise, shout one mighty halleluiah!

OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT

PRESS RELEASE


REMARKS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, AT THE SPECIAL THANKSGIVING SERVICE AT THE BANQUET HALL, STATE HOUSE, ABUJA, ON MARCH 31, 2019.

PROTOCOLS


God is truly worthy of praise and thanksgiving. It is impossible to thank Him enough. I and my family, and so many of us here today have so many reasons to thank Him.

Occasionally, my wife and I reflect on how unlikely our journey here is. She frequently reminds me that all she wanted was a quiet life as one of the many families of academics living on the University campus. That was all that I promised, and that’s all that she really expected, but here we are.

If someone had said to me in 2013, “you will be campaigning across the country; attending rallies and that you would win the elections and become the Vice President of Nigeria”, I would, because I am generally polite, have said amen, but in my heart, I would have said what a crazy chap!

Anyone who knows how difficult it is to campaign for Local Government Chairman and win, will understand how difficult it is to accept that merely because someone said so, that you would be elected into any position. I’m sure many of us here today, also celebrating the success of the elections, national assembly members and governors-elect also, would accept that except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain who build it. It is impossible to know the outcomes of anything. It is the Almighty God who brings about the wonderful phase that we celebrate and thank Him for.

I realize that I have no special qualification to be here or to have enjoyed such an incredible promotion. Psalms 75:6 says for exaltation comes neither from the East nor from the West nor from the South, all the exaltations comes from God.

Psalms 75:7 says but God is the Judge; He puts down one, and He exalts another. I want to thank the Almighty God for exaltations. I want to thank Him also for all of us here present, and those believing God for exaltations. I believe the Lord God Almighty would promote you also in Jesus name.

On the 2nd of February 2019, God gave me and members of my family, friends and colleagues, even further reasons to know that if not for His mercies, we would have been consumed. We were going to Kogi for a two-day campaign tour, and then our helicopter crashed as we got in to land at Kabba. You know how it is when things happen, everybody becomes spiritual; everybody becomes a prophet, people saying why and how?

I remember in the split second when the incident occurred, for a second, there was absolute silence and nobody said anything. It was my brother who started shouting Jesus Jesus Jesus! But for a moment, there was complete silence in the helicopter.

On reflection, it occurred to me that if we had died, that is what would have happened, complete silence, nobody saying a single word. A few minutes later with all of the activities, all of us got out of the helicopter without a scratch. God is surely worthy to be praised!

I reflected over the various problems that would have occurred; the smaller problems would have been the rumours, how did it happen? Who did it? Why did they do it? With the way we are, I just felt sorry for so many people who would have been involved in conspiracy theories of things they knew absolutely nothing about. But God delivered them too because they would have had to explain themselves.

We bless the name of God that He not only wrought such a great deliverance, but that He did it in such a way that only He could take the glory. We give all the glory to Him!

I want to thank everyone who has supported in so many different ways, all through the campaigns and elections, so much support and prayers, so much love and kindness. I pray that the Almighty God would be kind to you also, you will never lack in support, you will never lack in care and affection, you will never lack the genuine prayers of those who want you to succeed in the mighty name of Jesus.

I pray that all of us will travel in aircrafts and the Almighty God will always deliver. It is by His grace that we are delivered. It is not by anything we do or we are careful not to do.

I recall that there was a gentleman who was talking about how it is always good to exercise, but another friend of ours reminded him that there was a particular gentleman who we all knew very well, who died while exercising. So I think that all we can depend on is the sheer grace of the Almighty God.

So we praise the Almighty God and I want each and every one of us who believes that the Almighty God is worthy of praise, shout one mighty halleluiah!

Released by:
Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity
Office of the Vice President
April 1, 2019
Office of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, All rights reserved.