₦airaland Forum

The news was so terrifying MA. But, we thank God for protecting him for all the well meaning Nigerians

No doubt, the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo and his principal are under divine protection, if not, evil men are after them

God is your strength sir

Dakuku Peterside won at the tribunal and appeal Court before Wike won at the Supreme Court. Adeleke and his supporters should tell not to give himself problem oo

Obasanjo should blame himself for whatever division we have now. If he did not allow corruption to take over the country, there wouldn't have been problem

Very good clarification from Mr. Akande. Trader Moni no doubt is ongoing

30,000 PETTY TRADERS HAVE RECEIVED TRADER MONI LOANS SINCE AFTER ELECTIONS

*With repayments, some have started collecting 2nd (improved) loans of N15, 000

Contrary to speculations in some quarters, the TraderMoni scheme and other GEEP micro-credit products (MarketMoni and FarmerMoni) – a component of the Buhari administration’s Social Investment Programme, are still very much in operation, Mr Laolu Akande, the Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity to the President (Office of the Vice President), has said.

Mr Akande disclosed this in a progress report so on the GEEP micro-credit products (TraderMoni, MarketMoni, and FarmerMoni).

According to him, “So far, a target of 30,000 minimum beneficiaries per state has been achieved in majority of the 36 states and FCT since after the national and state polls."


Besides, he added that "what the implementing agency has been doing since the last phase of disbursements is generating the balance of program funding while ramping up on the states with shortages."

“Consequently, disbursements have continued to happen in the states; for instance, we have had over 28,000 disbursements across 10 states since after the elections. Our priority is ramping up these numbers in the balance of states before we move to phase two of the program after detailed reviews and structural enhancements for larger scale. Under the Next Level agenda, Trader Moni loans will target ten million petty traders, a significant ramp up from the initial target of two million beneficiaries.

On the role of the Ministry for Industry, Trade and Investment in the implementation of the scheme, he said, “it is actively involved in the project.”

Mr Akande said, “that ministry is, in
fact the oversighting Ministry of Bank of Industry, which is the deploying agency. The office of the Minister executes the GEEP program via the Bank of Industry.

“The governance structure of GEEP includes the office of the Vice President (National Social Investment Office), The Ministry of Trade and Investment, and the Bank of Industry.”

Speaking on measures adopted to enhance repayments, the Presidential Media Aide said GEEP has pioneered innovative solutions to drive repayment compliance.

“Working with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), we successfully piloted the concept of the BVN as digital collateral; and we saw repayment go up significantly on the MarketMoni and FarmerMoni loans.

“For TraderMoni, beneficiaries can pay back at any commercial bank in the country just like a NEPA or WAEC bill; all they need to provide the bank teller with is their phone number. We also developed and successfully piloted scratch cards as a repayment option for beneficiaries who stay kilometres away from the nearest banks in their community. The cards are loaded the same way Telco recharge cards are loaded, thus requiring no new learning curve.

“This improved repayment received compliance to the extent that in January, the Bank of Industry began second level disbursements - disbursements of N15,000 - to beneficiaries in Lagos, Borno, Ogun and Oyo states for trader who had successfully paid back their first N10,000 loans,” Mr Akande disclosed.

According to him, “GEEP's vision (in the long term) remains to empower the over 30 million MSMEs in Nigeria with interest-free, collateral-free loans.”

The GEEP programme, a component of the Buhari administration’s Social Investment Programme (SIP) has since inception about two years ago, impacted many lives, improved living conditions and expanded opportunities for ordinary Nigerians to do petty trading as well as small and medium scale businesses.

Under the Trader Moni scheme, an initial N10,000 loan is given to petty traders and once they repay within six months, they can receive a new N15,000 loan and when they repay that they can get another N20,000 loan until they get as much as N100,000


Media & Publicity Unit
Office of the Vice President
21st March, 2019

But first, let me thank you for your gracious words of congratulations to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Vice President, and your admiration for the VP’s commendable performance in office. I am certain that your quest for public accountability derives from that admiration.
BY LAOLU AKANDEMAR 16, 2019


My dear Bob Dee!

One could have easily made up his mind not to read or respond to anything you wrote after seeing the rather unprincipled queuing up behind Senator Bukola Saraki and then abandoning him, moving on to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and then deserting him as well.
But I felt one should respond to your attempts to create a false narrative from the very hollow lamentation of the recent elections as the “worst in our history”.

In my view, those like your good self, veteran journalists, who have built a formidable platform in the public arena must strive always to use the platform for the larger public good. There have been several interventions from you that reflect such true public spirit, but some of us stridently disagree with what at times could be perceived as a self-serving journalistic conduct. Many would seem to agree that this was obvious in your recent open letter to the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

But first, let me thank you for your gracious words of congratulations to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Vice President, and your admiration for the VP’s commendable performance in office. I am certain that your quest for public accountability derives from that admiration.

It is important to state that a citizen’s open letter to public figures or government authority is always welcome here and not necessarily a matter of right or exclusive access. For us, such matters of access for the people to their elected leaders is of normal cause and ought not to be a matter of exclusivity nor should we make a play of it as so special.

As is typical of your propaganda machinery, it begins with an outrageous lie by the principal then the operatives like yourself repeat it ad naseum. It appears you were not in this country when foreign and local observers accepted the results.Independent Foreign Observers commended the transparency and credibility of the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

Also, the Independent ElectionMonitor group, supported by the French Embassy, concluded that “based on the analysis carried out in this document as well as the actual observations of the election activities across the country, it is Election Monitor’s considered opinion that the 2019 Presidential Election results are consistent with the will of the majority of voters who took part in the elections notwithstanding the various infractions which also occurred as they were not on a scale significant enough to affect the overall outcome of the election.(http://electionmonitorng..com/2019/03/analysis-of-2019-nigerian-presidential.html)

YIAGA Africa’s Parrallel Voting Tabulation, relied on by international agencies, embassies and funders also said its "findings show that for the presidential election the All Progressive Congress (APC) should receive between 50.0 per cent and 55.8 per cent of the vote." And that “the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) should receive between 41.2 per cent and 47.0 per cent of the vote; these figures are consistent with the official results as just announced by INEC.

“For both APC and PDP, the official results fall within the PVT estimated ranges.” That YIAGA AFRICA results statement was based on reports from 1,491 polling units which are 98.4 per cent of sampled polling units. YIAGA AFRICA’s projections were reportedly also consistent with the officially announced vote shares for the other 71 parties who contested in the presidential election. It is also believed that the group’s projections were based on the results announced in the polling units and would have detected any significant manipulation occurring during collation at the ward, local government area, State and national levels. Also, "INEC’s official results for turnout and rejected ballots were also generally consistent with YIAGA AFRICA WTV estimates.” (https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/02/yiaga-africa-verifies-election-results/)

These are empirical facts, my dear Bob Dee, especially if you your analysis through any rigorous tests. Propaganda and falsehood only need a willing sponsor.

Yes, observers mentioned pockets of violence and some malpractices, but none felt that these were sufficient to affect the credibility of the elections or its results. Frequently cited is Ago Palace in Lagos. One unit in a city of 20 million! In any event, the real question is, how did the violence in the comparatively few places where it happened favour the President? And how come the strong allegations of foul play by the likes of Godswill Akpabio in Akwa Ibom, George Akume in Benue and Ndoma-Egba in Cross Rivers State (all APC Senatorial aspirants!) escaped your eagle eyes?

It is sometimes forgotten, and Bob Dee , you chose to forget, that for the previous 16 years before 2015, the PDP governments had conducted elections. Everyone is familiar with the incredible excesses of the elections and the election-observer reports so poignantly describe some.

In the 2003 elections which gave Atiku Abubakar and his boss a second term, Wikipedia observes that “Millions of people voted several times. The police in Lagos uncovered an electoral fraud, finding five million false ballots."

But the 2007 elections got even worse reviews: “Following the presidential election, groups monitoring the election gave it a dismal assessment. Chief European Union observer Max van den Berg reported that the handling of the polls had "fallen far short" of basic international standards, and that "the process cannot be considered to be credible", citing "poor election organisation, lack of transparency, significant evidence of fraud, voter disenfranchisement, violence and bias."

They described the election as "the worst they had ever seen anywhere in the world", with "rampant vote rigging, violence, theft of ballot boxes and intimidation".One group of observers said that at one polling station in Yenagoa, in the oil-rich South-South, where 500 people were registered to vote, more than 2,000 votes were counted.”

Your choice of words such as “theatre of war” to describe the presidential polls is not only inaccurate and questionable by and large, but also surprising considering the recent history of past presidential polls. And you have to tell us who described the elections as “the most dreadful and desperate”?

Besides this facts that you carefully chose to ignore, the contents of your letter read in part like a brief for the opposition, and, at other times, a judgment of an electoral tribunal in favour of the opposition. And such bias undermines the credibility of the author such as yourself.

It could even render the write-up confusing rather than informing the readers. For good measure, Bob Dee, maybe we should just remind our readers that not only are you an active member of the opposition, you have also benefited from significant business relationships with some in the opposition circles. And this is entirely within your right.

But that certainly discounts your assessment about the direction of our administration. It also devalues your criticism of the narratives that hold those who raped this country in the past responsible for the consequences of their corrupt activities while in government.

One also wonders whether it is your well-known personal relationship with the opposition that has beclouded you so much that you seek to assail the anti-corruption efforts which ordinary and well-meaning Nigerians have embraced.

Let me make it clear that the facts show that while some old members of the opposition have joined APC, that has not shielded those responsible for corruption and graft. In any case, even if old PDP members are now APC members, the current leadership of the country under the APC stands out as it is made up of two gentlemen with impeccable integrity.

Old PDP members and all Nigerians are welcome just like sinners are embraced in the church, Inf act, the church was opened for sinners to be converted. And what is skewed about the anti-corruption campaign when the two governors who have now been convicted for corruption are both APC?

Having said that, be rest assured that the APC as a party will articulate its defences to any allegations. For the records, it is an obvious fact and this must be reiterated that the Buhari administration has a commendable record of respecting the independence of INEC, a clear departure from what occurred under previous administrations. This government also ensures that it provides all the support INEC requires, as well as respects the independence of the judiciary and has ensured that security forces act within the ambits of law. Even international observers have made their comments accordingly and positively.

As the Buhari administration always noted, every single loss of life is sad and lamentable. And previous elections have regrettably caused even far more losses. We must achieve an electoral system that doesn't result in any such loss of life. However, the record of improvement from the past is clear as it were.

To characterize the will of the people as Pyrrhic victory represents what exactly needs to change in and about our nation. Indeed, our privilege as elites imposes the responsibility of trustees of power, wealth, values and direction of and for a nation in the interest of the people upon us. To narrow this interest or substitute our amplified voices as the vocal minority for the silent majority is not only taking liberties a little too far, but also losing tune and touch with our national realities. As leaders, we must reflect introspectively on how we have prioritized the people, and how we must continue to do so going forward.

This is what President Muhammadu Buhari is known for and it is what played out in the elections. It is the voices of the few and the devices of the privileged that the Opposition regarded and expected to hold up. That did not happen.

We respect the right to disagree and exercise that right through the established mechanisms, but we reject any denigration and the diminishing of the electoral outcome which is the true voice and expression of the people of this country.

As you noted, the whole concept of sin in the worldly context is a violation of the law of the land, and in the spiritual context, a violation against God. That you judge either as a matter of law, or ecclesiastically when you by yourself determine that this administration is "committing sin" is a departure from what your letter identifies as its objective. Victory in an election is a nation speaking up, while the victor is the symbol of that nation's victory.

Both life, by its temporal nature, and the Constitution, by its term limitations and periodic elections, already ensure that we all know that everything but eternity is transient, and the example of that in our nation today is the rejection of the old order four years ago, and the most recent confirmation of that rejection by preferring the new and current order, and the Next Level of our national restoration and growth.

Finally, thank you for declaring your belief that the APC “would have won” a handsome victory because that was exactly what happened! It is your equivocation about Atiku’s loss expressed in the same letter where you said you expected an APC “handsome victory” that left me and other readers confounded. What are we to believe?

Again, thank you for your open letter. Be rest assured that the Vice President and the President would continue working for the good of all Nigerians in the Next Level.

Atiku stands rejected.

I sincerely believe this is not the Trader Moni people are benefiting from. Trader Moni is one of the finest initiatives of the present leadership

So, PDP truly intended to rig? Thank God they have been dissapointed.
Snatch and risk losing your life

Very good one there from Adams Oshimhole, he has spoken the minds of so many Nigerians today.
As me and my family, we are fully committed to the next level project

Next level is the sure way to go

Mbaka my man, fire on, we are with you

The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo can not be blackmail oo, the man is on a divine mission in this country, and the God we serve is his strength

Why is PDP interfering in the affairs of APC? See me see wahala oo. They no de even shame, after 16years of wastages, they are still making noise.

Next Level is the sure way to go. The combination of Buhari and Osinbajo is the best I have seen in recent years.

This is wonderful. See joy on the faces of the common people here

Next level is the sure way to go

Good to see Fani Kayode coming back to his senses gradually

Saraki is just wasting his time. So, he delayed the budget thinking it can affect Buhari, we are ready for them.
Next Level is the sure way to go

Jonathan should not be taken seriously, please. I wonder how he managed to get PHD

For me, this is the best policy ever, torwads motivating school enrolments in this country, most especially the Northern part where I come from

God will punish the writer of this nonsense. Home Grown School Feeding that has been appreciated even outside Nigeria.

It is part of their evil plans against the Vice President as was discussed in Dubai. We are already aware. No amount of blackmailing of the Vice President and his Principal can ever work.

Misleading nonsense allegations. Do I need money to appreciate excellence? It is on record that Proffesor Yemi Osinbajo as the Vice President has distinguished himself from the past corrupt people who were in that position. He is a man to proud of any time any day

Very wonderful man we have as the Vice President

When you have good people in leadership positions, the ordinary masses will rejoice. This Home Grown School Feeding Programme is really solving the problems of students enrolments. Thank God for the Vice President and his team for the wonderful job

Am happy to see that other countries can now learn from Nigeria

No wonder, this man has always attacked the present Buhari led government with venom. God pass him

Did you know that David Oyedepo never ever paid a dime as landing charge or airport tax on his Private Jets throughout Jonathan presidency? He got presidential waiver.

But something changed in 2015 because PMB made him to do the needful. Did you know that he put two of his jets on sale immediately he started paying necessary charge?

Can you now see why he has started dancing round AtIku ?
God is watching !

On August 2011, the Government of GEJ gave a comprehensive concession to Living Faith Church AKA Winners chapel to pack 4 private jets belonging to the church free of charge in any of the airports in the country. An import waiver was also issued by the former government to Living Faith Church. This guaranteed that the ministry paid next to nothing on whatever they import into the country.

This concession was revoked by the FG on Feb. 2016 and import waiver canceled. The church unable to meet up with the huge charges being accumulated on packing fees for 4 private jets, sold off two of the jets by July 2016.

We may now understand why Bishop David Oyedepo never sees anything good in this present government just because this government insisted on things being done properly.

For me, why should multi-billion naira mega cooperate churches be given concessions and import waivers when small legitimate business are made to pay through their nose whenever they import? In the same way, why should companies like Dangote, Bua group, Milan ground, Golden Penny enjoy concessions and import waivers when these companies make billions in profit after tax?

I always have the opinion that 90% of the accidental billionaires we have in this country are living on government concessions and waivers. Take that away from them and they will be like every one of us.

Concession and waiver agreements were abused by the former government as was revealed by 2016 Senate Ad hoc committee on import duty waivers which revealed that the FG from lost between 2011 to 2015 N447.42bn through fraudulent concessions and waivers. Consequently to this report, the present government canceled all forms of import waivers in 2016 and some organizations made to pay the FG what they owe the government.

We may now understand how Nigeria’s custom was able to remit N1trn in 2017. All these policies and checkings created enemies for BUHARI’s government. People who have been ripping off the country for years being asked to pay the right fees for their imports, automatically made them enemies of Buhari and his government.

Truly, this government is fightingj for the masses and that’s why we have less and less accidental billionaires under this government. The free monies have dried up.

"May this gang up against Nigeria,not even PMB never work. The Hyenas,Foxes and hawks are gathering to feast on our Commonwealth. It will never be well with the enemies of Nigeria. Enough is enough"

Just trying to make sense of our situation �


Obasanjo Farm, Otta is now a ghost farm, over taking by weeds and rodents. Only the security guards at the gate retain the old glory of the once thriving enterprise. Two massive transformer, possibly hijacked from Papalanto power plant are rusting away near the security post.

Only the Obasanjo Farms extensions at Obada, Abeokuta, Eruwa etc are functioning and they are mostly under Chinese management. Those farms depend on imported inputs like fertilizer, maize, soy beans etc to survive. Their outputs are not designed for Nigerian markets either. Another 4 years of Buhari in power will bring down those fraudulent enterprises because of high import bills.

Nigerian elites are predatory opportunists. They lay siege on the nation and grab it at its weakest part and moment. All the new gladiators, Atiku, Obasanjo, Oyedepo, Gumi, Kuka are struggling for the control of the nations resources. They are bonded together in wickedness. It is not an accident that the owners of the 3 most expensive universities in Nigeria (Atiku, Obasanjo and Oyedepo) are in union of anger against Buhari.

They are not united for the progress of this nation. They are united in anger because Buhari deprived them access to the Commonwealth.
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Those alleging that the Vice President has any hand in that primaries are just being mischievous