IT’S A CELEBRATION OF DEMOCRACY, SAYS OSINBAJO AT KENYA’S PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION

The inauguration of Dr. William Ruto as Kenya’s 5th President is a celebration of democracy and democratic institutions in Africa, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

Prof. Osinbajo stated this on Tuesday while speaking to journalists shortly after the swearing-in ceremony held at the Moi International Sports Stadium in Nairobi.

Earlier on arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, Prof. Osinbajo was received by the former Governor of Kwale County, Hon. Salim Mvurya, and Nigeria's High Commissioner to Kenya, Amb. Yusuf Yunusa, among other officials of the High Commission.

Speaking about the significance of President Ruto’s inauguration, the Vice President said “it is a celebration of democracy and the reasons are obvious, the institutions held up - the IEBC (Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission), the equivalent of our own INEC, and the Judiciary; they held up and ensured that not only were processes properly followed but also that justice was done.”

Speaking further, the VP said, “whenever we talk about the celebration of democracy, we are really talking about the celebration of our institutions, the institutions that undergird democracy and the rule of law.”

“I think that what we have seen here in Kenya and the swearing-in of Dr. William Ruto is really evidence of robust institutions doing what they ought to do.

“It is a great example and we are all extremely pleased. And I’m sure you have seen, from all of the African Heads of State and Governments and their representatives who are present here today, that there is an atmosphere of elation and joy because this worked,” Prof. Osinbajo added.

The high point of the occasion was the oath-taking ceremonies by the newly elected President and his deputy - Rigathi Gachagua, as well as the handover of instruments of power and a copy of Kenya's Constitution from former President Uhuru Kenyatta to Dr Ruto.

The ceremony was attended by 20 African Heads of State and Government and their representatives, including the Presidents of South Africa - Cyril Ramaphosa, Chad - Mahamat Idriss Déby, Tanzania - Samia Suluhu, Seychelles - Wavel Ramkalawan, Uganda - Yoweri Museveni, Rwanda - Paul Kagame, South Sudan - Salva Kiir, Burundi - Évariste Ndayishimiye, Zimbabwe - Emmerson Mnangagwa, and Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo, among others.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity
Office of the Vice President
13th September 2022

*OSINBAJO TO REPRESENT PRESIDENT BUHARI TOMORROW AT KENYA'S PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION*

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN will represent Nigeria tomorrow in Kenya at the East African nation’s inauguration of William Ruto as its 5th President.

Prof. Osinbajo departs Abuja tonight and will join other leaders across Africa and beyond for the swearing-in ceremony scheduled to hold in Nairobi with about 20 heads of state expected to grace the ceremony.

During the event, according to local media reports, outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta will hand over the instruments of power including a ceremonial sword and a copy of Kenya’s Constitution to the new president, whose electoral victory in last month's election was affirmed by the country’s Supreme Court only last week.

Nigeria and Kenya share very warm and long standing diplomatic relations underpinned by strong economic cooperation and cultural affinities.

The Vice President is accompanied on the trip by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Zubairu Dada, and the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Senator Babafemi Ojudu.

He will return to Abuja after the event tomorrow.

*Laolu Akande,*
*Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity,*
*Office of the Vice President.*
12th September 2022

Safe journey sir

NEW NUTRITION DEPTS NOW IN SEVERAL FG MINISTRIES, LIKELY TO FEATURE IN 2023 BUDGET

*We can now move the needle, says Osinbajo

*VP inaugurates International Donors’ Forum ahead of 2023 Population Census

Efforts by the Federal Government to tackle malnutrition and its attendant challenges are beginning to take shape, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, just as nutrition specific budget estimates are likely to be included in the 2023 Appropriation Bill.

Prof. Osinbajo was speaking Thursday at a virtual meeting of the National Council on Nutrition.

According to the Vice President “we are at a point where we can move the needle especially with the creation of nutrition departments in line ministries and ensuring that we get nutrition on the budget line and it is actually done properly.”

The Council with the approval of the President has now ensured that nutrition departments now exist in several Ministries, Departments and Agencies, including Ministries of Health, Agriculture, Humanitarian Affairs, Women Affairs, Information and Culture, Industry, Trade and Investment, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), and National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), among others.

During the meeting, presentations by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning and Nigerian Governors Forum were made on the implementation of the National Multi-Sectoral Plan of Action on Nutrition particularly on the funding of nutrition activities in the country.

“We intend to follow up on all of these especially in the coming days, working with the relevant Ministers and the Governors Forum. And an important point that was made in the presentation earlier was that we need to do a chart of account. It is really important,” the VP said.

The meeting chaired by the Vice President had in attendance, Minister of Science and Technology, Sen. Adeleke Mamora; Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq; the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folashade Yemi-Esan; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Budget and National Planning, Mrs Olusola Idowu; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Mr Aliyu Ahmed, and the Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, among others.

Council members at the meeting included His Royal Highness and Board of Trustees Chairman, Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and also CEO of Aliko Dangote Foundation, Ms Zouera Youssoufou; representatives of civil society and development partners, among others.

In another development, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the inauguration of a donor’s forum ahead of the 2023 Population Census restated the Federal Government’s commitment to investing in the development of the country’s human capital across different sectors, including health, education and nutrition, despite the growing population.

The Vice President whose remarks were delivered at the event by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Laolu Akande, said “as a government, our most important objectives, both nationally and regionally, must be on the improvement of the quality of life, living standards and livelihoods of our people. In other words, we are committed to the happiness, security and general welfare of our populations.”

Underscoring the political will demonstrated by the Buhari Administration towards the country’s development and welfare of its people, Prof. Osinbajo noted that President Muhammadu Buhari has demonstrated personal commitment in several ways, “including the fact that we are holding the census in the very year that we are going to have an election, considering the huge budgetary implications of that.”

Buttressing the significance of a population census in an election year, the Vice President noted that “the data collected by Census helps a nation to make critical decisions regarding its future. This is why we must ensure we have the right data to plan adequately for our people and for the future of our children.”

Furthermore, the Vice President noted the goal of the Administration’s National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy, aimed at taking 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within a decade.

According to the VP, this is one of the reasons why a state-of-the-art population census is very important.

“While we must adequately capture all the important indices of our great population, we will continue to make crucial investments in the development of our human capital, especially now when the population of the African continent is growing at an even faster rate when compared to the rest of the world.

“By 2050, Nigeria is projected to have 400 million people. And government must continue to provide quality basic education, nutrition and healthcare for them, improve on security and create more job opportunities for our young people, who currently make up more than half of our country’s population.”

Referencing the President’s speech from the recent National Stakeholders Summit organized by the Commission, the Vice President stated that “Population is a critical factor in a nation’s efforts toward achieving sustainable development. People are both the agents and beneficiaries of the development process. Therefore, the knowledge of the national population in terms of size, distribution and socio-economic characteristics is required for planning purposes.”

Commending the Commission and its partners for their hard work and dedication in preparations for the 2023 Population and Housing Census (PHC), the Vice President highlighted the Commission’s efforts in this regard.

A special documentary on Nigeria’s 2023 Census journey so far was also screened at the event, while the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, who was represented by the Special Adviser on Policy and Coordination to the President, Dr Habiba Lawal; Chairman of NPC, Hon. Nasiru Kwarra; and the UNFPA Resident Representative, Ms. Ulla Mueller, delivered special remarks.

The Director-General of the Budget Office, Mr. Ben Akabueze, who represented the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning at the event, presented the budget for the 2023 Population Census.

Also present at the meeting were representatives of development partners; the diplomatic corps, including the ambassadors of France, Mexico, Botswana, Turkey; as well as representatives of the private sector, among others.



Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity
Office of the Vice President
8th September 2022

To read more on the Vice President's activities, please visit https://www.yemiosinbajo.ng/

The best ever

God bless Osinbajo

This is nice

Fake news peddlers are here again o

Osinbajo is actually doing a good job for the betterment of Nigeria

Nice one

HOW DEBT-FOR-CLIMATE SWAP OFFERS RELIEF TO NIGERIA, AFRICA'S DEBT BURDEN, BY OSINBAJO

*VP's ideas exciting, fresh thinking, says USAID Administrator

If and when Nigeria’s idea for a Debt-For-Climate Swap deal, tabled last week in the US at different forums and events including at the White House by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, is widely accepted, the Federal Government would be reaping a huge debt relief from some creditors ranging in the order of billions of US dollars.

The idea described as fresh thinking in Washington D.C by senior American government officials last week is already receiving positive reviews even as VP Osinbajo explained the potential for significant debt cancellation for African countries.

In his meetings with the top officials of the US government right after his speech at the Centre for Global Development on Thursday, the VP further pushed the Debt-for-Climate, DFC idea which he had previously proposed, publicly first, at the CGD.

According to Prof. Osinbajo, "the proposed Debt-for-Climate swaps would be a very useful intervention and helpful as it will reduce debt burdens," while advancing the Climate Change objectives of the international community.”

He also described the idea as a Climate Change related financing instrument deserving of global consideration as it is a win-win proposal.

The VP also pushed the idea of opening up the Carbon Market in Africa so that the Climate Change actions of African countries can be adequately verified by the international community through the assessments of the appropriate verification institutions.

In addition, the VP noted "we are hoping to get support and international buy-ins for these ideas," specifically the DFC and the participation of African countries in the international carbon market. He reiterated that the DFC will help solve many of the debt burden challenges in Nigeria and other countries.

Responding to the Debt-for-Climate proposal, the Administrator of USAID told the Vice President that the idea is "fresh thinking that is very exciting," adding that the US is open to such new thinking even though it would require the full policy review of the American Government.

Experts say under the DFC, sovereign debtors and international creditors will forgive all or a portion of external debt often running into billions in a country like Nigeria, in exchange for a commitment by the country to invest, in domestic currency, in specific climate or energy transition projects during a commonly agreed period.

The expectation is that Debt For Climate swaps will reduce the level of indebtedness and free up fiscal resources to be invested in clean energy projects in Nigeria and other countries signed up for the programme once accepted by creditor-nations.

Prof. Osinbajo in his CGD speech explained that the "debt for climate swaps is a type of debt swap where bilateral or multilateral debt is forgiven by creditors in exchange for a commitment by the debtor to use the outstanding debt service payments for national climate action programs.

“Typically, the creditor country or institution agrees to forgive part of a debt, if the debtor country would pay the avoided debt service payment in a local currency into an escrow or any other transparent fund and the funds must then be used for agreed climate projects in the debtor country.”

Justifying the rationale behind such a debt swap deal, the Vice President submitted that the commitment to it would “increase the fiscal space for climate-related investments and reduce the debt burden for participating developing countries.”

Similarly, the VP at the CGD speech also proposed a significant addition to conventional capital flows both from public and private sources to Africa through greater participation in the global carbon finance market.

His words: “currently, direct carbon pricing systems through carbon taxes have largely been concentrated in high and middle-income countries. However, carbon markets can play a significant role in catalyzing sustainable energy deployment by directing private capital into climate action, improving global energy security, providing diversified incentive structures, especially in developing countries, and providing an impetus for clean energy markets when the price economics looks less compelling – as is the case today.”

He encouraged developed countries to support “Africa to develop into a global supplier of carbon credits, ranging from bio-diversity to energy-based credits,” which would be a leap forward in aligning carbon pricing and related policy around achieving a just transition.

While in Washington D.C. last week, the VP met with his American counterpart, VP Kamala Harris at the White House, the US Secretary of the Treasury, Ms. Janet Yellen, and the USAID Administrator Samantha Power. He also held an interactive session with a group of Nigerian staff members of the World Bank and the IMF, before he spoke at the Centre for Global Development.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
4th September 2022

The best VP ever liveth

His leadership style is exceptional

US VP HARRIS COMMENDS OSINBAJO’S LEADERSHIP ON CLIMATE CHANGE, CALLS NIGERIA’S VICE PRESIDENT AN “EXTRAORDINARY LEADER”

*Osinbajo hails US Inflation Reduction Act, says both countries can work together on climate change, global challenges

A renewed commitment by both Nigeria and the United States to work together on many global issues, especially on Climate Change and the global energy transition towards net-zero emissions emerged yesterday at the White House after a meeting between Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, and his American counterpart, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Prof. Osinbajo while responding to welcoming remarks by VP Harris noted that "we very strongly believe that we (Nigeria and US) in the coming years, will need to work together again on so many global challenges that are varied, and they come up very frequently now from promoting peace and security, to tackling global health issues and climate change and of course, economic adversity."

Speaking specifically about Nigeria's Energy Transition Plan, Prof. Osinbajo said "the Plan is important for us because we see especially, the climate crisis as two existential issues; one is the crisis itself, second the energy poverty which is an issue for us in our part of the world.

"So, while we look forward to the 2060 carbon neutrality goal, we are also hoping that even within a shorter period by 2030 we will deal with the issue of energy poverty.

"We look forward to the coming years and months for even greater collaboration and stronger ties between our countries to create a fairer, more prosperous and perhaps a greener, also freer nation and nations and the world," the VP added.

He then commended the US for its innovative approach to addressing Climate Change, noting that "I must also congratulate you because of the Inflation Reduction Act and again, in particular, this is historic especially for those of us who are paying attention to all the issues of Climate Change."

Earlier the American Vice President welcomed Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan, describing VP Osinbajo’s extraordinary leadership.

Referencing the global advocacy of Prof. Osinbajo on the issue of a just energy transition, VP Harris observed that her Nigerian counterpart has "been an extraordinary leader on this issue and I noticed this is something you feel very strongly about and you have been very adamant about the role Nigeria is playing in addressing this crisis that face us all."

Both the US Vice President and the Nigerian Vice President met at the Ceremonial Office at the White House and both made remarks to the press before the closed session where they discussed bilateral issues.

Speaking further on America’s leadership role in Climate Change, Prof. Osinbajo noted the “United States’ leadership in the area of Climate Change and we are all excited to queue behind the US and see that we get many of these objectives.”

The Vice President told his counterpart that Nigeria’s recently launched Energy Transition Plan (ETP) (launched just last week) is the country’s master plan for addressing the issues of climate crisis and energy poverty.

Vice President Osinbajo disclosed that Nigeria will require investment support towards the implementation of the Energy Transition Plan, referring to his earlier meetings in the past few days in the US Capital at the World Bank Group, the US Treasury and the US Agency for International Development, USAID.

Excited about the responses to the Nigerian plan so far, the VP noted “we are anxious to get all the support we can. In the last few days, I have been talking to a few of the agencies here, the World Bank, USAID, in fact, the Treasury Secretary yesterday also. And they have all been positive and shown indication that they will be very helpful.”

The US Vice President had earlier expressed her hope about Nigeria’s ability to achieve the ambitious goals laid out in the plan saying, “I congratulate you for your example on your Energy Transition Plan which I know pledges carbon neutral energy by 2060, an ambitious goal but important and by your leadership, I have no question that they will be achieved.”

Vice President Osinbajo also took time to laud the long-standing cordial relations between Nigeria and US.

"The United States has been a long-standing partner and friend of Nigeria and even as long ago as independence, the United States has been a firm supporter of our aspirations, especially our economic and social development ambitions, the US has been with us.”

Continuing, the VP added “we also must appreciate the firm support that we received from the US especially in our fight against terrorism within our borders and in the Sahel and of course, the very timely donation of vaccines, 4 million vaccines, as we battled the COVID-19 pandemic. And that, of course, was extremely useful.”

Vice President Kamala Harris also praised Nigeria’s leadership role in upholding democracy in West Africa and expressed hope that the general election next February will be peaceful and reflect the will of the people.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
3rd September, 2022

This man is always after the betterment of this Country. Osinbajo would have been a good President but the delegates are not ready for a greater Nigeria.

Weldone sir

Highly commendable

IN US FORUM LECTURE, OSINBAJO ADVOCATES DEBT- FOR -CLIMATE SWAPS, GREATER PARTICIPATION IN GLOBAL CARBON MARKET FOR AFRICAN NATIONS

*VP says debt for climate swap deal is a win-win for both creditor/developed nations & Africa

In a call that can at once significantly advance the course of global net-zero emissions targets, facilitate energy access and the development of African countries, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN is proposing a Debt-For-Climate (DFC) Swap deal.

Explaining the DFC concept yesterday during a lecture on a just and equitable energy transition for Africa at the Center for Global Development in Washington D.C, Prof Osinbajo stated that “debt for climate swaps is a type of debt swap where bilateral or multilateral debt is forgiven by creditors in exchange for a commitment by the debtor to use the outstanding debt service payments for national climate action programs.

“Typically, the creditor country or institution agrees to forgive part of a debt, if the debtor country would pay the avoided debt service payment in a local currency into an escrow or any other transparent fund and the funds must then be used for agreed climate projects in the debtor country.”

Justifying the rationale behind such a debt swap deal, the Vice President submitted that the commitment to it would “increase the fiscal space for climate-related investments and reduce the debt burden for participating developing countries.

“For the creditor the swap can be made to count as a component of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC).”

He added that to make this efficient “there are of course significant policy actions necessary to make this acceptable and sustainable."

*GLOBAL CARBON MARKET
The Vice President also proposed the greater participation of African countries in the Global Carbon Market while exploring financing options for energy transition.

According to him, there is a need to take a comprehensive approach in working jointly towards common goals, including the market and environmental opportunities presented by the financing of clean energy assets in growing energy markets.

His words: “in addition to conventional capital flows both from public and private sources, it is also essential that Africa can participate more fully in the global carbon finance market.

“Currently, direct carbon pricing systems through carbon taxes have largely been concentrated in high and middle-income countries. However, carbon markets can play a significant role in catalyzing sustainable energy deployment by directing private capital into climate action, improving global energy security, providing diversified incentive structures, especially in developing countries, and providing an impetus for clean energy markets when the price economics looks less compelling – as is the case today.”

He encouraged developed countries to support “Africa to develop into a global supplier of carbon credits, ranging from bio-diversity to energy-based credits,” which would be a leap forward in aligning carbon pricing and related policy around achieving a just transition.

While also addressing the concerns of the African continent and other developing countries regarding a just transition, Prof Osinbajo noted that “the central thinking for most developing countries is that we are confronted on this issue of a just transition with two, not one, existential crises; the climate crisis and extreme poverty.

“The clear implication of this reality is that our plans and commitments to carbon neutrality must include clear plans on energy access if we are to confront poverty. This includes access to energy for consumptive and productive use and spanning across electricity, heating, cooking, and other end-use sectors.”

According to him, “nearly 90 million people in Asia and Africa who had previously gained access to electricity can no longer afford to pay for their basic energy needs. The inflationary pressures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and other macroeconomic trends have been further exacerbated by the ongoing war in Ukraine.

“Countries worldwide have been hit by record prices on all forms of energy. Power prices are breaking records across the globe, especially in countries or markets where natural gas plays a key role in the energy mix.”

Prof Osinbajo sounded a note of caution, saying that “in such a global reality, limiting financing of gas projects for domestic use would pose a severe challenge to the pace of economic development, delivery of electricity access and clean cooking solutions, and the scale-up and integration of renewable energy into the energy mix.”

Speaking on Nigeria's initiative to combat the unfolding crisis, the VP revealed that the country's Energy Transition Plan "was designed to tackle the dual crises of energy poverty and climate change and deliver SDG-7 by 2030 and net-zero by 2060 while centring on the provision of energy for development, industrialization, and economic growth.

“We anchored the plan on key objectives including lifting 100 million people out of poverty in a decade, driving economic growth, bringing modern energy services to the full population and managing the expected long-term job losses in the oil sector due to global decarbonization.”

He also emphasized the role that natural gas “must play in the short-medium term to facilitate the establishment of baseload energy capacity and address the nation’s clean cooking deficit in the form of LPG.”

Furthermore, the Vice President identified some double standards evident in the response to the current energy crisis by many countries in the global North.

According to him, “today excluding South Africa, the remaining one billion people in Sub-Saharan Africa are serviced by an installed capacity of just 81 gigawatts. Sub-Saharan Africa has contributed, based on information that is already out there, less than one percent of cumulative CO.2 2 emissions.

“By comparison, the United States has an installed capacity of 1,200 gigawatts to power a population of 331 million people, while the United Kingdom has 76 gigawatts of installed capacity for its 67 million people. The per capita energy capacity in the United Kingdom is almost fifteen times than in Sub-Saharan Africa.”

He added that “many of these countries had barely a year ago seriously advocated or implemented policies on limiting public funding for fossil fuel projects in developing countries, making no distinction between upstream oil and coal exploration; and gas power plants for grid balancing.

“But today in the wake of the energy crisis, many European nations have made recent announcements to increase or extend their use of coal-fired power generation through 2023, and potentially beyond. This is in violation of their climate commitments and analysis suggests that this will raise power sector emissions of the EU by 4%, a significant amount given the high base denominator of EU emissions.”

Prof Osinbajo then observed that “Europe’s energy crisis has not been ignored, it continues to be met with support, and international resources. In stark contrast, the developing world is still being held to account for its emission reduction without adequate support and investment for its energy transitions.

Acknowledging the contrast to the wider responses to the climate crisis on the African continent, the Vice President said, “we are not seeing careful consideration and acknowledgement of Africa’s aspirations. For instance, despite the tremendous energy gaps, global policies are increasingly constraining Africa’s energy technology choices.”

Nevertheless, the VP confirmed that “with the Kigali communique and several other formal and informal consultations, African nations are now happily more intentional in taking joint ownership of our transition pathways and designing climate-sensitive strategies that address our growth objectives. This is what Nigeria has done with our Energy Transition Plan.

“Our Energy Transition Plan finds that an additional $10 billion over business as usual is required annually till 2060 to shift the entire economy to a net-zero pathway.”

On the subject of energy investments, he identified the mismatch in the volume of investments experienced in developed countries as opposed to developing countries.

According to him, “while representing just 15% of the world’s population, high-income countries received 40% of global energy investment in 2018. Conversely, developing countries with 40% of the world’s population received just 15% of global energy investment. This hasn’t improved much in recent years.”

Addressing what the ultimate goal of the global energy transition should be, Prof Osinbajo stated that it is in achieving “reliable net-zero carbon energy systems to power prosperous, inclusive economies.”

Speaking on the Nigerian context, he added that it means “building sustainability into our economic planning, which we had developed in an Economic Sustainability Plan in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes an ambitious plan over the near term to provide 5 million homes and SMEs with cleaner energy through its decentralized solar power program.”

After he delivered remarks at the American think-tank, the Vice President then took questions around the theme of a just energy transition and the recently launched Nigerian Energy Transition Plan.

Members of the Energy Transition Implementation Working Group (ETWG) present at the lecture included the Minister of Works & Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola; Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr. (Mrs) Zainab Ahmed; Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi; Director-General and CEO of the National Council on Climate Change, Salisu Dahiru; Nigeria's Ambassador to the United States of America, Dr. Uzoma Emenike, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), Ms Damilola Ogunbiyi; Managing Director of Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited, Chiedu Ugbo; and other senior government officials.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
2nd September, 2022

Well represented

All the best sir

Thank God for journey mercies

Fake news alert

STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE


OSINBAJO TRAVELS TO UNITED STATES, NIGERIA’S ENERGY TRANSITION PLAN ON THE AGENDA


*VP to meet U.S. counterpart, Kamala Harris, World Bank Group, other partners


Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, departs Abuja for the United States of America early Wednesday seeking global partnerships and support for Nigeria’s recently launched Energy Transition Plan.


Prof. Osinbajo is leading Nigeria’s Energy Transition Implementation Working Group (ETWG) on the US mission with meetings starting from tomorrow-the 1st of September to promote the plan and secure global support from the US government, the private sector, and other development partners.


The ETWG which is chaired by the VP comprises relevant ministers and other top government officials.


Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan officially launched last week at a global virtual event is a homegrown, data-backed and multi-pronged strategy developed for the attainment of 2060 net-zero emissions commitment in 5 critical sectors : Power, Cooking, Oil & Gas, Transport & Industry. Nigeria needs $410 billion to deliver the Transition Plan by 2060.


Among other highlights, the plan needs at least $10 billion per annum above business as usual spending for effective implementation.


At the launch, the World Bank and a renewable energy organization - Sun Africa, pledged a sum of $1.5 billion each totaling an initial $3 billion investment to support the implementation of Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan.


While in the United States, Prof. Osinbajo will meet US Vice President, Kamala Harris; US Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm; Secretary of Treasury, Janet Yellen, and President of World Bank Group, David Malpass, among others.


The Vice President is also scheduled to speak on Nigeria's Energy Transition Plan at the Centre for Global Development in Washington DC.

The Vice President’s delegation to the U.S. will include Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. (Dr.) Zainab Ahmed; Minister of Works and Housing, Raji Babatunde Fashola; Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu; Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General/CEO for Sustainable Energy for All, Ms Damilola Ogunbiyi. Nigeria's Ambassador to the United States, Dr. Uzoma Emenike will also join the delegation.

The Vice President will return to Abuja early next week.



‘Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
31st August 2022

Safe journey sir

They should act fast on economy and ASUU palava

WE ALL NEED TO ACT FAST ON ECONOMY, ASUU STRIKE, OSINBAJO TELLS VISITING APC GOVERNORS

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, received APC Governors today in his office at the Presidential Villa on a felicitation visit as he recovers from the surgery done last month.

While welcoming the Governors, Prof. Osinbajo expressed his appreciation for the visit and the good wishes.

The VP also commended the expertise of Nigerian doctors, and the availability of cutting-edge medical facilities existing in the country. But he regretted that doctors are restrained by regulations from advertising and as a result many people are unaware of the level of quality medical services available locally.

During the brief interaction that followed at the meeting, important national issues were also raised especially regarding the economy and the ASUU strike.

The Vice President and the Governors then agreed to engage these and other pressing issues further with a view to bringing urgent resolution for the benefit of the Nigerian people.

According to the Vice President "we all need to work together on these critical issues. We need to think through things, and we need to do it fast."

Present at the meeting were Governors, Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State; Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State; Simon Lalong of Plateau State; Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State; Muhammad Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State; Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq of Kwara; Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State; Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State; Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa, and the deputy governor of Ebonyi State, Kelechi Igwe.


Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
30th August 2022

We are waiting for the outcome. Our own star boy " problem solver"

A great leader

OSINBAJO has been very active, although he had a surgery recently and he has recovered and his back to work

Nigeria is not the worst place. Nigeria shall prevail

Una dey read to understand so?

WHY I VALUE TRANSPARENCY & SOCIAL JUSTICE BY OSINBAJO


*Harvard Business School students to VP: We want to hear from you

*International community needs to appreciate Nigeria's size to understand us better - VP

In a situation where societal or governmental institutions are not strong enough to compell individual behaviour in a way that advances the common good, spirituality and commitment to such values as social justice and transparency are important.

According to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, "just looking at these values, there is a great deal of unanimity about what is the right thing to do. The question is whether or not you will do those things, or whether you are motivated enough to do them, or whether you are compelled to do them.

“Spirituality helps in that sense to help you to decide what to do and what not to do. Especially where institutions are not strong enough to restrain people from behaving in a particular way or not.”

This was one of the highlights of the interaction between the Vice President and a group of Harvard Business School students who visited him on Friday at the Presidential Villa.

Numbering about a dozen, the students who are currently on an African excursion asked questions about leadership, faith, spirituality, government policies in education, health, economy, and national image, among others.

In his responses, the VP articulated his personal commitment to the virtues of integrity, transparency and social justice which are also virtues exhorted in the different faiths and religions in the country.

He said, “for me, spirituality connotes values. I came into government with values about what I think is important especially around transparency, social justice and justice, among others. You are almost always a product of the values you believe in. Fortunately, a lot of these values cut across the different faiths, they are not necessarily restricted to a religion or one faith.

"In societies that are more developed institutionally, you don’t need to be told that you shouldn't do certain things because you could end up in jail if you do and there is a good likelihood that you could be detected and the process will go through and you will be punished.

"I speak about corruption and all that. But where the institutions are weak, some people have reasons for not doing the right thing," Prof. Osinbajo submitted.

Talking about Nigeria and its perception in the international community, Prof. Osinbajo explained to the postgraduate students some of whom are Nigerians, that it is in understanding the size of Nigeria that the international community can better appreciate the enormity and complexity of some of the country’s challenges.

According to the VP, “first, there is a need to appreciate the size of the country, which is crucial to understanding what the issues are.

“For instance, Borno State is about the size of the whole of the United Kingdom plus Sweden or Denmark. So, when it is reported that there is violence in Nigeria, it is probably an incident in one remote area of the country, and many people in Abuja and Lagos may hear about it on social media, such is the size of this country.

“When they talk about economy, we are often compared with smaller African countries, but there are 10 states in Nigeria that have bigger GDPs than those countries, it is a huge target market.”

Responding to the question about some inaccurate characterization of Nigeria in sections of the international community, the Vice President said “it is important to constantly engage the international community to show them how we feel about the stereotypes. It comes down to the work we do as government and people about the characterization.

“This is why some of the work around the Ease of Doing Business etc. are all initiatives that have behind them, the whole idea that this environment is one that is welcoming to business and people can come and do business."

Talking about creativity in governance, the Vice President said “my view is that there needs to be more innovation in governance and policy. You get that kind of innovation in business. People are disrupting in business everyday but there is very little disruption going on in government. I think there is a need for much more thinking in government.”

He also spoke about education, educating people and wealth creation, providing resources so that more people can move up.

“A lot of that is tied to education, that is really something that interests me the most. Just using an example of something we did in the Northeast.”

The VP then went on to narrate how the Learning Centers in Maiduguri were started.

“I visited Maiduguri, Borno State in 2015, and I saw many children whose parents had been killed by the Boko Haram insurgents and in a place where they were, I saw about 49,500 of such children. I had a conversation with the governor and other officials and the idea of starting a school for them came up and we stepped in.

“The State Government gave us land in Maiduguri that could accommodate 1,300 children, and these were children that could only speak Kanuri. We built a school that exposed these children to technology and values, and after five years, the children were able to speak English and Hausa, they were doing robotics, writing programmes and other things they were not able to do before then.

“What this showed is that with skills, any child, anywhere can do everything, especially when you provide that child with education that is focused,” the VP added.

The Vice President also spoke about the economy, and the Federal Government’s Social Investment Programme, politics, leadership, education, and energy transition, among others.

The students, while thanking the VP for the opportunity to visit him added according to their leader, Mr. Daniel Jaiyeoba, that they wanted to hear from the Vice President noting that “we understand your private sector experience and now you are in the public sector. That is why we put this visit together.”

The students were accompanied on the visit by the Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, who had taught some of them as undergraduates. The list of the Harvard students delegation also included Maan Aldaiel, Dusty Register, Tomas Tussie, Connor Popik, Ruben Anzures, Scott Kimberlee, Thomas Cowan, Laura Romine, Lanre Ojutalayo, Oluwatoyin Ogundele, Etim Imoh and Abdul-Rahman Buhari.


Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
28th August 2022