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Tag: Osinbajo

  • End of Boko Haram will come soon – Osinbajo

    End of Boko Haram will come soon – Osinbajo

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said on Thursday that the celebration of the 2018 Nigerian Army Day – NADCEL at Mongunu in Borno North was a proof that the “end of the Boko Haram terrorists group “will come sooner than later.’’

    Osinbajo, who spoke at a “Mini Trade Fair and Military Equipment Exhibition as part of activities to mark the day, also said that it was a proof that the terrorist had been “substantially degraded.

    According to him, Borno and the entire region (North East) will surely bounce back, and, with the support of the rest of the country, make up for the years of bloodshed and destruction.

    The vice president said that the Sambisa forest, once the symbol of Boko Haram’s domination of the region, had been reclaimed, while the work of rebuilding had started in many communities across the state.

    “”Indeed, we are here to celebrate all of these wonderful successes, and progress.

    “”At a point, a few years ago, it felt as though they – terrorists were succeeding.

    “”As a result of the insecurity, social and economic life rolled to a halt in many parts of the state, as Boko Haram controlled a large territory and acted like the de-facto government of the state.

    “”The town of Monguno, which today is playing host to us, was a few years ago firmly in the hands of the terrorists.

    “”Today, thankfully, the tide has turned, in large part on account of the gallant and heroic work of the Nigerian Army. And it is on account of this that we are here today, to celebrate.

    “”We are here to celebrate the gallantry of our soldiers, men and women from every part of Nigeria, of different faiths and tribes and tongues, gathered to fight and defeat a common enemy.

    “”We are also celebrating the resilience of the people of Borno State, and reaffirming that our primary obligation to them, as a Government, is to ensure that they are able return to their communities and rebuild their lives and livelihoods in peace and safety,’’ the vice president said.

    Osinbajo expressed delight over the progress being recorded by the ongoing Operation Last Hold designed to rid remnant of terrorists from the Lake Chad Basin and Northern Borno.

    The vice president noted in the last three years, life was gradually returning to many parts of Borno as schools had reopened, airlines resumed flights, religious celebrations held, major roads and highways reopened.

    He said that he had no doubt that NADCEL and events lined up to mark it in Mongunu “will go a long way towards changing the negative narrative of terrorism, hunger and danger that have defined the North Eastern part of Nigeria, and the entire Lake Chad Basin, in the last decade.’’

    Osinbajo commended the army which he said had fought wars at home and abroad, to secure the country, and keep it united, though it suffered loss and setback.

    He specifically commended the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai for “inspiring the Nigerian army to turn the tide against Boko Haram.’’

    “”With the success of yet another Army Day Celebration, this time in the heartland of a dying insurgency, Gen. Buratai has left no doubt about the quality of his leadership.

    “”And today, we are all proud to associate with the Nigerian Army, for the ongoing victory in the North East.

    “”Long may that victory continue, even as it extends to other troubled parts of the country,’’ he said.

    The vice president acknowledged the sacrifice made by members of the armed forces and other security agencies in the fight against the terrorists, saying “we are also here to remember.

    “”To remember the tens of thousands who have lost their lives to this needless violence; the innocent civilians, and the vigilante and military dead, who paid the ultimate sacrifice to preserve the security and sovereignty of Nigeria.

    ““We will never forget. And we shall continually strive to work to build a Nigeria in which terrorists and bandits shall have neither sway nor leeway.’’ (NAN)

  • Osinbajo says state policing solution to killings

    State police remains the surest way of tackling the current security challenges like herdsmen and farmers’ clashes in parts of the country, says Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

    Osinbajo stated this in a keynote address he delivered at the third anniversary of the 8th Assembly of the Lagos State House of Assembly on Friday in Lagos.

    His Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, made the transcript of the speech available to journalists on Saturday.

    Osinbajo argued that policing was a local function and policemen must be able to speak and understand the local language.

    Osinbajo stated, “We have argued repeatedly, and we believe it is the position of our party, that you cannot police a country of this size with a police command that functions out of Abuja. It is just impossible. We must have state police and community police.

    “Policing is always a local function. Anyone who is a policeman must be able to speak and understand the local language.

    “If a policeman does not understand the local language, he stands at a major disadvantage. This is why state or local policing is important as part of our security architecture.

    “Some of what we have seen in many parts of the country, where we have had herdsmen killings and clashes with farmers, and the slow responses of the security agencies, have been on account of the fact that local policing is weak.

    “The only solution we can proffer, therefore, is some form of local policing so that the state can decide how many policemen, how many security agencies are required. That is the way by which we can have enduring solutions.”

  • Nigeria’s tax revenue grew by 51 per cent in 2017- Osinbajo

    Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday said that the country’s tax revenue has increased to 51 per cent in 2017.

    Osinbajo made the disclosure at the FT Nigeria Summit on “Dispelling Uncertainty and Building Resilience’’ in Lagos.

    He said that the 51 per cent growth year- on-year was due to aggressive tax policies introduced by the Federal Government.

    Speaking on “Nigeria beyond oil- The pathway to transformation’’, Osinbajo said that the Federal Government had diversified the economy to ensure proper growth and development.

    “Aside from oil, tax revenues have gone up by 51 per cent in 2017. We are recording high tax revenue in the history of the country,’’ he said.

    Osinbajo said that tax to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would be above six per cent it used to be, going by growth recorded in tax revenue.

    On external debt, he assured Nigerians that the current debt profile was still small and nothing to worry about when compared to GDP.

    Osinbajo said that the country’s debt to GDP was 21 per cent, compared with Ghana that was around 70 per cent and South Africa 50 per cent, USA 101 per cent.

    He stated that the country’s debt to revenue as at Nov. 2017 was 34 per cent down from about 60 per cent in the past.

    “The reason why we have the alarmists is because this is only a snapshot, if you take a snapshot of Nov. 2017, you are not looking at revenue, you might say that the debt is very high.

    “So, you cannot respond to these things by snapshot because you are not taking into account the revenue.

    “Our external debt is not something we should worry about, we have managed debt very well,’’ he said.

    Osinbajo said that government would remain committed to the development of local capacity with implementation of various initiatives enlisted in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

    On privatisation, he said that government was still committed to privatisation exercise and was too looking at assets that needed to be privatised.

    He said that government would concession General Electric and the four major airports in the country.

    Mr James Gunnell, the Managing Director, Financial Times Live/Global Conferences & Events, said that the summit would further brighten Nigeria’s complex economic and investment climate.

    The summit would enable senior policy makers, major international investors, and multilateral organisations to put forward concrete recommendations and realistic solutions aimed at facilitating growth and overcoming the challenges the country was facing.

  • Saraki denies discussing CCT trial at nPDP meeting with Osinbajo

    Senate President, Bukola Saraki on Wednesday denied bringing up his trial at the Code of Conduct Bureau with during the meeting held by the new People’s Democratic Party (nPDP) with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday.

    Saraki faulted a report by The Nation newspaper claiming he (Saraki) wanted to use the grievances of members of the nPDP to stop his trial.

    This was revealed in a statement signed and released by his Special Adviser (Media and Publicity), Yusuph Olaniyonu.

    Read full statement below:

    My CCT Trial Never Came Up At nPDP Meeting With Osinbajo, Says Saraki

    The attention of the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has been drawn to the front page headline in the May 30, 2018, edition of The Nation newspaper – ‘Ex-nPDP: stop Saraki’s trial’. The body of the story was contained on Page 6 of the newspaper.

    Ordinarily, Dr. Saraki would have ignored the story as he has done in the cases of other speculative ones concerning the on-going discussions between the new People’s Democratic Party (nPDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government published by the newspaper, but since this story specifically mentioned an issue concerning him and the newspaper is associated both in ownership and viewpoint with a section of the APC leadership, it may be perceived to have some level of authenticity.

    The trial of Dr. Saraki over asset declaration issues which is now before both the Supreme Court and the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) was never part of the discussions over the grievances of the nPDP leaders and all those who attended the meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo can attest to this. The issues being discussed between the nPDP and the APC leaderships are beyond personal matters.

    Dr. Saraki will want it known that he is not interested in any settlement of the asset declaration case outside the judicial process. He is confident that the court will give him justice and he will be exonerated of all charges as can be seen by the verdicts of the CCT and the Court of Appeal. In fact, he maintains his earlier position that the trial was politically and maliciously motivated.

    The Senate President’s only concern is that all interested parties should allow the judiciary to freely and fairly decide on the issues before it. Dr. Saraki believes in the rule of law, independence of the judiciary and ability of the court to adjudicate on all matters.

    The Senate President has consistently exhibited a strong belief that nobody should compromise national interest with personal issues. And this has guided his actions, conduct and utterances in the performance of his official duties in the last three years, despite the persistent persecution and intimidation directed at him.

    While urging Nigerians to ignore the speculations contained in The Nation’s story, Dr. Saraki maintains that there is no reason for him to depart from his avowed principle that the nation is greater than any individual, including himself.

     

    Signed:

    Yusuph Olaniyonu
    Special Adviser (Media and Publicity) to the Senate President

  • Stop comparing our three years administration with PDP’s 16 years – Osinbajo

    Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday said comparing the three-year-old administration of the incumbent All Progressives Congress (AP) to the sixteen years administration of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was unfair.

    He said the fact that the opposition PDP had started assessing the present government even shortly after spending two years in office showed that “we have performed well.”

    Osinbajo said this in his short remarks at a gala night/dinner organised to round off activities marking the 2018 Democracy Day.

    The Vice-President stood in for President Muhammadu Buhari at the event held at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Osinbajo said it was important for the current government officials to thank God for having been in office for three years.

    He said he would not have believed the prophesy if anybody had told him five years ago that he would become the nation’s Vice-President.

    Osinbajo said the administration had recorded great success.

    He said for those who had been in government for 16 years comparing themselves to an administration that was just three years, showed that the administration had done very well.

    Earlier, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, described the evening as auspicious in the sense that it was the third year of Buhari’s administration and 19 years of democracy.

    “As we go into the fourth lap of this administration, good things are about to happen,” he said.

    According to the SGF, the democracy lecture delivered by a former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Attahiru Jega, on Monday, was one that would be discussed for a long time.

    Mustapha said, “Jega spoke truth to power across all divides and that the time has come for Nigerians to begin to tell themselves the truth if the country must experience the desired change.

    “He spoke to all divides, executive, judiciary and legislature. I believe it is high time we told ourselves the truth if we must experience the desired change.”

    Osinbajo, during the event, formally received members of Team Nigeria that participated in the 21st Commonwealth Games, Gold Coast 2018, Australia.

    The Minister of Youths and Sports, Solomon Dalung, said the athletes made Nigeria proud at the games both as athletes and ambassadors in discipline and conduct.

     

  • APC crisis: Osinbajo woos Saraki, Dogara other nPDP members

    To prevent the All Progressives Congress, APC from shrinking amid internal grouping threats, Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo gave promises to the Senate President, Bukola Saraki; Speaker of House of Representative, Yakubu Dogara and other members in the new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) delegation, who met with him at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday.

    Recall that the defunct nPDP which played a very vital role in the victory of the APC at the 2015 presidential election is aggrieved and recently protested against lack of patronage and maltreatment of its members by the APC-led Federal Government.

    One of the members of the nPDP who attended the meeting and spoke with TheNewsGuru.com under condition of anonymity said Osinbajo pleaded with the group that there will be a redress to all the grievances raised by the nPDP delegation.

    Also, Kawu Baraje, spokesman of the group, told newsmen that the meeting was a good beginning but they were looking forward to having a similar sit-down with President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Speaking after the meeting with the vice-president, Baraje said: “Members of the nPDP had written a letter to the party copying the President and the Vice-President.

    “So the party had invited us earlier on and now it is the turn of the Vice-President, probably the next one will be the President.”

    “So far so good,” he said when asked if the nPDP members were satisfied with the discussion with Osinbajo.

    He added: “We are looking forward to some of the promises. There will be other meetings because we have been put into subcommittees and then we will now identify specific and general problems and then we will proceed to see Mr. President. But it was a very good meeting.”

    Members of the nPDP present at the meeting were Senate President Bukola Saraki, Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the house of representatives; Aminu Tambuwal, Sokoto governor; Abdulfatai Ahmed, governor of Kwara, and Rabiu Kwakwanso, former Kano governor.

    Members of the new Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) say it is too early to know for certain if they will remain in the All Progressive Congress (APC).

  • BREAKING: Osinbajo meets aggrieved nPDP members in Abuja

    Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo is currently meeting members of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party.

    The meeting is holding inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    It will be recalled that members of the nPDP had recently protested what they called their nationalisation in the ruling All Progressives Congress among other allegations.

     

    Details later…

     

  • Just in: Osinbajo may lose his VP position, says Buhari

    Just in: Osinbajo may lose his VP position, says Buhari

    President Muhammadu Buhari has hinted that he may appoint another Vice President should he win the 2019 presidential election, as Yemi Osinbajo’s ”position is threatened.”

    The president revealed this on Friday when he hosted a delegation of the Conference of Nigerian Female Parliamentarians at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    “It is a pity the VP is not here, but I believe the Secretary to the Government of the Federation will brief him that his position is threatened,” Buhari said on a lighter note, while reacting to a demand for a female Vice President of Nigeria.

    Apart from the vice president slot, the female legislators also asked Buhari to make it compulsory for one out of three senators produced by each state of the federation to be a woman.

    They also demanded that three out of nine members of the House of Representatives from each state should be a woman.

    The leader of the delegation, Mrs. Elizabeth Ative, made the demands on behalf of her colleagues.

    Ative said, “Currently, many African and European nations are daily finding ways to include more women in governance.

    “Some have elected or appointed women as heads of state, prime ministers, heads of foreign ministries and other key positions of decision making.

    “It will not be out of place, Your Excellency, for women to be given such opportunities in our dear nation. Even God created them male and female.”

    In his response, Buhari jocularly told the women that their demand for a female vice president was a threat to the current holder of the office, Yemi Osinbajo.

    Osinbajo was not present at the meeting which Buhari had with the female lawmakers.

    “It is a pity that the vice president is not here; but I am sure the Secretary to the Government of the Federation will brief him that his position is (being) threatened,” the President replied.

    Buhari also said that he had no constitutional powers to grant the third request that a particular number of federal lawmakers produced by each state should be women.

    He said only a military dictator could make such a pronouncement.

    “I am not all that powerful (such) that when I talk, it becomes a decree. As I said, it is only the vice president that is threatened,” he said.

    He, however, thanked the women for their support and urged them to continue, especially as he has declared his intention to seek a re-election.

    He also said that there was no truth in their belief that men were bent on marginalising women in the forthcoming general elections.

    Ative had earlier claimed that female politicians are being marginalised by men. She, however, commended Buhari for what he called his “integrity.”

    Ative said, “The impunity with which the former handlers embezzled with reckless abandon has become a thing of the past in our country because of Your Excellency’s doggedness, courage, firmness and integrity in standing for truth, fairness and equity.

    “Politically, women account for over 50 percent of voters in any election. They are very loyal politicians and do not cross-carpet. They wait patiently to cast their votes under the rain and even in the scorching sun.

    “It will interest Your Excellency to know that Nigeria is a signatory to several conventions and treaties supporting and encouraging the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, women liberation and political participation such as the African Charter in Human Rights (1981).

    “The Convention on the Elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (CEDAW, 1995), the Beijing Declaration and platform for action (1995), the goal No. 3 of the Millennium Development Goals No. 5 (SDGs), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) to but a few.

    “However, Nigerian women have not been given their rightful place in the scheme of things. Women political empowerment in Nigeria ranks a lowly 111th position of 145 countries surveyed in the 2015 Global Gender Gap Report.

    “Today, Nigeria falls short of the National Gender Policy benchmark of 35% minimum representation for women as well as the global and regional benchmarks of which she is a signatory, ranking 181 out of 193 countries in female representation according to statistics from inter parliamentary union.”

  • 2019: I never begged to be Buhari’s deputy, I can leave at anytime – Osinbajo

    Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday night said he didn’t lobby for the position he currently occupies and can leave at a short notice if the tenets of the office negates his Christian faith and values.

    Osinbajo stated this while responding to posers raised by some Christian leaders at the stakeholders’ meeting held at the new Banquet Hall of the Benue State Government House, Makurdi on Tuesday.

    He said under no circumstances would he give up his faith but would rather vacate his position as the nation’s Vice-President at the slightest attempt to cause him to abandon his Christian virtues.

    One of the speakers, the Catholic Bishop of Gboko, His Lordship, Williams Avenya, had reminded Osinbajo of the then-presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign promises that he would not Islamise the country and would protect the interest of all Nigerians including citizens of minority ethnic groups if voted into power.

    Quoting Buhari, the bishop said, “My deputy is a Christian and there is no way I will Islamise Nigeria with many Christians in my team.”

    Avenya noted that the killing of Christians and members of the minority ethnic group particularly in Benue State had proved that the Federal Government under Buhari was not living up to these promises.

    Facing Osinbajo, the bishop said, “The point I’m trying to make is that a day is going to come when you, as the Vice-President, will bear the brunt of that problem of injustices in our land, especially those perpetrated on smaller ethnic groups that have no one to fight for them.

    “So, as a Christian person, exonerate yourself from this situation,” the bishop advised the VP.

    Responding, the vice-president said, “My Lord Bishop, you said you are not a politician, I am also not a politician. As a matter of fact, I’m also a priest and I’m a Christian, a born again Christian. Because I’m a born again Christian, my destiny is not determined by any man but by God who I serve.

    “Let me assure you that under no circumstances, none whatsoever, will I give up my faith or refuse to stand up for my faith.

    “You can take that to the bank. Even the position that I currently occupy, I did not ask for it and I’m prepared to leave it at a short notice.

    “It doesn’t mean anything. I became a born again Christian after I became a professor, a professor of the law of evidence, a professor of proof.

    “But when the Lord Jesus Christ met me, He persuaded me by showing me clearly that there is such a thing as the evidence of things that are not seen.

    “It is because of the evidence of things that are not seen, it is because you can make something out of nothing that I stand here today as Vice-President.

    “How possible can anyone say that the killing of women and children doesn’t matter because he is Vice-President or because he is President? How is that possible? Certainly, it cannot be for a person who is born again. A renewed mind will know that there is justice, there is consequence even if there is no justice here on earth.”

    The Vice-President, while reacting to the issue raised by another speaker, Dr. Magdalene Dura, that the invasion of the state was an ethnic agenda, said no one would deliberately kill his own people.

    “I do not accept and I do not believe that there is an agenda. No one will deliberately kill his own people. No one will do so. But we cannot bring back the dead but we can make life more bearable for the living.

    “This is why coming here today at the behest of the President is first, to look at the situation myself, to get a first-hand view of the situation because the President has mandated me to take this on board and deal with the issues,” Osinbajo added.

    In his remark, Governor Samuel Ortom appealed to the Federal Government to ensure that peace reign in his state.

    The governor said that the killing of the two Catholic priests and 17 parishioners could have caused a religious crisis but for the prompt action of his administration.

    He appreciated the Federal Government for deploying more troops to the state as well as releasing funds for control of flood in the state.

  • Benue killings not product of any planned agenda – Osinbajo

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has denied claims that the killings in Benue were the outcome of a planned agenda to eliminate the people.

    Osinbajo, who is Benue on a two-day working visit, made the denial on Tuesday during a stakeholders meeting at the Benue People’s Government House, Makurdi.

    He said the Federal Government was determined to prove such insinuations false by rebuilding all damaged communities in the country.

    He said the anger and disappointment expressed by the people at the meeting was “right and justified” but assured that government was committed to providing security for their protection.

    He said there were several intervention that had been initiated to make life bearable to them.

    The Vice President assured that the government would “dig deep into the root cause of the crises to find lasting solutions to it.”

    He also dismissed the religious colorations attached to the killings, saying ” persecutions have always been with Christians and it is the duty of Christians to stop it”.

    ” The gospel of Jesus can not be killed by anybody; it is not fragile or written on a piece of paper,” he explained.

    He said the recent recruitments into the various arms of the security agencies was aimed at providing effective security protection to the people, especially communities under frequent attacks.

    The vice president also condoled with the Catholic Church for the attack on its priests and worshippers at Saint Ignatius Parish Mbalom where 18 people including two catholic priests were killed by suspected armed herdsmen.

    Earlier in an address, Gov Samuel Ortom, called on the federal government to fish out the killers of the two priests and their parishioners that were murdered in cold blood by gunmen.

    He also called for more humanitarian aide to the state to handle the displaced people who were living in inappropriate sanitary conditions.

    Also speaking at the meeting, Maj-Gen Lawrence Onoja(Rtd) called for the establishment of “Middle Belt Reconstruction Commission” to tackle the most of the challenges the state faced especially in agriculture.

    He also called on the federal government to arrest the killer- herdsmen and provide protection to farmers to enable them return to their farms.

    The Catholic Bishop of Gboko Diocese, Most Rev.Williams Avenya, regretted the attacks on innocent citizens and called on the government to encourage the ranching of livestock as a panacea to the blood bath in the Benue valley.

    Also in a remark, the Speaker, Benue House of Assembly, Mr Terkimbi Ikyange, called on the government to encourage the adoption of the Anti- Open Grazing Law by all states to end the acrimonious relationship with herders in the country.

    A former Vice Chancellor, ABU Zaria, Prof Daniel Saror, appealed to the federal government to chase out the herders who he claimed had taken over their farmlands and occupying their houses.

    For Dr Magdalyne Dura, a lecturer, the N10 billion earmarked to rebuild damaged communities was inadequate, considering the volume of damage done by the herders.

    Other speakers who also supported the adoption of the anti open grazing law included; former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr Mike Aondoakaa, Brig-Atom Kpera, Prof Tony Ijohor and Prof Jerry Agada.

    Edo Govt. trains 1,500 persons on ICT-based teaching