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Tag: Prof. Yemi Osinbajo

  • Osinbajo takes Shettima on a tour of Aso Rock

    Osinbajo takes Shettima on a tour of Aso Rock

    Nigeria’s  Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Thursday, took the Vice President-elect Kashim Shettima on a tour of the  Vice President’s Wing of the Presidential Villa.

    This is a normal practice between the outgoing and the incoming government.

    Before the exercise, both men had a meeting where Shettima expressed his intentions to exchange ideas and collaborate with Osinbajo in advancing the nation.

    He praised the Vice President for his courtesy in personally showing him around the offices, emphasising the importance of cross-pollination of ideas.

    “On the instance of Vice President, who is a friend, a contemporary, I came here just to exchange ideas on how to move the nation forward.

    “He took me round the offices out of courtesy and I want to commend him, I want to thank him for extending that courtesy to me. Yes, cross fertilisation of ideas.”

    Asked about the expected impact of the Tinubu-Shettima Presidency and the timeline for its manifestation, the incoming Vice President asserted his belief that President Bola Tinubu would hit the ground running immediately.

    Acknowledging the urgency of the situation, he mentioned his own role as Vice President and refrained from making grandiose statements, but affirmed his confidence in their collective ability to swiftly initiate action.

    “I believe President Tinubu will hit the ground running from day one. He does not have the luxury of time. And I will be the Vice President I don’t want to be presumptuous, I don’t want to make loud proclamation but my interaction with him has shown that we will hit the ground running from day one,” he stated.

    Regarding the recent conferment of a national honour of GCON on him, he expressed gratitude, describing it as a humbling and historic experience.

    He highlighted the divine aspect of human accomplishments, emphasising that their positions were not solely attributable to intellect, physical prowess, lineage, or political astuteness.

    Recognizing the call to national duty, he called upon the support of the media, especially emphasising their vital role in their collective pursuit of building a new Nigeria.

    He also urged all individuals, including media personnel, to join them in their endeavors to shape a transformed nation, emphasizing the significance of unity and cooperation in achieving their goals.

  • Osinbajo travels out to Vietnam on official assignment

    Osinbajo travels out to Vietnam on official assignment

    Nigeria’s Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, has departed the shores of the country for the Republic of Vietnam for an official assignment.

    Osinbajo will be involved in high-level bilateral engagements in the Asian country, where he’s expected to meet the President of Vietnam, Nguyễn Xuân Phúc and the Vice President, Pho Chu Tich Nuroc, among other dignitaries of the country.

    Osinbajo’s reciprocal visit to the Southeast Asian country will further fortify trade and bilateral relations between both countries.

    The Vice President’s spokesman, Loalu Akande made this known through a statement on Saturday

    Recall that in view of the trade and bilateral relations between Nigeria and Vietnam, then Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam, Vuong Hue, visited Nigeria in 2019 and met with Osinbajo.

    Although both countries have maintained long-standing diplomatic relations since 1976, Osinbajo will be the second high-ranking Nigerian government official to visit the Southeast Asian country after former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

    The VP will also participate in a business forum at the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce aimed at matchmaking entrepreneurs from both countries.

    The Vice President is expected back in the country next week when all scheduled meetings would have been concluded.

     

  • Except for few, Nigerians are good people – Osinbajo in Canada

    Except for few, Nigerians are good people – Osinbajo in Canada

    Nigeria’s Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, has made a case for Nigerians today in Ottawa the Canadian capital.

    Osinbajo explained that except few persons who dent our image, Nigerians generally are good, hardworking and straightforward persons who have impacted positively in the world.

    “The vast majority of Nigerians all over the place are honest, straightforward people trying to survive in those places and be responsible citizens wherever they find themselves,” the VP said during an interactive session with some leaders of Nigerian groups across different provinces in Canada.

    This is according to a statement signed on Tuesday by the Senior Special Assistant to the VP on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, titled ‘Osinbajo commends Nigerians abroad, says majority honest, hardworking & thriving.’

    According to him, “What you tend to find is that a few people do the damage. There is a negative characterization that comes out of that.”

    Therefore, to prevent this he urged Nigerians in the diaspora to engage with each other “to ensure that people see the damage that is being done to society.”

    “We can engage with our people and have a lot more conversations around trying to prevent people from committing offences and crimes, but more importantly, being able to self-regulate in our communities, talking about it frankly and openly.

    “We must engage countries also so that Nigerians are not profiled. This is something that we have been doing, working with embassies in different countries to be sure that Nigerians are given a fair chance and that there is no negative profiling of Nigerians,” he added.

    Vice President also stated that, the federal government had established links with institutions such as Carleton University, Ottawa and Queen’s University in Kingston who are providing training programmes for Nigerians.

    He noted that the issue of brain drain cut across all very populated countries, like China and India.

    “This is why you have a huge Indian diaspora, huge Chinese diaspora.

    “What is important is that we train our people well so that wherever they go, they are able to get good paying jobs, so that they don’t get jobs well below their dignity wherever they find themselves.

    “We already have a reservoir of talent and experience in the diaspora everywhere and the more training we are able to do, the more collaboration we are able to have and the better for us all,” the VP said.

    In his remarks, the Nigerian High Commissioner, Adeyinka Asekun noted that Nigerians living in Canada will soon be able to apply for 10-year passport leaflets, being the third country to roll out the process after the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

    On Monday afternoon, the VP received two Nigerian-Canadians occupying top government positions; the Deputy Premier of Alberta Province, Kaycee Madu and a Deputy Minister in Alberta, Ako Ufodike.

    Dignitaries present at the interactive meeting included the Canadian Minister of Housing, Diversity and Inclusion, Ahmed Hussein; Special Advisers – Economic Matters, Dr Adeyemi Dipeolu; Social Investment Programmes, Mrs. Mariam Uwais and Ease of Doing Business, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole.

    Others included the Minister in the Nigeria High Commission in Canada, Obioma Nzwewuji; Chairman/CEO Nigeria-Canada Trade Investment Group, Taiwo Odutola and the leaders of Nigeria-Canada Associations from all the provinces across Canada, among others.

    Osinbajo paid a courtesy visit to Ottawa, Canada to rub minds with Canadian government officials and strengthen diplomatic ties between the two countries.

    The Vice president is expected back in the country by Thursday.

  • Buhari administration’s infrastructure investments, unprecedented, unmatched, says Osinbajo

    Buhari administration’s infrastructure investments, unprecedented, unmatched, says Osinbajo

    The creativity introduced by the Buhari administration in the financing of infrastructure projects, recording achievements in road, rail, and power among others, over the past 7 years, has placed the government high above previous ones, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

    Prof. Osinbajo stated this Monday in a presentation he delivered during the 3rd Ministerial Performance Review Retreat held at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja.

    The Vice President who lauded the “game-changing” accomplishments of the administration, noted that “clearly, there is no administration to date that has invested anywhere close to our investment in infrastructure, from roads, rail, to power, and broadband infrastructure.”

    He noted that the innovations adopted by the administration made the difference in the execution of key roads, rail and power and has laid the foundation for more remarkable achievements especially in power and broadband infrastructure.

    According to him, “first is in the development of infrastructure and especially the creativity we have introduced to infrastructure financing. The financing menu which we adopted includes the Road Infrastructure Development and Refurbishment Investment Tax Credit Policy.

    “This has incentivized the construction of over 1,500km of critical roads in key economic corridors. Under this scheme, the Dangote Group has substantially completed the reconstruction of the 34km Apapa-Oworonshoki-Ojota Expressway and the 43km Obajana-Kabba Road.

    “Similarly, Nigeria LNG Limited is on track to complete the 38km Bodo-Bonny Road and Bridges Project by the end of 2023. Recently, the President gave approval to MTN to construct the N202billion Enugu-Onitsha Road.”

    Continuing, the Vice President explained that “the second on the menu is the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (‘PIDF’) managed by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) where we have leveraged more than $1billion in financing to facilitate the accelerated completion of the Second Niger Bridge, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and Abuja-Kano Road.

    “The third is the Sukkuk Funds, and the fourth is the Infrastructure Corporation of Nigeria (‘InfraCorp’) established in 2021 with a seed capital of N1trillion from the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN, NSIA and the Africa Finance Corporation, AFC. All of these are the innovative ways we are able to fund infrastructure outside of the budget.”

    In the Power Sector, the VP said it is “an area where there has been game-changing progress but the situation is rather like building a skyscraper, the foundation is several floors into the ground, and no one sees the work while this critical component of the building is being done. This is where we are in the power sector, a lot of foundational work is going on.”

    Speaking about improvement in generating capacity in the power sector, the VP noted that “more than 4,000MW of additional power-generating assets will be completed under the life of this administration. These include the Zungeru Hydro, Kashimbilla Hydro, Afam III Fast Power, Kudenda- Kaduna Power Plant, the Okpai Phase 2 Gas Power Plant, the Dangote Refinery Power Plant and many others.”

    “Recently, KPMG concluded a study showing that while the figure of 4,000MW is the average used daily on the grid, electricity delivered by the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry, NESI on the whole which includes Grid, Captive and Embedded Power is in excess of 8,000MW daily not 4,000MW and also that installed capacity is in excess of 18,000MW, not 13,000MW.

    Much of the improvement to 8,000MW has occurred under our administration and they include one, the 28 Grid Power plants with an installed capacity of 13,000MW and operational daily capacities of around 5,000MW. These include Power Plants in Egbin, Ughelli, Geregu, Kainji and others,” the Vice President added.

    Prof. Osinbajo also mentioned other efforts targeted at improving generating capacity in the country.

    He said “there are 266 Captive Power plants (mainly industrial over 1MW) with Installed capacities of 4,000MW and Daily Operational Capacities of around 2,500MW. These include the Dangote Cement Capacities in Obajana Ibese (400MW), and NLNG’s Bonny Island Power Plant (240MW) amongst others. These are never captured in the statistics but are part of the stock of NESI. In the future, many of these plants will integrate into the grid, in fact, some of them supply power to communities where they are already.

    “Then there are the 16 Embedded Power Plants with 549MW of Installed Capacities and 190MW of Daily Operational Capacity. There is a whole range of generating capacity, most of them are not on the grid, they are captive or embedded depending on which ones they are. All of them contribute to our generating capacity on a regular basis.”

    In the area of renewable energy, the VP said “our programme has also attained great momentum. The Solar Naija Programme launched under the Economic Sustainability Plan is designed to achieve 5 million solar connections impacting over 25 million Nigerians. the Ministry of Power is also driving an additional N49billion in off-grid funding through the #SolarPowerNaija via the CBN.

    “There are also ongoing projects under the #SolarPowerNaija with NDPHC doing N7billion in solar projects, NNPC doing N22billion, NSIA doing N10billion and Infracredit/BOI doing N10billion in solar projects.”

    Prof. Osinbajo identified another innovation in the sector – the National Mass Metering Programme as “an important component of our power programme.”

    He said ‘this programme has helped greatly in advancing the fortunes of our electricity fortunes. It is being financed by CBN and has created 10,000 jobs and distributed 1 million meters and is establishing a structure to meter an additional 6 million households and sustainably eliminate the metering gap.

    “One of the major complaints of our discos and the electricity industry is that there isn’t adequate metering. Most times, discos have to give estimated billings and this is a tremendous irritation to consumers.”

    Speaking about projections in the industry, the VP said “there are now 41-meter factories present and functioning in Nigeria and have created 10,000 jobs. Going forward in the electricity industry (and there is so much that is going on there), it is proposed that the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) be separated into two entities under the direct oversight of the Ministry of Power.

    “And the two constituent parts would be TCN, to serve as a transmission service provider responsible for providing infrastructure for transporting electric energy across the whole of Nigeria and then the Independent System Operator to provide systems operations which is mainly about the management of power dispatch and grid security. And then the market operation function, which is market settlement administration.”

    The VP added that “this arrangement will create independence between TCN as a regulator and participant and certainly improve the confidence of market participants.”

  • Aisha Yesufu blasts Prof. Osinbajo, calls him a betrayer

    Popular socio-political activist  on social media Aisha yesufu has slammed Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, describing him as a betrayer.

    She further explained that she didn’t label Osinbajo a betrayal because he contested against Tinubu but the fact that he betrayed the entire people of the  country.

    She posited that Osinbajo whom many placed in high esteem in 2015 and 2019  later turned his back on Nigerians.

    She stressed that many Nigerians actually voted for the All Progressives Congress in 2015 simply because of Osinbajo’s face on the campaign posters but he allegedly failed them.

    Aisha made these claims via her official twitter handle on Wednesday shortly after the APC special Convention held at Eagles Square,Abuja.

    Her tweet reads: “Osinbajo @ProfOsinbajo betrayed the people, not Tinubu. Many voted for the APC ticket in 2015 because of Osinbajo.

    “He went in there and turned his back on the people. He decided to side with oppression and suppression!”

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Tinubu, scored 1,271 to defeat his closest challenger, Rotimi Amaechi, who polled 316. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, came  third in the primary, polling 235.

     

  • BREAKING: Osinbajo replies Shettima, shares Ice Cream, Popcorn at APC Special Convention

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo  mounted ice-cream and pop corn spots at the Eagle Square venue of the All Progressive Congress (APC) Convention ground.

    Findings show that ice cream and popcorn are being shared free of charge to delegates and other officials on demand for it.

    Recall that a former governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima had described Osinbajo as a nice man who should be selling confectionery like Ice-Cream and popcorn instead of vying for a presidential post.

    Shettima made  the statement when granting an interview on a political platform on  Channels TV

    “Osinbajo is a good man; he’s a nice man. But nice men do not make good leaders, because nice men tend to be nasty. Nice men should be selling popcorn, ice cream.”

    Shettima had since retracted his statement and  tendered an  unreserved apology.

    Osinbajo is a leading aspirant vying for the APC presidential ticket ahead of the forthcoming  general elections billed to hold in February 2023.

    See Pictures Below:

     

     

  • Owo attack: Osinbajo suspends political activities, visit victims of attack

    Owo attack: Osinbajo suspends political activities, visit victims of attack

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, on Monday, has suspended his political activities, for a condolence visit to Owo, Ondo state, to condole with victims of the catholic church attack.

    Recall that Thenewsguru.com reported that terrorists attacked St Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo state, living several people dead and others injured.

    In a tweet by Laolu Akande, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to Osinbjo. Osinbajo is expected to communicate President Buhari’s message to the people of Ondo state.

    In his tweet “The VP heads out to Owo, (Ondo State this morning) where worshippers were heinously attacked yesterday resulting in many casualties.

    “He will deliver the President’s condolences and message in person.”

  • Osinbajo denies being involved in car accident

    Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo has denied reports that he was involved in a car crash on Monday.

    There were speculations that some social and traditional media that the VP’s convoy was involved in a car accident along airport road Abuja.

    In his reactions, the VP’s spokesman Laolu Akande said via his twitter handle that Osinbajo only stopped at the scene of an accident to assist someone who was involved in the crash.

    Akande explained further  that Osinbajo has arrived Owo in Ondo State, where worshippers were heinously attacked and killed at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.

    He wrote ”On his way to the airport this morning, VP came across a road traffic accident, stopped to lend assistance, & ensured the victim was taken to the hospital with VP’s convoy ambulance.

    ”He then proceeded on his trip and is now in Ondo State heading to site of yesterday’s attack in Owo.”

  • 2023: Kashim Shettima apologises to Osinbajo, Lawan

    Former Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima, has  apologized to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, for his outburst towards them

    Shettima tendered an open apology via his Twitter handle saying he did not mean to denigrate them.

    Recall that Shettima had gone on politics today on Channels TV to describe Osinbajo as a decent man who should be selling popcorn and ice cream.

    He said, “Osinbajo is a good man; he’s a nice man. But nice men do not make good leaders, because nice men tend to be nasty. Nice men should be selling popcorn, ice cream.”

    On Lawan, Shettima said the facts are clear that the senate president, who cuts the image of a tomato trader, lacks capacity to confront the PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

    “Go to Ohafia or Arochukwu and ask for Ahmed Lawan, the first thing that will come to their mind is that of a tomato dealer who is bringing tomatoes from Maiduguri. Go to any part of the south. Does the brand name sell?” he said.

    However, a remorseful Shettima took to his Twitter account to apologise days later, saying his remarks were misrepresented.

    He said, “My interview on Channels TV was taken out of context. When I appeared on Channels TV last Friday amidst the tension rippling through our political arena, it was to underline the promise of Tinubu’s presidential bid held for those yet to establish the certainty of the hurdle ahead of the convention.

    “I never set out to denigrate the personality of any aspirant, and definitely not that of my dear friends and allies. None of them is an opponent, so their aspiration isn’t a threat to us.

    “They appear so in the sprint to become the party’s presidential flag-bearer in the 2023 elections, but they are our allies in the marathon.

    “My assessments of the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, and Senator Ahmad Lawan, were well-intentioned. I never set out to subject them to ridicule but, rather, to stir up interest in the contrasting virtues of the cast of aspirants putting up a fight against my preferred aspirant, one most favoured and advantaged to guarantee APC’s victory in the forthcoming presidential election.

    “The interpretations of my remarks on Osinbajo and Senator Lawan are, thus, being done literally and overblown. The interpretations of my remarks on Osinbajo and Lawan are, thus, being done literally and overblown.

    “My words weren’t woven to portray them as unworthy aspirants, but merely to qualify them as non-threatening contenders. I, however, take full responsibility for my utterances and wish to appeal to our teeming supporters to neither take my words out of their metaphoric contexts nor interpret them as a measure and declaration of hostility towards my dear friends and allies.

    “I, hereby, tender my unreserved apologies to the Vice President and the President of the Senate for the unintended pains my jibes might have caused them and their families and supporters.

    “A divided house, even if in the assumptions and imaginations of supporters with a distant grasp of our relationships with other aspirants, is the last impression we wish to create among Nigerians. I want this to be taken as an appeal to our supporters across all political camps to build bridges and mend fences as the actual journey is just about to begin. Victory, for the discerning, has always been the first lap of the race.”

  • Consensus candidate: APC Governors rally round Osinbajo

    After president Muhammadu Buhari revealed his plans to pick a successor to be the All Progressive Congress APC’s flag bearer in the forthcoming 2023 general election.

    The APC Governors are beginning to rally round Vice president Yemi Osinbajo to be the consensus candidate of the party.

    Several APC governors were sighted in the Presidential Villa meeting with Osinbajo and the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, in what sources say may be a move likely to result in a consensus presidential candidate for the party.

    It was gathered that governors of Ogun, Ekiti, Gombe, Nasarawa Ebonyi and Kano were sighted in the Villa between Wednesday and Saturday..

    Findings show that  a clear majority of the 22 governors on the platform of the ruling party under the aegis of Progressive Governors Forum appeared to have agreed on supporting the candidature of Osinbajo, ahead of the primaries commencing on Monday.

    The governors held series of meetings at the Kebbi State Governor’s Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja, on Tuesday, after meeting with the president.

    Reports say that  more northern governors including those of Borno, Kaduna, Kano, Nasarawa and Gombe are said to be opposed to a northern presidential candidate for APC.

    The meetings were initially deadlocked on who to support as APC presidential flag bearer.

    However, after reconvening, reports emanating from the meeting indicated that the governors had agreed that the presidency should be zoned to the South, with Osinbajo as candidate.

    ” The heroes of this whole thing are the governors of Borno, Nasarawa and Gombe who even though are from the North, argued that the vice president from the South fits the bill perfectly.

    ” Kaduna and Borno governors were also of the same view but the Kaduna governor has not been seen in the Villa this week.

    ” He was represented by his deputy at the meeting with the president on Tuesday,” the reports quoted a source as saying.

    The source, according to the reports, said that some governors had first insisted that the party’s presidency should be zoned to the North because the main opposition party had settled for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar at its convention.

    “It was a very heated argument between the governors.

    ” Some governors wanted a northern candidate to challenge the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate but some other northern governors kicked against it.

    ” They said that the it is morally right for power to return to the South.

    “The governors represented different interests at the meeting and were all pushing for their candidate but there were more governors who were loyal to President Muhammadu Buhari and who wanted to reciprocate the president’s gesture.

    “There were others who also insisted that Mr VP was the most popular candidate based on the feedback that the governors got from delegates in their states and they were almost certain and very confident he would defeat candidates from other parties including Atiku,” the source was quoted as saying.

    The reports also quoted an aide of one of the governors present at the meeting as disclosing that certain governors were asked to reach out to some notable aspirants to urge them to step down for the vice president.

    “It was indeed a difficult call as some governors were asked to reach out to their candidates to relate the choice of the governors and to also tell them to step down their ambition so that the party can present a united front at the convention,” the aide was quoted in the reports as saying.

    It would be recalled that the president at Tuesday’s meeting with the governors had called for reciprocity in choosing his successor.

    “In keeping with the established internal policies of the party and as we approach the convention in a few days, therefore, I wish to solicit the reciprocity and support of the governors and other stakeholders in picking my successor, who would fly the flag of our party for election into the office of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2023.

    “I wish to assure you that the consultation process shall continue to ensure that all aspirants and stakeholders would be brought on board right through to the convention.

    ” This would also ensure that any anxiety occasioned by different factors are effectively brought under control and that our party emerges stronger,” Buhari said.