Tag Archives: VP

VP Osinbajo to visit manufacturing firms in Anambra

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Vice President Yemi Osinbajo would on Nov. 24 visit some select companies in Anambra to assess the challenges facing them in the state.

 

Gov. Willie Obiano made this known to newsmen in Awka on Wednesday.

 

Obiano said the visit was against the backdrop of the presentation he made to the Federal Government after he met with the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria, Anambra chapter, recently.

 

He said the visit would enable the federal government provide sustainability package for 300 firms in the state in the areas of Forex and raw material sourcing to enable them stay afloat.

 

According to the governor, Osinbajo would visit the major industrial hubs of the state including Onitsha, Nnewi and Awka.

 

He said the need to help the manufacturing firms could not be farfetched as the sector alone employed no fewer than 800,000 workers.

 

“Recently I had a meeting with manufacturers in Anambra where they made their challenges known to us and I tabled the problems in Abuja before the Federal Government and Central Bank.

 

“On that basis, the Vice President will visit the state on Thursday (Nov. 24) and see things for himself; he will visit selected firms in Onitsha, Nnewi and Awka,’’ Obiano said

Pipeline vandalism disrupts development agenda for Niger Delta – VP

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Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Tuesday described the damaging of pipelines and oil installations in the Niger Delta as destruction of facilities meant to help the people of the region.

Osinbajo said this when he received a delegation of Urhobo leaders, led by Chief Tuesday Onoge at the Presidential Villa.

The vice president lamented that “so much damage is being done, governments will come and go, but these damages will ultimately destroy people’s livelihoods, aspirations and future”.

Osinbajo said: “Nobody else anywhere in the world will destroy the facilities meant to help them, there is no benefit whatsoever from the destruction.”

He maintained that the Buhari administration would continue its outreach to leaders and groups in the Niger Delta in seeking for peaceful solution to the crisis in the region.

Osinbajo, however, called for understanding, especially on the part of the leaders of the region, stressing that “destruction and damage do not lead to anything good”.

He also commented on the opened channels of communication and negotiation with the Niger Delta leaders and representatives.

According to him, President Muhammadu Buhari has shown exemplary leadership and is someone that can be trusted once he gives his word.

He said: “He (Buhari) is quiet, but fiercely determined, once he makes up his mind and gives his word.”

He also encouraged Niger Delta people to work with the President.

Osinbajo commended the delegation from the Urhobo Leaders of Thought, including the All Progressives Congress gubernatorial candidate in the 2015 elections, Olorogun Ortega Emerhor.

He also commended the leadership and understanding of the Urhobo Leaders of Thought.

Earlier, Onoge had lamented that if the money sent to the Niger Delta in the last 16 years was

judiciously spent, the people of the region would have benefitted, and asked “what happened to the monies?”.

The leader of the delegation, who pledged support to the Federal Government, criticised the vandalism of oil and gas installations in the Niger Delta and offered to assist in furthering peace in the region.

He said that the group supported the anti-corruption efforts of the Buhari administration.

In a related development, the vice president disclosed that the Federal Government was ready with the counterpart funding for the designated railway constructions from Lagos-Kano and Calabar-Lagos lines.

He said this when the new Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Zhou Pingjian, paid him a courtesy visit on Tuesday in Abuja.

He said the relationship between Nigeria and China was getting stronger and strategic.

The Chinese envoy said trade between both countries had increased and described Nigeria as “giant of Africa”.

Fuel Price To Fall Soon, Says Osinbajo

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Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Monday assured Nigerians that the price of petrol, which was recently increased from N86.50 to N145 per litre would soon reduce.

Mr. Osinbajo, who was addressing a cheering crowd of supporters of the ruling All Progressives Congress at the Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos, was representing President Muhammadu Buhari during a two-day working visit to Lagos.

Mr Buhari announced on Sunday that he would be represented by Mr Osinbajo.

The presidency explained that Mr Buhari could not make it to Lagos due to scheduling difficulties.

Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, however said the President would visit the state after Ramadan.

According to Mr. Osinbajo, due the liberalisation of the downstream sector, “every Nigerian can now bring petrol and supply as long as they meet the PPMC (Pipeline and Product Marketing Company) regulations.”

He said that would allow the forces of demand and supply to force the current price of the product downward.

The Vice President, who apparently was referring to the hardship in the country caused by hyper-inflation and job losses, appealed to Nigerians to be patient with the Buhari administration as the “country is on the path to progress.”

 “This country is going to be a great nation but there is a lot of readjustment to be done. My President has asked me to assure every Nigerian that we are on the path to progress,” he said.

Credit: Premiumtimes

Brazil VP ‘Accidentally’ Releases Post-Impeach Speech

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Brazil’s vice president — who would take over if Dilma Rousseff is impeached — on Monday accidentally released the speech he’d give to the nation if she were forced to stand aside, reports said. The appearance online of the 14-minute speech in which Vice President Michel Temer addresses “the Brazilian people” was immediately interpreted by Rousseff supporters as evidence for their claims that impeachment proceedings are a coup plot in disguise.

Temer’s office told Folha newspaper that the vice president, who turned on Rousseff to become an opposition leader, was just practicing “on his cell phone and it was sent by accident.” In the leaked speech, Temer states that his “great mission from now is the calming of the country, the unification of the country.”

He calls on all parties to join “to pull the country out of crisis.” Temer would automatically assume the presidency if the Senate votes to put Rousseff on impeachment trial for allegedly illegal government accounting tricks. But for that to happen, the lower house first needs to vote in about a week’s time, with a two thirds majority required for the Senate to take up the case.

The Senate would then have to vote to start the trial. With Rousseff fighting hard to defeat the motion in the lower house, the outcome remains far from sure. Despite the assurances that the recording was just a precautionary measure sent out by accident, some saw darker motives. Rousseff’s Workers’ Party tweeted that Temer’s premature speech to the nation reveals preparations for “a brazen coup plot.”

And the bizarre twist in an already complex fight over Rousseff’s future prompted lively exchanges on social media. Some questioned whether the release of the presidential-style speech, which was quickly given widespread media coverage, really was accidental. Others made fun of Temer, who according to a recent poll would only get one to two percent of the vote in a presidential election.

Credit: Vanguard

Watch VP Osinbajo Singing Praises To God On His Birthday

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Today marks the birthday anniversary of Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, and he wowed us by publicly showing gratitude to God by singing songs of praise. He posted his gratitude on Facebook and captioned:

Thank you to everyone for your kind thoughts and wishes. I am deeply humbled by your thoughtful gestures!

Special thanks to God Almighty who has brought me this far.

Watch his special rendition below:

https://www.facebook.com/professoryemiosinbajo/videos/847817021995332/

N6bn Spent On VP’s Residence, A Misplaced Priority, Says Osinbajo

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Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says there is entirely no need for a new residence for the Vice President as the current one, called Aguda House, is up to standard with enough space and well managed.

 

The Vice President said this on Friday while responding to questions at the Pastors and Leaders Retreat of the Fountain of Life Church, Ilupeju, Lagos.

 

Osinbajo said the N6 billion already spent on the project was a misapplication of fund but added that with the level of construction already done, it would not be abandoned.

 

He said the present administration would complete it but consider putting it to other use.

 

“There is no need for a new Vice President’s house; it is a kind of waste; we are now in a situation where we cannot abandon it; it has to be completed and used for a different thing,’’ he said.

 

The Vice President also explained the misunderstanding about the State House Medical Centre which he said was not only for workers at the state house.

 

He said it was a general hospital with a lot of facilities and serving all Nigerians, adding that he would prefer that it be further equipped to provide higher medical services to those in need.

 

Osinbajo debunked insinuation of lack of data in the country, saying that the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics had enormous which had been rated highly by the World Bank and other international agencies.

 

He, however, said that the country had yet to have adequate data.

 

He added that the intention of government was to aggregate the scattered data in INEC, CBN, National Population Census Commission into one by the National Identity Card Management Commission.

 

He also said the education sector lacked not only standards but adequacy of institutions which led to Nigerians sponsoring their children abroad for tertiary education.

 

He explained that while 1.8 million Nigerians sat for university entrance examination yearly, only about 300,000 were offered admission due to dearth of universities.

 

He said the government was planning to convert many of the existing universities into centres of excellence and support the private sector in the running of universities to enable more Nigerians to have access to tertiary education.

 

He said infrastructure development was key in the administration which informed the voting of 30 per cent of the 2016 appropriation to capital projects.

 

Osinbajo added that the Ministry of Industry had 18 months mandate to improve the ease of doing business.

 

He, however, said the Bank of Industry was collaborating with other financial institutions to bring down the interest rate on loans for small businesses.

 

The VP said that the judicial system was replete with problems which needed the collaboration of the states and the Federal Government to make it faster and enable more Nigerians to obtain justice.

 

Before responding to questions, Osinbajo had said that what the country needed was truth and integrity which the Church should spearhead.

 

“The Church is where the truth is; the Church has the answer to the nation’s problems; one of the problems of our society is integrity,’’ he said.

 

He explained that the corruption in the country was not caused because a few individuals chose to be corrupt but that the entire system was built around lack of integrity.

 

Osinbajo said the country would be great again but noted that the foundation for the greatness had to be laid with a lot of pains.

 

“Unless we tackle graft, we may not be able to achieve something.

The Federal Government in the past 10 years could not build a single new road, not repairing existing ones alone.

“Now we have a President who will not steal money and who will not allow anybody to steal money,’’ he said.

 

Osinbajo said the nation lacked the capacity to get things done which was difficult to understand but “with God on our side, our country will set the pace for Africa”.

 

“Our people are ready to do it and they can do it but they are waiting for the right kind of leadership.

“I know why you are praying for us is that this is a good opportunity to get it right and we don’t want to miss this chance.’’

 

Pastor Taiwo Odukoya, the leader of the Church, asked Christians to continue to pray for the administration as Nigeria had a great future.

 

He said the present administration would lead the people to a more prosperous and secure nation.

 

Osinbajo had preached at the burial service for his childhood friend, Bola Omotesho, at the Olive Parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Banana Island, Lagos.

 

He urged Nigerians to lead good lives to rest in peace as there was actually no peaceful rest for a bad soul in spite of the earthly prayers offered for the soul.

 

He said the late Omotesho lived lives worthy of emulation and having been born again since 1994 and lived it until he died, God would accept his soul.

 

 

(NAN)

Why OBJ Picked Jonathan As VP In 2007, Alamieyeseigha Opens Up

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Revealing the intrigues that led to the choice of Jonathan as vice president in his country home in Yenagoa, former governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, said it was part of Obasanjo’s grand plan to stop Alhaji Atiku Abubakar from succeeding him in 2007.

The former governor said from the discussions he had with Obasanjo, he knew that Jonathan was going to be the vice president of Nigeria as far back as August 25, 2005.

He said Obasanjo’s fear then, was that Atiku had secretly endorsed Alamieyeseigha as his running mate and had perfected plans to succeed him (OBJ) at the expiration of his second tenure.

Alamieyeseigha said the choice of Jonathan as vice president was to frustrate the emergence of Atiku and himself as  PDP flag bearers in 2007.

He expressed regrets that his impeachment, imprisonment and travails in office were part of the plot by Obasanjo, who he described as “devil incarnate” to stop him from becoming Atiku’s deputy.

His words: “For Goodluck, I knew that Jonathan was going to be vice president of Nigeria as far back as August 25, 2005.  Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, told me that since  Atiku and I wanted to take his job, that it would be over his dead body; and that unless he died, Atiku cannot be president of Nigeria.

“Obasanjo said since Atiku had picked me as his running mate, he would make sure that he dealt with and disgraced us. He said  he was going to use my deputy to rubbish me before everybody. So, I knew.”

On why he picked Jonathan as his deputy, Alamieyeseigha said he needed an establishment person and somebody who was not too ambitious.

He described Jonathan as humble and a man with strong character, who could be relied upon to handle a position of responsibility.”

Read More: sunnewsonline

N7bn Gone As Vice President’s New Residence Is Abandoned – Report

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N9b extra vote stalls project
It was meant to be a worthy edifice housing the Vice President and one of the former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration’s star projects. But, with N7billion already spent, the number two citizen’s official home now seems abandoned, subdued by weeds.

The Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) has abandoned the project, following the refusal of the 7th Senate to accept the inflation of the contract sum by N9 billion.

The builders have not been fully paid despite the release of the N7billion, The Nation learnt. Why
they were shortchanged was not clear yesterday.

The project is yet to reach 80 per cent completion, contrary to the facts presented to the Senate by the FCDA.

The contract was awarded in 2009 at N7billion. But in 2012, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Sen. Bala Mohammed, came with a request for N9billion more to complete the project.

The variation was expected to accommodate a helipad. There was public outrage.

FCDA Executive Secretary Adamu Ismail later told the Senate Committee on FCT that the proposed additional N9 billion was slashed to about N6 billion by the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP).

He said the variation was also meant to provide furniture, fencing, two additional protocol guest houses, a banquet hall and security gadgets.

The then Senate Committee on FCT, led by Senator Smart Adeyemi, however, rejected the request for the variation, which was more than 100 per cent.

Adeyemi said either N13 billion or N14 billion or N16 billion for the project was “indefensible”.

The abandoned residence has been overtaken by weeds.

Reptiles are moving freely at the site.

Although the weather-beaten red gate was under lock at the weekend, it was learnt that no fresh work had been done on the site since 2013.

A source said: “The construction of the VP’s residence has been abandoned by the FCDA since the Senate turned down the demand for variation.

“Despite the Senate Committee’s position, the former FCT Minister presented a memo to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) but ex-President Jonathan said the nation cannot afford 120 per cent variation.

“The former FEC resolved to complete the project within available budget. This is why the project is stalled. Definitely, we have a case of abandoned contract at hand.

“The same abandonment is applicable to the new residences of the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.”

A representative of the construction company, Julius Berger Plc, refused to speak with our correspondent last night.

The source said: “Go to those who gave out the job please.”

A presidency source, said: “The uncompleted residence of the Vice President was not included in the handover note on the pending issues at the Presidential Villa.

“I think it might be part of the report of the FCDA. But it is sad that we have to cope with an abandoned project even at the seat of power.”

The Jonathan administration left N8.185, 575,211.50 debts at the Presidential Villa.

The report said the N8.1billion liabilities were outside the expenses on the renovation of the Defence House, the main residence/ president’s office, Aguda House/ Vice President’s office and guest houses under the transition programme.

The report said: “The primary challenge facing the State House has been the inadequacy of successive budgetary appropriations. The State House annual appropriations do not match its actual activities, thereby leading to regular recourse to additional funding from Intervention Fund from the Federal Ministry of Finance.

“About 283 of the temporary staff not found eligible for regularisation were with the approval of His Excellency, the President given contract appointments renewable annually, based on performance and fitness.

“However, payment of their salaries (an average of N8million per month) is from State House overheads provision, which remains a huge challenge to State House.

“The existing infrastructure for mechanical, electrical and associated components have aged and are performing well beyond their design lives.

“The proposal for their replacement/ upgrade has been reviewed and certified by the Bureau of Public Procurement in the total sum of N3,647,793, 305.76. However, due to paucity of funds, phased implementation is being adopted for the most vital and critical works, starting with Phase I in the sum of N693, 119,509.55.”

Source: The Nation

Bukola Saraki Denies Disrespecting VP Osinbajo, Releases Statement

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Press statement released by Senator Bukola Saraki discrediting media reports that he disrespected Vice President Osinbajo and referred to him as a mere commissioner. The press statement signed by his media aide, Bamikole Omishore below…

The attention of Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki’s media office has been drawn to a publication by an online tabloid which insinuated that “Senator Saraki Boycotts APC Leadership Meeting To be Chaired by VP Osinbajo” We wish to categorically state that up to this very point 10:50pm, 8th of June 2015, senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki is yet to receive any official invitation from His Excellency Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria or through any other source for any meeting; political, social or otherwise.

Understanding the importance of last minute consultation required for the inauguration of the 8th Assembly, Senator Saraki has been attending to meetings with colleagues and friends on the program for the 8th assembly.

Senator Saraki having being in public service in different capacity knows the importance of respecting the office and person of the Vice President. And therefore advise those spreading false news to cease and desist. Senator Saraki therefore, uses this opportunity to assure His Excellency, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President of Federal Republic of Nigeria of his highest regards.

Signed Bamikole Omishore