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Tag: Yemi Osinbajo

  • VP Yemi Osinbajo arrives Enugu for PFN conference

    VP Yemi Osinbajo arrives Enugu for PFN conference

    Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo,  has arrived Enugu state to attend the 16th Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) National Biennial Delegates Conference ongoing at the Okpara Square, Enugu.

    The vice president who was accompanied by the host Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, is expected to address the about 5000 delegates drawn from the 36 states and the FCT to updates it’s members on the state of the nation.

    Issues the delegates are expecting the VP to touch on Include: plans instituted by government to address insecurity in the country, state of the economy and hope for their members across the country.

    It’s would be recalled that the PFN 16th Biannual conference election produced Bishop Francis Wale Oke and it’s new National President, who took over from Reverend Felix Omobude.

  • VP Osinbajo speaks against ban on Cryptocurrency

    VP Osinbajo speaks against ban on Cryptocurrency

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has called for the regulation of cryptocurrencies in the country instead of the ban placed on it by the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN.

    Osinbajo made the call when he spoke at the Bankers Committee Vanguard in Lagos State today February 26.

    ”First is that there is no question that blockchain technology generally and cryptocurrencies in particular will in the coming years challenge traditional banking, including reserve banking, in ways that we cannot yet imagine so we need to be prepared for that seismic shift.

    Clearly the future of money and finance, especially for traditional banking, must be as exciting as it is frightening. But as we have seen in many other sectors disruption makes room for efficiency and progress.

    Secondly, I fully appreciate the strong position of the CBN, SEC and some of the anti corruption agencies on the possible abuses of crypto currencies and their other well articulated concerns, but I believe that their position should be the subject of further reflection.

    There is a role for regulation here. And it is in the place of both our monetary authorities and SEC to provide a robust regulatory regime that addresses these serious concerns without killing the goose that might lay the golden eggs.”he said

     

    The CBN on February 5 announced the ban on cryptocurrencies. The apex bank alleged that the digital currency was being used to fund criminal activities like kidnapping, terrorism, and others.

  • When robots threaten human labour

    By Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu

    Sometimes in the past, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, at the closing ceremony of the 50th Anniversary Celebrations and Annual Conference of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management in Abuja, raised a very touching concern on the growing threat posed to humans by the deployment of robots and artificial intelligence in work places.

    The vice president’s concern further explained that in the next few years, Nigeria would be contending with having one of the largest youth populations in the world.

    “We will be the third most populous nation in the world. What sort of skills will these young men and women require? Where will they work?

    ”Already, we are contending with how technology is redefining the structure of industry and commerce and the skills required to function in them.

    “But more disturbing is the growing apprehension of redundancy of many who today work in the millions of jobs that may be unnecessary as robots and Artificial Intelligence perform the same functions far more efficiently and even cheaper.

    “What will retraining this possibly redundant workforce entail? What happens to pensions of retired humans when the majority of current workers are robots who earn nothing.

    “How about the growing concerns about work-life balance? What sort of work environment makes for the most productive worker?

    ”Is it the formal work space which we are used to or something less constraining more flexible as we are seeing in the new technology companies,’’ said VP Yemi Osinbajo.

    The vice president’s concern should not be wished away as it is characteristics of our government’s. It will be recalled that in October 1930, a year. after the Wall Street Crash but before the Manchurian crisis and the Nazi seizure of power, the London Economist expressed the same worry thus: “0the supreme difficulty of our generation… is that our achievements on the economic plane of life have outstripped our progress on the political plane to such am extent that our economics and our political plane to such an end extent that our economics and our politics are perpetually falling out of gear with one another. On the economic plane, the world has been organised into single, all embracing unit of activity. On the political plane, it has not only remained partitioned into sixty or seventy sovereign national states, but the national units have been growing smaller and more numerous and the national consciousness more acute. The tension between these two antithetical tendencies has been producing series of jolts and jars and smashes in the social life of humanity… ”

    The same worries were also expressed by Paul Kennedy in his book” Preparing For The Twenty- First Century “, when he opined that ” human history has always been shaped by the growth and migration of populations, by the opportunities and the constraints provided by the environment, and by the rise of new technologies .Today, these factors are enmeshed in a state of unprecedented turbulence. World population has doubled in the past forty years … .How will these vast numbers reshape the world’s borders, strain an already fragile ecosystem, and remake politics?

    New technologies are even now replacing traditional work with radically new systems of production and communication, promising enormous changes in both industrial and traditional agricultural societies. Will potential developments in biotechnology render traditional food producers obsolete? What is the role of robotics in a world where millions of new jobs are needed each to absorb the fast-growing population?

    The question that demands urgent attention where is” how prepared is Nigeria in this situation where automated processes, such as robotics and artificial intelligence, are threatening to displace human labour?

    On this, Osinbajo said that to brace up for the challenge, the Federal Government was focusing on imparting employable skills on students from primary school to tertiary education.According to him, no sensible discussion of the economy can be done without acknowledging the role of the people.

    He said that the third major pillar of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan was called investing in people; on human capital development.

    “Our plan, especially with regards to education and health, is one that we have spent a great deal of time working on, and we are, of course, in the process of ensuring that it is fully implemented.

    “One of the most important features of that Human Capital development plan is Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) Education.

    “The focus is on employable skills from primary school all the way up to tertiary education. But the focus on primary and secondary education is on employable skills, especially technology.

    “So, our focus is on teaching young people from the primary school, even pre-primary school, using all of the new techniques such as code writing skills, software writing skills and all that.

    “The new technologies that are developing and all of what we are seeing today clearly shows us that anyone in the coming generation will be left behind if they are not at the cutting edge of technology.

    ”We believe that our educational system must incorporate that, which is why a lot of attention, in the new curriculum, is focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics.,”stated Osinbajo.

    He said that the Federal Government was also doing same with health care as for the first time, it was spending one per cent of the entire consolidated revenue fund on health care.

  • Osinbajo Condemns Shasha Violence, Calls For Peace

    Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo has condemned the violence that led to the loss of lives at the Shasha Market, in Oyo State, calling for peace between the northern traders and those in the southwest.

    Professor Osinbajo made the appeal while addressing journalists after he paid a condolence visit to the family of the late Chief Lateef Jakande in Lagos State, describing the incident as unfortunate and tragic.

    The Vice President said the market has been a melting pot for traders bringing foodstuff from the north to the southwest for decades and they have lived in peace and even inter-married.

    He believes that when a disagreement arises between individuals or a criminal act is committed by one against the other, Nigerians must ensure that they see it for what it is, (a criminal act) which must be punished according to law and not as an ethnic conflict.

    The Vice President also believes that every Nigerian has a constitutional right to live, work and enjoy their lives in safety, peace under the law.

    He, therefore, maintained that it is the duty of government through the police and other law enforcement agencies to arrest and prosecute any person who commits a crime against a citizen and it is also the role of the citizen to assist the police to identify the criminals.

    “We must never take the law into our own hands, if we do we will be promoting chaos, and a breakdown of law and order, and all of us especially the most vulnerable amongst us, will be at risk.  I urge all community leaders to work together to preserve the brotherly co-existence that our people from different parts of the country have enjoyed in Shasha market for several decades,” Osinbajo said.

  • We will reopen land borders soon – Vice President Yemi Osinbajo

    We will reopen land borders soon – Vice President Yemi Osinbajo

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the federal government is currently working towards reopening Nigeria’s land borders.

    Recall that in October 2019, President Buhari ordered the full closure of land borders as part of measures to checkmate smuggling activities.

    However speaking at a webinar organized by The Africa Report, Vice President Osinbajo said the Federal government is working with neighbouring countries on the terms of reopening the border.

    “We are working with our neighbours to see on what terms we would reopen those borders. At the moment, we are undertaking joint border patrols to control smuggling along the borders and we think it is working and I am sure that soon enough we should have the borders opened,” he said.

    We are committed to the AfCFTA but we are concerned about threats to security and the economy and we had to take certain actions that would satisfy the immediate needs of our country. It (border closure) certainly wasn’t meant to be permanent and we are looking forward to reopening as quickly as possible.” Osinbajo said

  • FG to harness auto gas as alternative to petrol – Osinbajo

    FG to harness auto gas as alternative to petrol – Osinbajo

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the Federal Government will focus on developing Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) otherwise known as auto gas, in order  to offer Nigerians an effective option to petrol.

    The vice president’s spokesman, Laolu Akande, in a statement on Saturday in Abuja, said Osinbajo made the remarks during a virtual interactive session hosted by the Africa Report magazine.

    The vice president, in responding to a question regarding the removal of petrol subsidy, said that auto gas was priced significantly lower than Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

    “We have experienced a severe downturn in our finances over the years; so at 60 per cent less revenue, we are in a position where sustaining fuel subsidy is practically impossible simply because we do not have the resources.

    “What we have decided to do is to focus on CNG which is about half the price of petrol today.

    “So, if we use CNG for our cars and for our buses, it will cost between N78 and N80 or so per litre.”

    He said that under the Nigerian Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP), the Federal Government’s objective was to promote domestic use of CNG.

    Osinbajo said that one million jobs could be created by maximising the domestic use of CNG while reducing reliance on refined petroleum products like kerosene and Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

    On taxes, he said that the administration had no plans of increasing taxes as such was untimely.

    “It is even more difficult for people to pay taxes now than ever before, I mean, given the state of affairs, but this is why we’re doing everything now.

    “We are trying to ensure that businesses survive this period by providing as much support as we can, and by relieving them of as much burden as possible and ensuring that they are able to get some moratorium.

    “So that they can at least continue to run their businesses and by all the other interventions and support that we are giving, we hope that those interventions will help businesses.

    “Our approach is first to ensure that we save jobs. If we save jobs and save businesses, and then do the best we can in agriculture, the housing scheme and all of that, we will actually be able to improve spending.

    “And if we are able to improve spending, taxes will definitely improve, and if businesses survive, taxes will improve.

    “So, those are the sort of projections that we are looking at.”

    On electricity tariffs, the vice president said the era of subsidising petrol and electricity was over as the government had adopted measures of addressing the situation.

    According to him, the Federal Government is trying to reform the electricity industry.

    “The industry is privatised except for the transmission sector; but what we have seen is that the distribution companies (DisCos) are just not able to meet their targets or to even provide electricity on any kind of stable basis now.

    “The DisCos have been hankering all these years for a cost-reflective tariff and government has been paying the subsidy.

    “In fact, in the past few years, we have spent about N1.3 trillion on subsidies for electricity. Again, here is a situation where that is completely unaffordable.

    “We want to ensure that new companies come into the market; so, that will be decentralised completely.

    “This way, in several parts of our country, we can have micro-grids, small grids, and all of that; we are doing 5 million solar connections as part of the Economic Sustainability Plan.

    “We think that, with all these, we can electrify our country within a short period of time,”he said.

    Osinbajo stressed that the target of government in the NESP was to save existing jobs and revamp businesses by improving the spending capability of Nigerians through the various initiatives in industry, agriculture, mass housing, and solar connectivity projects.

  • Osinbajo’s daughter, Kiki denies ownership of N800m property in Abuja

    Osinbajo’s daughter, Kiki denies ownership of N800m property in Abuja

    Kiki Osinbajo, daughter of the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, has reacted to the allegation that she owns an Abuja property worth N800 million.

    Former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan and blogger, Jackson Ude had made the allegation via a tweet.

    Ude had wondered where Kiki Osinbajo raised N800 million to invest in the property where she operates her business in Abuja.

    “How did Kiki Osinbajo, VP Osinbajo’s daughter, earn N800 million she invested in the property housing her Glam’d Africa Beauty House in Abuja on 10 Durban Street, Wuse 2. Abuja?” Ude had tweeted.

    However, Kiki has refuted the allegation, stressing that she is a tenant in the said property. Kiki Osinbajo, who named her landlord as Mr Musa Adams, urged critics to verify her claim at Abuja Geographic Information System, AGIS.

    The daughter of the Vice President made the clarification on her verified Instagram page. Kiki osinbajo: “For me, its completely unbelievable that a grown man will sit in his home and lie about me.

    A grown man who possibly has children of my age. “Like many young women in Nigeria, I work hard, it may be difficult for people like him to understand that a young woman can work hard and be successful on her own steam. “Anyone can verify the ownership of the property of Glamd Africa at AGIS in Abuja. ” I’m a tenant in that property. My landlord’s name is Mr Musa Adams.”

  • Finance Act will stimulate Nigerian economy — Osinbajo

    Finance Act will stimulate Nigerian economy — Osinbajo

    Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Saturday asserted that the Finance Act 2020 would stimulate the Nigerian economy and put the country on the path of geometric economic growth.

    Osinbajo made the assertion at the Inspiration Conference 2020 of the Redeemer’s Men Fellowship (Lagos Regions) in Lagos.

    The conference had as its theme: “Galvanised for Geometric Growth”.

    He said the bill, which was signed by President Muhammadu Buhari on Jan. 13, was aimed at shoring up revenue for all levels of government to meet up with their expenditure.

     This, he said, was in addition to it supporting Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) in the country.

    “The challenges of growing the economy border on creating an environment favourable to businesses and low revenue generation,” Osinbajo said.

    He said that the 2020 budget of N10.6 trillion has a deficit of N2.2 trillion, “so it is clear that we are running a fairly large deficit”.

    “The sources of revenue are oil proceeds and taxes, and most states do not generate enough revenue to meet their financial expectations,” Osinbajo said.

    He cited Adamawa, Benue and Ekiti as some of the states with very low Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), too inadequate to cater for their expenditure.

    The vice-president justified the increment of the Value Added Tax (VAT) from 5 per cent to 7.5 per cent, noting it to be very low when compared to other African countries.

    “Ghana has 12.5 per cent; Cameroun has 19.25 per cent; Mexico with 16 per cent; South Africa at 15 per cent and Egypt at 14 per cent.

    “To make things easier for the common man, we have exempted 16 classes of food items, tampons, sanitary towels, and tuition fees from nursery to tertiary.

    “Also, before the Finance Act, many companies operating in the country without physical presence escaped taxation.

    “Most digital companies made significant revenue from e-commerce, online advertising and the likes, but were not taxed.

    “But now, once you have significant economic presence in Nigeria, but reside anywhere around the world, you are eligible to pay tax,” he said.

    Osinbajo expressed confidence in the Nigerian economy, maintaining that the government would continue to provide the enabling environment for businesses to thrive.

    He explained that in spite of the perceived low growth rate, the Nigerian economy was still relatively bigger when compared with other African economies.

    “Rwanda has a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $8.7 billion, while FCT, Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Rivers and Delta have growth rates of $29.9billion, $14 billion, $90 billion, $14.2 billion and $11.2 billion respectively.

    “Even Ghana is at $65.5 billion and is less than Lagos,” he said.

    He stated that the potential of the Nigerian economy has been boosted by agriculture, manufacturing, creative industry, technology and ICT.

    “Today, we produce an estimated 7.3 million metric tonnes of rice compared to 5 million metric tonnes in 2015.

    “Today, people are using technology to attract investments in agriculture through crowd funding.

    “There are incredible new ways of investing in agriculture in Nigeria, where companies are raising funds for farmers and farming, and such platforms should be invested on,” he said.

    Osinbajo also called for more collaboration between the government and the private sector to bridge the infrastructural deficit.

    “The Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG) and Dangote Group have already keyed into this, while 10 other companies have applied to execute 19 road projects of about 800km,” he said. (NAN)

  • Nigeria to collaborate with D8, others on economy, healthcare -Osinbajo

    Nigeria to collaborate with D8, others on economy, healthcare -Osinbajo

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says Nigeria will work closely with other countries who share similar socio-economic objectives in order to increase economic opportunities and healthcare delivery to citizens.

    Osinbajo’s spokesman, Laolu Akande, in a statement on Tuesday said the vice president said this when he received Amb. Ku Jaafar Ku Shaari, Secretary General of the Developing-8 (D8) in Abuja.

    The D8 countries include Bangladesh, Egypt, Nigeria, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey with approximately 1 billion population covering an area of 7.6 million square kilometres and 5 per cent of world land area

    Ku Shaari was in Nigeria for the official signing of agreement to establish D8 Headquarters on Health and Social Protection programmes in Nigeria.

    “I want to congratulate you on the signing of the partnership agreement for the D8 Health and Social Protection Programme.

    “This is important for us and for all D-8 countries.

    “We are all emerging economies, the whole question around health care, human capacity development is crucial for us, and I think it is appropriate that we devote the time and resources like we are currently doing.

    “We are hopeful that you will succeed in deepening the impact of the focal areas of trade, industry, energy and tourism, in all of our countries. We are happy that, working with the other countries, we can achieve our economic objectives.

    “So, we are certainly looking forward to continue to work with the D8. We are committed to the D8 and expect that the forthcoming summit will expand the scope of work and deepen the achievements of the D8,’’ Osinbajo said.

    Earlier in his remark, Ku Shaari, who thanked Nigeria for hosting the secretariat of the D8 Health and Social Protection Programme, said implementing programmes on health and poverty alleviation was key to the agenda of the organisation.

    He also spoke on the D8’s forthcoming summit in Bangladesh later in the year where a new road map and plan of action for the actualisation of the organisation’s targets would be launched. (NAN)

  • Politicians making compromise difficult – Osinbajo

    Politicians making compromise difficult – Osinbajo

    *** The vice president has call on all Nigerians to resist divisive agenda against Nigeria’s unity

    *** Accuses politicians of making reconciliation between Nigerians of various ethnic line difficult

    *** Says some unpatriotic citizens use all sorts of tactics to undermine the unity of the country

    By Jennifer Y Omiloli

    VP Yemi Osinbajo on Monday, July 8, encouraged Nigerians to have solid faith in the solidarity of the nation and live calmly with each other.

    Osinbajo stated this in Lagos while talking at a book launch to celebrate the 80th birthday of a previous governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the book titled “Battlelines: Adventures in Journalism and Politics” is a memoir by the former governor.

    The vice president said unity was an essential ingredient of nation-building and greatness of the country.

    He, however, expressed displeasure with the predilection of some unpatriotic citizens to use all sorts of tactics to undermine the unity of the country.

    The vice president said some members of the political class had always played ethnic and religious cards to put people against one another, thereby causing disaffection.

    Osinbajo urged citizens to resist all divisive antics and tactics, adding that Nigerians should not fall for any agenda that could undermine unity.

    He claims allegations that President Muhammadu Buhari was pursuing an agenda to Islamise the country was false and divisive.

    Osinbajo said that the narrative in some quarters that the president was protecting killer herdsmen and Boko Haram members was a desperate ploy to promote ethnic and religious suspicion.

    The vice president said Boko Haram once made attempts on the president’s life, and the incident, which occurred during one of his campaign visits, had betrayed the fact that the claims that he was protecting them were just to cause disunity.

    He said the government was committed to the well-being of all Nigerians, and urged citizens to unite against all evils, including religious extremism.

    Osinbajo said that Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and others were enemies of the nation, urging all citizens to join hands with the governor to root them out.

    “The likes of Boko Haram, ISIS, Islamic State West Africa Province and many Salafist-Jihadist ideologies are expansionist ideologies that feed purely on hate, hatred of any person or group that does not belong to their particular sect.

    “They have no redressible grievances so there are no terms of reference for peace. Fanatics committed to a twisted creed.

    “They exploit the ignorance of the tenets of Islam, poverty and exclusion, recruit men and women and use children to perpetrate the most heinous atrocities. They are motivated by a satanic desire to control communities by murder and terror.

    “Whether it is in Iraq, Borno or Syria their victims are men, women and children, Muslim or Christians so long as they do not share their sick ideology, they target churches, mosques, markets and motor parks where people gather, using children as human bombs to kill randomly, regardless of tribe or faith.

    “The challenge for us is to recognize this extremism for what it is. To form alliances across faiths and ethnicities to destroy an evil that confronts us all,” he said.

    According to him, herder and farmer conflicts, random killings, banditry and kidnapping in different parts of the country are extant challenges that the army has had to intervene in on several occasions.

    “I want to reassure all Nigerians that these issues are being seriously tackled by the Federal Government, working with the States, through a multi-pronged approach. Nobody will be allowed to maim, kill or commit other crimes and escape.

    “It is our duty to apprehend and punish these criminals and we are doing and will continue to do so,” he said.

    The vice president described Osoba as a patriotic Nigerian, saying he had made great impacts in journalism and politics. Osinbajo said that one of the remarkable attributes of the former governor was his ”Pan-Nigerianism”, as he had been able to build bridges and make friends across all parts of the country.

    The vice president congratulated him on his 80th birthday, saying he had no doubt that the former governor was still full of energy to contribute more to nation-building.

    Among the book launch attendees, are Governor Dapo Abiodun (Ogun); Governor Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo); Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos); Governor Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa) and Governor Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti).

    Former governors, Donald Duke, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Obong Victor Attah and a former Rivers governor and minister, Rotimi Amaechi were also present.

    Senate president, Ahmed Lawan; a national leader of All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; and a renowned economist, Professor Pat Utomi were some of the others present.