News / politics

Osinbajo travels to United States, Nigeria’s energy transition plan on the agenda

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, departs Abuja for the United States of America early Wednesday seeking global partnerships and support for Nigeria’s recently launched Energy Transition Plan.
 
Prof. Osinbajo is leading Nigeria’s Energy Transition Implementation Working Group (ETWG) on the US mission with meetings starting from tomorrow-the 1st of September to promote the plan and secure global support from the US government, the private sector, and other development partners.

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

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

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

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

The Vice President is also scheduled to speak on Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan at the Centre for Global Development in Washington DC.
 
The Vice President’s delegation to the U.S. will include Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning,   Zainab Ahmed; Minister of Works and Housing, Raji Babatunde Fashola; Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu;  Minister of Environment,  Mohammed Abdullahi; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General/CEO for Sustainable Energy for All, Ms Damilola Ogunbiyi. Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States, Dr. Uzoma Emenike will also join the delegation.
 
The Vice President will return to Abuja early next week.…

News / politics

Congratulations, Asiwaju Tinubu, the presumed winner of APC primaries – Osinbajo campaign spokesman

As the counting of the All Progressives Congress presidential primary election is winding up in Abuja, spokesman for the Yemi Osinbajo Campaign Organization,  Richard Akinnola, has congratulated the former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, clearly in the lead, as the presumed winner.

Akinnola, in a post on his Facebook page, Wednesday midday, stated, “Congratulations, Asiwaju Tinubu, the presumed winner of the primaries.

“In any contest, there must be a winner. However, I’m very proud of my choice of support in the person of Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.

“I have no iota of regret over my support for him. It was a privilege to play a pivotal role for him during the process. I would gladly do it over and over again. It’s a matter of conviction. “And for all our supporters and other volunteers who worked assiduously, day and night on the PYO project, God bless you all. I’m so proud of all of you.

“As l often say, God rules in the affairs of men and He has a purpose for what just happened.

Understandably, many of you are dispirited and downcast but do not let your heart be troubled. There must be a reason God allowed this. It may not be manifest to us now but later as He is all knowing.

“I’m unfazed, unbowed and proud of PYO. Our supporters, abeg, make una shake it off. No be say person die, Life goes on. No yawa,” he wrote.…

News / politics

APC presidential primaries: Seven aspirants step down for Tinubu, one for Osinbajo

Seven aspirants on Tuesday night stepped down for the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the ongoing presidential primaries of the party.

The aspirants announced their decisions in their speeches to the leadership of the party and delegates at the Eagle Square.

So also did one aspirant, Felix Nicholas, announce that he was stepping down for the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN).

Those who stepped down for Tinubu, a former Governor of Lagos State, were a former Governor of Akwa Ibom State and former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio; Ekiti State Governor and Chairman, Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; Jigawa State Governor, Abubakar Badaru; former Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun; former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Dimeji Bankole; only female aspirant, Uju Ebeze Kennedy-Ohanenye; and Senator Ajayi Borofice. Other aspirants who went solo included Pastor Tunde Bakare, Rotimi Amaechi, Rochas Okorocha and Ogbonnaya Onu. voting, which started at past 2am on Wednesday, was ongoing as at press time after a disruption occasioned by encroachment.…

News / politics

48 hours to APC presidential primary: Another shift likely over absence of screening, convention committee

Uncertainty trailing conduct of the special convention of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to nominate its presidential candidate for the 2023 general election is giving party members anxious moments as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) deadline draws nearer.

The Guardian gathered yesterday that there are strong indications that the party may further alter the convention date, which is originally scheduled for May 29 to 30. This came to the fore as the Senator Abdullahi Adamu-led National Working Committee (NWC) is yet to constitute convention planning committees as at 5p.m. yesterday, as it was the case, in both 2014 and 2018 where Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State headed both conventions that produced President Buhari as the party’s candidate.

Also, about 72 hours to the exercise, the ruling party is yet to screen its presidential aspirants, who have purchased and returned their expression of interest and nomination forms.

The development may not be unconnected with the party’s inability to settle for either the direct, indirect or consensus modes of selecting its standard bearer.

As at Thursday, President Muhammadu Buhari, members of the Governor Atiku Bagudu-led Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF) and the NWC have yet to come up with a definite position on how to resolve the issue relating to the selection of a presidential candidate.

Besides, the decision by the party to reschedule the conduct of its governorship, House of Assemblies, Senate and House of Representatives primaries between Thursday and Saturday after several postponements may have been responsible for the delay.

President Buhari had, earlier in the week, met behind closed door with APC governors, National Assembly leadership and the party’s NWC to arrive at a decision concerning the primary. While details of the meeting remained sketchy, it was hinted that the meeting dwelt on exploring the possibility for a consensus presidential candidate for the party before the date for screening would be fixed.

But since then, the screening has remained a subject of speculation with pundits insinuating plans to have aspirants withdraw from the race for the yet-to-be

…
News / politics

Osinbajo, Lawan, Umahi consult APC delegates in Imo

Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, and Gov. Dave Umahi of Ebonyi have consulted with delegates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo.

The trio consulted with the delegates in separate meetings in Owerri, the Imo capital, on Tuesday, ahead of the APC’s presidential primaries slated for May 29.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Osinbajo met with delegates from Abia and Ebonyi states in a closed-door session. Lawan, who consulted with the delegates at the party’s secretariat in Owerri, pledged to fully accommodate the interests of the South-East geo-political zone, if elected president. He thanked Gov. Hope Uzodimma for his “excellent leadership skills” in Imo and the South-East, promising not to let Nigerians down.

Also speaking in the course of his consultation, Gov. Umahi pledged to make Nigeria proud if elected president of the nation in 2023.

He assured that his developmental strides in Ebonyi were only a glimpse of his planned developmental initiatives for Nigeria.

“It is with a deep sense of responsibility and humility that I inform you of my intention to contest for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the platform of the All Progressives Congress come 2023.

“If elected President, we shall run a participatory government and, together, develop policy frameworks that will enhance the physical and social environment and tackle corruption and insecurity.

“I will make you proud as president of Nigeria come 2023. The transformation you see in Ebonyi is a microcosm of the macrocosm of Nigeria’s attainment come 2023.

“We shall address squarely, the problems that deter the growth of our economy, especially through the creation of critical infrastructure and manpower development,” he said.…

News / politics

Osinbajo group to Tinubu: VP won’t step down for you

The umbrella organization of all pro-Yemi Osinbajo support groups, The Progressive Project, has said that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will not step down for the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress in the race for the 2023 presidential ticket.

The TPP Director of Operations, Alhaji Usman Aliyu Usman, stated this amid suggestion Osinbajo will step down for Tinubu ahead of the party’s primaries.

Usman said in a statement on Sunday that “some paid agents and other supporters who feel threatened by the candidature of Professor Osinbajo seem determined for a gutter fight which Osinbajo supporters cannot join”.

He said: “One of our visible supporters, Professor Olusola Adeyeye, a two-term Senator who represented Osun Central Senatorial District between 2011 to 2019 made some weighty statements about the APC presidential primaries on Saturday and by Sunday, really baseless and mischievous anti-Osinbajo statements began circulating. “Unfortunately, one of these came from Mr. Daniel Bwala, an aide to Deputy Senate President, Senator (Ovie) Omo-Agege who currently appears to moonlight as spokesman for the Bola Tinubu campaign.

“Specifically, without any proof, Mr. Bwala started circulating a video clip with claims that Professor Yemi Osinbajo is ‘allegedly planning to step down for Asiwaju’; Mr. Bwala had no evidence and he ought to know better than going to town with such.

“Without doubt, Professor Yemi Osinbajo is still riding high in the race and our decision not to interfere in some camps’ deliberate spread of illusion and untruths is only motivated by our genuine confidence in our candidate’s prospects.

“As stated long ago, no group linked to TPP will join any individual or group in playing gutter politics or smearing others but we need to unequivocally state that Professor Yemi Osinbajo is not contemplating any measure of capitulation to any candidate.

“While we are sworn to total allegiance to the Constitution, patriotic values and the spirit of good sportsmanship, we denounce the misleading information and unbecoming tricks that some supporters in other presidential candidates’ camps embrace so eagerly.

“We denounce too, the baseless ad unhelpful information …

News / politics

Breaking: Finally, Osinbajo declares for 2023 presidential race + Video

The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has finally declared his intention to stand for the 2023 presidential election.

The declaration, in the early hours of Monday, comes after several months of waiting by Nigerians for Osinbajo.

He made the declaration via his Twitter handle at about 7am on Monday.

This came a few hours after he met Governors elected on the platform of the APC at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Sunday. He broke the Ramadan fast with the Governors.

Among those in attendance were the Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum and Governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu, and the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

Others included Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Adegboyega Oyetola (Osun), Hope Uzodimma (Imo) and Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna).

In a tweet accompanied by a video of four minutes 40 seconds, Osinbajo said: “I am today, with utmost humility formally declaring my intention to run for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the platform of APC.

“At the direction of Mr. President, I have represented our country in several international engagements.

“I have been in markets, factories, schools, and farms.

“I have visited our gallant troops in the North-East and our brothers and sisters in the IDP camps.”

…

News / politics

Osinbajo advocates for strategy to transform Africainnovation based society

Africa into knowledge-based and innovation-led society.

Osinbajo made the call through the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Maryam Katagum, who represented him at the maiden edition of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) Young CEOs Summit.

He identified Africa’s vibrant human resources as its greatest hope for development.

“Young people make up the bulk of Africa’s population with an estimated 75 per cent of the continent’s population below the age of 35 years. “From a demographic point of view, this calls for a paradigm shift towards the recognition and support of young people to harness their potential.

“Therefore, to accelerate Africa’s transition to an innovation-led, knowledge-based economy, our human resources must be empowered with requisite skills.

“Greater emphasis must be placed on innovation, including appropriate adaptation of technology,’’ Katagum said on behalf of Osinbajo.

She emphasized the need to promote creativity and innovative technologies to process the continent’s abundant resources locally in addition to creating more wealth and jobs for the continent.

She said there was the need to develop internal capacities and marketing of new or improved products and services through engagement with end users.

Following this, VP disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology had been rebranded to meet future technology demands.

“This will create new opportunities for value-added employment and the nation’s GDP will improve as a result of innovation and technological development,’’ Katagum added.

She expressed hope that Africa would continue to develop capacities to take advantage of relevant technologies to facilitate e-commerce and leadership excellence.

“Leaders are expected to think creatively and facilitate the creative work of others, but traditional approaches to developing leaders have not fully addressed this need.

“A key problem with regards to developing creative and innovative leadership capacity is the low leverage on technology.

“Young leaders must explore and leverage on technology means such as e-mentoring, multisource feedback, social media, and succession planning programs,’’ she said.

She also reiterated that the FG’s commitment to create an enabling environment to facilitate the actualization of innovative …

News / politics

Guinea crisis: Osinbajo to represent Nigeria at ECOWAS meeting in Accra

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will on Thursday represent Nigeria at the Second Extraordinary Summit of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Governments on the political situation in the Republic of Guinea.

Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice President disclosed this in a statement in Abuja.

Osinbajo had on September 8 participated at a virtual ECOWAS Extraordinary Summit on the political situation in Guinea and Mali.

The Authority had decided that Guinea be immediately suspended from all ECOWAS governing bodies and statutory meetings.

ECOWAS leaders had also called for the immediate and unconditional release of President Alpha Conde and other arrested persons, demanded the immediate return of Guinea to constitutional order.

They also decided to immediately dispatch a high-level ECOWAS mission to Guinea to assess the situation.

The meeting on Thursday will review the situation in Guinea in light of the report of the ECOWAS high-level mission to Conakry.

The vice president will be accompanied by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Zubairu Dada.

He is expected back in Abuja later in the day.…

News / politics

Nigerians are unbreakable people, do not hate each other – Osinbajo

Despite the activities of those with divisive agenda, Nigeria will prevail over her tribulations due to the resilience, faith, hope and strength of its people, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

Prof. Osinbajo stated this on Thursday at the National Social Cohesion Dialogue organized by the Africa Polling Institute, which held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja.

Describing Nigerians as “an unbreakable people”, the VP emphasized the shared interests of Nigerians across different facets of life, noting that Nigeria’s diversity can be used to drive further economic growth.

He explained, “And in the face of the challenges confronting us, we must remind ourselves of certain truths. The first is that our present challenges are neither unique nor exceptional. Various nations at various points in their histories underwent similar tribulations. It is within our power to address these issues and emerge from them even stronger as a people. “Despite the divisive rhetoric of demagogues and the utterances of those who profit from disharmony, Nigerians do not hate each other. Every day, millions of Nigerians of different ethnicities and creeds comingle, make common cause and forge friendships across our fabled fault lines. While we have our share of such acrimony, the situation does not support the narrative that we are a nation of fragments condemned to be perpetually at each other’s throats.

“What matters is how committed we are to the constructive management of diversity and the peaceful resolution of such conflict. This is where we can and should certainly work much harder.”

Advocating for unity despite sundry differences, the VP warned against “polarising identity politics”.

He said, “the truth is that Nigeria has evolved beyond the sort of easy balkanization that is proposed by some separatists. Politicians who continue to traffic in division and discord are behind the times and have failed to take note of how much more integrated our society has become.”

Noting that the fair, swift and equitable dispensation of justice to address both everyday grievances and long-suffered wrongs is essential for fostering social cohesion, the …

EndSARS / News

Eight states submit EndSARS judicial panel report to NEC

All 28 states that established judicial panels following the EndSARS protests last year have now completed the assignment, except Lagos State which will conclude later this year in October. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, made the disclosure on Thursday at the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting, saying that eight states had turned in their reports and that NEC looks forward to discussing them in full at its next meeting as more states are expected to make their submissions as well.

This was among resolutions reached at the end of the council’s 119th meeting (eighth in 2021), held virtually and presided over by the Vice President, with state governors, federal ministers, and other senior government officials in attendance. Speaking on the consideration of the panel reports, Professor Osinbajo listed the eight states that had submitted their reports as: Abia, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Kwara, Nasarawa, Ondo, and Rivers.

Other highlights of the meeting include the presentation of financial updates of the ministries, departments and agencies.

Excess Crude Account (ECA) balance as at 13th July 2021 stood at $60,855,153.31; Stabilisation Account balance, N30,757,901,458.81; and Development of Natural Resources Account balance, N33,891,412,441.85. The governor of Lagos State, Babjide Sanwo-Olu, made a presentation on the progress report of the NEC ad hoc committee interfacing with the Presidential Taskforce  on COVID-19 to ease the lockdown on the economy.…