Press Release: VP Osinbajo’s Address At The National Greater Pastors’ Conference In Lagos

We stand on the threshold of perhaps the most significant moment in the history of our nation. It is a time of economic challenges, ethnic and religious tensions. In May 2015, oil prices crashed from about $100 to $37; by 2016, we were losing 1 million barrels a day.

I say that we stand on the threshold of the most significant moment in our history, a time to build!

It is a time, when by the sheer grace of God, we have the greatest opportunities, to be, not just Africa’s largest economy by GDP, but also its most efficient and most productive.

We will, by 2050, be the 4th largest nation by population in the world, and we can, like China, also become one of the ten most successful economies in the world by that date. This is our best moment yet because we have shown that, despite the lowest earnings from oil in the past 15 years and, in 2016, recording the lowest production of oil in the past 20 years, and a recession as a consequence, we could still invest N1.3 trillion, the largest amount of money in capital projects in 15 years. We have shown that as difficult and painful as a recession might be, we have the capacity to come out of it and begin the building of an economy that emphasizes productivity and will provide enough jobs. We began the massive diversification of our economy by investing in agriculture. We set targets for self-sufficiency in rice, tomato paste, sorghum, millet. We are now one of the world’s largest producers of paddy rice. Milling is the weak link, but in the past year, several new mills have been open. The latest is the Wacot mill in Kebbi. Coscharis and Dangote have already invested in about 1 million Mt of capacity.

We are working daily on the whole farm- to- table value chain and we expect that the next industrial explosion will come from agri-business.

We are providing the environment for small businesses. The major problem is access to finance, and interest rates. We are working with the CBN and development finance institutions to crack that problem.

In the same period we have set aside the largest amount of money under a social investment scheme in our history that today employs 200,000 unemployed graduates, and will employ another 300,000 by next year. A school feeding programme that, today, feeds well over 3 million Nigerian children in public schools and we are set to triple that figure by the end of next year.

Our private sector is bullish. From the young men and women in technology and entertainment, to the small manufacturing and fabricating businesses in Aba, Awka, Kano, Katsina; to the larger manufacturers in the Ogun industrial zones and in Lagos; to the likes of Dangote building the largest single line Refinery in the world and a 550 kilometre subsea pipeline to the refinery; and Indorama, the largest single line fertilizer in the world, opened in September; we are seeing a renewed optimism; but more importantly, backward integration and greater use of local raw materials. By 2019, we will no longer be importing any petroleum products.

The major constraint remains power, but we are getting there. Our country will, in the next few years, turn the corner. We are in the pains of childbirth and we will soon experience the same sweetness and joy of childbirth.

What can hold us back? Two things.

First is corruption. We must deal with it decisively. It is difficult because it is systemic and affecting all institutions; perpetrated by a leadership elite that includes, not just politicians, but private sector individuals, and even religious leadership.

The second is tribalism, religion and other parochial tendencies. Unfortunately, because of state failure in some respects, many, even pastors, have gone into their tribal groups and speak and act mainly from that perspective. But, perhaps, the most important problem is the failure of Christian leadership to take our rightful place. We have focused our minds on an Islamic agenda, seeking and finding it in every action, or inaction. But where is the Christian agenda? We are too divided to craft one.

The truth of the matter is that the key to the unity and progress of Nigeria is in the church, the Church which is the pillar and ground of truth. It is the church that is imbued with the revelation that: there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

There is no way of dealing with deep ethnic and religious divisions, deepened by the injustices, blood-letting and prejudices over decades, except we reach into the gospel; the wisdom of God where Jesus repudiated the law of Moses on the question of retaliation and revenge and commanded that we not repay evil with evil, and to turn the other cheek when we are slapped on one.

In Matthew 5:38-43, the Bible says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two… You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.”

Verse 44 and 45 also say: “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

And to those who have urged revenge, the answer of our faith is, vengeance is mine, says the Lord.

How can a man pray for those who, in his presence, killed his children and ripped the unborn baby out of the womb of his pregnant wife? How do you love someone who comes into your community annually to kill as many as he can find? How do I turn the other cheek when the bones of the right side of my face have been cracked by the first slap? Is not wiser to defend ourselves and indeed kill our assailants?

The answer of the gospel is contrarian. Love even those who persecute you. That is the wisdom of God and, surely, it is as true as scripture that men will find it foolishness of the highest order. We must note that, despite the severe persecution of the early Christians, they never once fought back.

All through the book of the Acts of the Apostles, all we ever heard was how they were beaten, disrobed and stoned to death. Yet they turned the world upside down. And centuries after, the gospel is as powerful and transformative as when it was first preached.

But what we hear today, instead of the gospel, are cries of war; those telling us from pulpits that our enemy is a physical one who must be destroyed before he destroys us. It is populist and popular rhetoric; every time it is repeated in a Christian gathering it excites applause. Yet there it is, completely contrary to everything in the new covenant of Jesus Christ.

Permit me, then, to make a concluding submission. It is my view that the Nigerian elite – political, business and religious – regardless of ethnicity, think alike, and are driven by largely similar motivations. The elite are usually self-centred, selfish and unprepared to make the sacrifices either in service or self-restraint that leaders of successful communities must make. Playing the religious or ethnic card when necessary so as to get the masses in line is the grossly cynical default tactic of our elite. However, the most poignant point to note is that, when you look at any list of alleged perpetrators of a heinous case of corruption, all tribes, ethnicities and religions are well represented. In other words, high level corruption knows no religion or ethnicity.

Neither, by the way, is extreme poverty parochial in its incidence. The conspirators include Christians and Muslims from all the geopolitical zones. They are in governments, the legislature, the judiciary and the press. They are united, they protect each other, they fight for each other and they are prepared to go down together. They are one tribe, indivisible regardless of diversity. It is this tribe that confuse the arguments for change in society.

It is my respectful submission that, to build the new Nigeria, we need a new tribe; a tribe of men and women of all faiths, tribes and ethnicities; that are committed to a country run on high values of integrity, hard work, justice and love of country. A tribe of men and women who are prepared to make the sacrifices and self-constraints that are crucial to building a strong society. Who are prepared to stick together, fight corruption side by side, and insist on justice even where our friends are at the receiving end. A tribe consisting professionals, businessmen, politicians, religious leaders and all others who believe that this new Nigeria is possible.

Nigeria’s greatest battle is the one to bring integrity and accountability to public service and the private sector. Righteousness, the Bible says, exalts a nation. This requires a new way of thinking, a new leadership corps, a new tribe. The challenge today for us all, friends and colleagues, is to populate that new tribe. Thanks very much for your attention.

Released by:

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
28th October, 2017

Press Release: Exporters Debunk Yam Export Rejection Stories

The exporters of yam to the UK and US have disputed the reports, initially aired by the Africa Independent Television (AIT), purporting that the yams exported after the official flag-off ceremony on June 29, 2017 were rejected at their export destinations. This has drawn widespread criticisms on various media platforms based on the misleading reports.

Mr. Michael Adedipe of ADES UK Foods and Drinks for the UK, whose warehouse was visited by AIT, has deplored the AIT report and other subsequent commentaries about rejection of his yams by the UK authorities. Adedipe has said emphatically that the consignment was not rejected but was cleared.

According to Adedipe, who confirmed that he spoke to AIT, he said, “I have watched the TV program which lasted for about two hours. All the positive stuff removed. We that decided to venture into this project are aware of the risks involved because, with fresh produce … we will expect five to 10 per cent damages. I don’t know why they said the product got rejected. I have sent my release note. I’ve sent video of loading. I’ve sent every documentation to say that there is no issue like that at all.”

On the spoilage of yam, Adedipe explained that, “the failure has nothing to do with the Ministry of Agriculture, but the Nigerian Ports Authority. That’s where I see the failure.” He expressed disgust at the mishandling of his comments by the AIT reporter; saying, “I told him, he is aware of it. He knew about the delay, I told him about all the consignment. He knew every single thing that happened. But what he did the most is to use all the negative stuff. We talked about other things. I told him how I came into the UK to go and fix our problem. All those were removed from the report.”

Adedipe, who has vowed not to stop yam export business, disclosed that, “the other mistake was the shipping line we used. But they were the ones that were available.” According to him, in spite of the sour experience with media report, “I’m willing to invest. I still expect…at least to take a container from Nigeria every week.”

Managing Director, Wan Nyikwagh Farms Nigeria Limited, Mr. Yandev Amaabai, has strongly disputed the yam rejection story and said it doesn’t even tally. “The story from AIT was focused on UK. So far, I am the only person who has lifted yam to the US. Whatever we can do to clarify this issue will be good. We learn as we progress. The whole idea that government brought was to diversify the economy.”

“Our yams were released to us and we took them to the stores. We sorted out our yams when they got there. We distributed them to the off-takers. So, where they got this story from, I don’t know. Nobody has ever called from anywhere, even in the US, to ask me any question. If a few yams got rotten, and I am not complaining, why are people crying more than the owner? I have all the papers. The Customs cleared my goods on the other side. And these things went to my warehouse from where we distributed.”

With all these prospects in view, the Honorable Minister expressed surprise at the negative news trailing his laudable effort at putting Nigeria on the global yam export market, saying “we are not going to stop because this is not enough to demoralize us. We have food to export. Never mind what so-called critics are doing.”

“In the Ministry of Agriculture,” he said, “we are not exporters. The Ministry does not export. We’re going to talk to the Port Authority on cooling vans for vegetables and fresh produce so that exporters don’t lose money and we don’t lose face. We should begin to build cold trucks that are temperature-controlled to keep the yams till the time they have to go. We should invest in special containers for their storage.”

Dr. Olukayode Oyeleye,
Special Adviser, Media & Communications

October 24, 2017

Press Release: VP Osinbajo’s Address at The 2-Day Organised Workshop For Justices and Judges in Abuja.

There is no question at all that corruption is our nation’s single greatest challenge. Indeed the notion that security was a more serious challenge was exploded, when in the last administration, it became clear that the escalation of the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast was on account of the fact that billions of dollars allotted to the purchase of arms for our military, was cynically embezzled by senior military and civilian government officials.

The reason why Nigeria built no major new roads or no new infrastructure in the last 6 years, despite earnings from oil in excess of $100 dollars a barrel, is largely because of corruption. In the last administration, two weeks before the elections, cash in excess of N100billion and over $250 million, was released in a few days ostensibly for security purposes. The aggregate sum released was more than some States earned in a whole year. That is the enormity of the embezzlement that we are talking about.

Corruption threatens our security, health, education and even our corporate existence. GAVI, the global fund for provision of vaccines for the poorest in developing countries, stopped providing funds to Nigeria for alleged mismanagement of funds by the Ministry of Health officials between 2011 and 2013. Nigeria had to refund $2.2million. These were vaccines and drugs meant to fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria, amongst the poorest of the poor of our country.

The enormous resources in the hands of perpetrators today is used to subvert justice, to bribe pliable senior government officials, to bribe in some cases judicial officers, to subvert the legislative process and, of course, even to subvert the press. The problem with corruption is that it is a cancer. It may be terminal if not checked. The failure of African States, civil wars and destruction of lives and livelihoods, is the result of failure of institutions largely caused by endemic systemic corruption.

It is because of the existential nature of the threat of corruption, that collaboration between the Judiciary, the Executive and of course the Legislature is imperative.

In working together, all of us in these institutions, the Judiciary, Executive and Legislature, are mindful that by the nature of systemic corruption all institutions are affected one way or the other. But we must come together and we are coming together, as a patriotic gesture to rescue our nation from looming disaster.

At the swearing in of the last batch of Senior Advocates, His Lordship, the Chief Justice of the Federation, announced one of the most far reaching plans by the judiciary to effectively and promptly try corruption cases. First, his Lordship directed all courts in Nigeria to designate courts to exclusively hear and determine corruption and financial crime cases expeditiously.

And secondly, the constitution of the Corruption and Financial Crime Cases Monitoring Committee headed by the Honourable Justice Salami, and deservedly his Lordship was commended both locally and internationally.

That plan is a crucial component of the anti-corruption agenda, proposed by the executive because impunity seems magnified when the trial of alleged perpetrators of corruption never seems to end. That such individuals can afford the best legal assistance only deepens the sense of hopelessness that the corrupt will never be punished.

With the Chief Justice’s new initiatives, alongside the earlier practice directions issued by the Supreme Court and those issued by the Court of Appeal, and the Administration of Justice Act, and again, the recent Supreme Court decision which stopped the dilatory tactic of staying proceedings in criminal cases on account of interlocutory applications, there is certainly great hope that corruption cases will be concluded and concluded promptly.

All nations that have successfully confronted corruption did one thing in common: the administration of the justice system changed its attitude to the investigation and trial of corruption cases. And this is important because it is not just about the Judiciary, clearly not. Investigations must be conducted properly and thoroughly before cases go to court. When cases go to court, what is presented is the best case the prosecution can present.

But most of the countries that have successfully dealt with corruption have had to dispense with needless technicality and focused on the offence. In the case of public officers, they recognized that there can be no real explanation for a public officer, whose pay is public knowledge, to have cash and assets several times more than his earning, let alone his savings. And the reason why people can never understand the way that cases are decided sometimes, is because it goes contrary to common sense. If somebody earns in excess of what he should possibly even safe in several life times, freeing him by technicality can never make sense. It will always seem as if something has gone wrong with the system.

I think what most nations recognise, what most judiciaries, and what most administration of justices systems recognise is that even the whole process of the decision-making process, must make sense. If it doesn’t make sense, then we undermine the very fundament of the judiciary and justice, and if this undermined, then everything is undermined.

Why should terrorism or homicide cases be more strictly viewed than corruption cases? Clearly the misery and loss of lives on account of corruption far exceeds that of any other single crime. There is no question at all that if you look at the extent of damage caused by corruption, it surely is a crime against humanity without a doubt. If you look at the sheer loss of lives on account of what we’ve seen even in our own country, there is no question at all that it is possibly the worst sort of crime that can be committed. So it must be taken seriously.

This seminar is one which, clearly, is a step in the right direction, and just as my Lordship, the Chief Justice has said, the timing is exactly right, we are re-jigging the entire system. The Chief Justice has laid down the rules and has encouraged everyone to follow suit. There is no question at all, that this is the time for us to open a new page in the entire anti-corruption fight.

I am extremely pleased to see that their Lordships are all on board, everyone is on board, and the Executive is determined to support in every way, whatever it is that is required we will provide to ensure that all of the cases that need to be heard and investigations that need to be done are done. This is the collaboration of all of us; the Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature must see this as a fight for the soul of our nation.

Thank you very much, may I therefore, with his words, declare this conference open.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity)
Office of the Vice President
25 October, 2017

Press Release: President Buhari Calls For Caution In Implementing ECOWAS Single Currency

President Muhamadu Buhari Tuesday in Niamey, Niger, urged ECOWAS member countries to tread carefully in pushing for a single currency in the sub-region by 2020, drawing attention to the challenges faced by the European Union in realising the same goal.

In his speech at the 4th Meeting of the Presidential Task Force on the ECOWAS Currency Programme, President Buhari said the necessary economic fundamentals among countries continue to differ over the years, making it more difficult to pull through with the project by 2020.

“Nigeria advises that we proceed cautiously with the integration agenda, taking into consideration the above concerns and the lessons currently unfolding in the European Union. To that end, Nigeria will caution against any position that pushes for a fast-track approach to monetary union, while neglecting fundamentals and other pertinent issues,’’ he said.

President Buhari noted that some of the obstacles to realising the roadmap for the implementation of a single currency include diverse and uncertain macro – economic fundamentals of many countries, unrealistic inflation targeting based on flexible exchange rate regime and inconsistency with the African Monetary Co-operation Programme.

The President said domestic issues in ECOWAS member countries relating to their constitutions and dependence on aids continue to affect the framework for implementing the single currency in the sub-region

He said “although the ECOWAS Commission has anchored its pursuit of the new impetus to monetary integration on “the information presented to the Heads of State which were the basis for their recommendations”, we are concerned that we have not properly articulated and analyzed a comprehensive picture of the state of preparedness of individual countries for monetary integration in ECOWAS by 2020.

“In previous meetings, we had specifically raised observations on the state of preparedness of the member states, the credibility of the union if anchored on watered down criteria, and the continuing disparities between macroeconomic conditions in ECOWAS countries, amongst others. And I would like to reiterate this concerns.’’

The President told the Heads of State that the conditions that pushed Nigeria into withdrawing from the process in the past had not changed.

“Nigeria had earlier withdrawn from the process because its key questions and concerns were ignored and till date, none of the issues has come up as an agenda issue to be considered by the Taskforce. Consequently, the Roadmap which did not involve widespread consultation with national stakeholders is not sufficiently inclusive,’’ he added.

Going forward with the project, President Buhari suggested a thorough review of the convergence roadmap and the constitution of an expert committee on each of the subject areas to come up with acceptable time frame, defined cost and funding sources identified.

“This should also consider stakeholders such as the Ministries of Finance, Customs, Parliamentary groups, Tax Authorities, Immigration authorities to achieve comprehensiveness,’’ he said.

The President said there should be a push towards ratification and domestication of legal instruments and related protocols, while fiscal, trade and monetary policies and statistical systems, which had not gone far, could be harmonized.

President Buhari noted that the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) countries should make a presentation on a clear roadmap towards delinking from the French Treasury.

He also advised an examination of the African Union position on the same issue, which the African Central Bank Governors, in line with the African Union programme of monetary convergence, recommended a convergence deadline of 2034 for the establishment of Regional Central Banks in all sub-regions.

In his remarks, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Marcel Alain de Souza, said the single currency for the West African sub-region was a laudable and historical project, but regretted that it had taken too long to be actualized.

The President said the creation of a Central Bank for the West Coast would accelerate the process.

He noted that Nigeria constitutes more than 70 percent of the GDP of the West African region, with a population of 180 million, and would play a significant role in facilitating the process of realising a single currency for the sub-region.

Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
October 24th, 2017

Press Release: Nigeria And Indonesia To Strengthen Economic Ties

Nigeria and Indonesia will work together to increase the level of economic cooperation between both countries, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

Prof. Osinbajo spoke earlier this morning at a bilateral meeting he held with his Indonesian counterpart, Vice President Jusuf Kalla, on the sidelines of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Beneficial Ownership Transparency Conference in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Nigeria is open for business and more investment, the VP noted, while also recollecting his meeting with members of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce on Monday.

“We are looking forward to more Indonesian investments especially in the manufacturing sector in Nigeria, trying to exploit our local raw materials,” Prof. Osinbajo said.

He also informed Mr. Kalla that the Buhari administration has implemented reforms that have made the Nigerian business environment “a more favourable environment.”

In his own remarks, the Indonesian Vice President said his country is also ready for more economic cooperation with African countries, especially Nigeria.

Vice President Kalla also conveyed his greetings to President Muhammadu Buhari and asked after his health, to which Prof Osinbajo responded that the President was doing very well.

The Nigerian Vice President then expressed appreciation to the Indonesian government and extended greetings to President Joko Widodo.

Other issues discussed by the two Vice Presidents included how both countries can collaborate more in the Agriculture and agro-allied sector, and also in palm oil research and production.

Other issues discussed by the two Vice Presidents included how both countries can collaborate more in the Agriculture and agro-allied sector, and also in palm oil research and production.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity)
Office of the Vice President
24th October, 2017

Press Release: School Feeding Program Reaches 17 States

Over 4m school pupils now eating one free meal a day.

25,771 schools now benefitting from the programme.

Also, N5,000 monthly Conditional Cash Transfer now funded in 16 states for 115,000 Nigerians.

Three more states have been added to the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme, with an additional one million children now benefitting from it. They are Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Niger states.

This brings to 17 the number of states currently participating in the School Feeding Programme, a crucial part of President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s Social Investment Programmes, SIP, aimed at tackling poverty and hunger, as well as creating jobs for Nigerians.

The other 14 states already on the programme are Anambra, Enugu, Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ebonyi, Zamfara, Delta, Abia, Benue, Plateau, Bauchi, Taraba and Kaduna.

So far, in Cross River state, 117,750 children in 973 schools are being fed under the programme, while in Akwa Ibom, there are 171,732 children in 1,101 schools being fed. Niger State has a total of 710,880 being fed in 2,411 schools in the state.

In total, 4,773,064 schoolchildren in 25,771 schools in 17 states are currently benefitting from the school feeding programme.

This is a notable increase from the previous total of 2,918,842 schoolchildren from 19,881 schools in 14 states that had benefitted from the programme.

About 34,869 direct jobs have since been created from the School Feeding Programme across the participating states. In Cross River state, for example, 1,384 cooks have been engaged, while 1,309 cooks are currently engaged in Akwa Ibom State, and 5,924 cooks are engaged under the programme in Niger State.

Meanwhile, few days after the United Nations designated 17th October as the International Day for Eradication of Poverty, thousands of Nigerians identified poorest and most vulnerable have received the monthly Conditional Cash Transfer in Plateau and Cross River states.

About 115,000 beneficiaries are now being funded with the monthly N5,000 stipend in 16 states; including Borno, Cross River, Niger, Kwara, Ekiti, Kogi, Oyo, Osun, Plateau, Bauchi, Anambra, Jigawa, Taraba and Adamawa.

There are reported disbursement hitches in Benue and Anambra states, and they are being addressed. This mainly has to do with non-opening of bank accounts and enrolling beneficiaries. It is expected that by the end of next month the hitches would have been completely resolved and the beneficiaries in position to receive the cash transfers in those states.

The CCT scheme directly supports those within the lowest poverty bracket by improving nutrition, increasing household consumption and supporting the development of human capital through cash benefits to various categories of the poorest and most vulnerable.

The School Feeding Programme and Conditional Cash Transfer schemes are two of the Buhari administration’s N500 billion Social Investment Programmes, SIPs, aimed at improving the lives of ordinary Nigerians nationwide through welfare and empowerment programmes.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity to the President
Office of the Vice President
23th October, 2017

Press Release: President Buhari To Participate In ECOWAS Task Force Meeting On Common Currency In Niamey

President Muhammadu Buhari will Tuesday depart for Niamey, Republic of Niger, to participate in a meeting on common currency for the West African sub-region.

Member countries of the ECOWAS Task Force on Common Currency are ‎Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Niger.

The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun and the Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, will also join the President at the meeting.

President Buhari will return to Abuja same day after the meeting.

FEMI ADESINA
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
October 23, 2017.

Press Release: President Buhari Orders Dismissal Of Abdulrasheed Maina From Service

President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the immediate disengagement from service of Mr Abdullahi Abdulrasheed Maina, former chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms.

In a memo to the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the President equally demanded a full report of the circumstances of Maina’s recall and posting to the Ministry of Interior.

The report is to be submitted to the office of the Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari, before the end of work today, Monday, October 23, 2017.

FEMI ADESINA

Special Adviser to the President,
(Media and Publicity)

October 23, 2017

Press Release: Achievements Of The Buhari Administration

The Buhari Administration has recorded concrete achievements which are there for all to see, contrary to the opposition’s statement that the Administration is running on propaganda and lies.

President Muhammadu Buhari, represented by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made the assertion at the opening of the two-day Nigeria Governors’ Forum Conference for Media Handlers of States’ Chief Executives in Abuja on Monday.

”For our Administration, our achievements are there for all to see. We are delivering in the broad areas that formed the plank of our policies: Security, fight against corruption and the economy, which includes the massive provision of infrastructure, ease of doing business and agriculture, just to mention a few,” he said.

Providing facts and figures, the President listed the Administration’s achievements in ending subsidy and yet ensuring the availability of petroleum products; in raising power generation, transmission and distribution, in the massive provision of infrastructure; in tackling insecurity and making a success of the agriculture revolution, among others.

“Those who accused this Administration of ‘propaganda and lies’ in the fuel supply sector, for example, did not tell Nigerians that whereas they paid between 800 billion and 1.3 trillion Naira as ‘subsidy’ yearly in their time, without making the products available even at regulated prices, this Administration is not paying any subsidy, yet all products are currently available at competitive
prices and fuel queues are now history. In their time, they paid subsidy of 3.7 billion Naira daily in 2011; 2.2 billion Naira daily in 2012 and 2013, and 2.5 billion Naira daily in 2014, all for products that were never available.

“Those who accused this government of ‘propaganda and lies’ also said we have not achieved anything in the power sector. Comment is free, facts are sacred, as they say. When this Administration assumed office on 29 May 2015, available power on the grid totalled 2,690MW, transmission capacity was around 5,000MW and distribution capacity was 4,000MW.

“As at 4 September 2017, the available power that can be put on the grid was 6,619MW; the transmission capacity was simulated at 6,700 MW (up from 5,000 MW in 2015) but the distribution capacity was 4,600 MW, which was what was put on the grid. On September 12, 2017, production of power reached an all-time level of 7,001MW,” he said.

President Buhari said it is an irony that those who presided over a budget of 18 billion Naira for roads, 5 billion Naira for power and 1.8 billion Naira for Housing in 2015 are now accusing those who spent 198.25 billion Naira on roads, 91.2 billion Naira on power and 71.559 billion Naira on housing in the following year of non-achievement.

“Because of the increased spending in these areas, the massive debts owed to contractors are being settled so they can recall workers who were laid off and re-open closed work sites. As a matter of fact, during the implementation of the 2016 budget, we paid 103 construction companies executing 192 projects, and they, in turn, employed 17,749 people directly and 52,000 people indirectly in works.

“So far this year, 47.169 billion Naira has been paid to 62 contractors working on 149 projects to continue work on roads and bridges and keep people at work. Similar payments are being made to supervising consultants and to contractors in Housing and Power Sectors of the Ministry,” he said.

The President also said highlighted the achievements that have been recorded by his Administration in the area of the Economy, wondering whether it is ‘propaganda and lies’ that headline Inflation has now fallen for the eighth consecutive month; that foreign exchange reserves are up to $32 billion, from $24 billion a year ago: that oil production is at nearly 2 million barrels per day and that Home-grown School Feeding Programme now being implemented in 17 States is benefiting more than 3 million public primary school children and more than 30,000 cooks across 20,000 schools.

He said close to 200,000 youths are now benefiting from the N-Power Programme, which recruits unemployed graduates to work as teachers, agricultural extension workers, and health extension workers; that the Government Enterprise & Empowerment Programme (GEEP), which provides micro-credit to farmers, traders, and artisans, now has in excess of 1 million beneficiaries, with women accounting for 56% of that number, and that at about $1.8 billion, the capital inflows in the second quarter of 2017 were almost double the $908 million in the first quarter.

“If our achievements are based on ‘propaganda and lies’, as they claim, why is our agricultural revolution achieving so much success: We have commissioned the 120,000 MT per annum WACOT Rice Mill in Argungu, Kebbi State. We have commissioned the 60,000 MT per annum Edo  State Fertilizer Company Limited. What about the commissioning of OLAM’s 750,000 MT per annum Integrated Poultry Facility in Kaduna State? Do you know that 15 moribund Fertilizer Blending Plants have now been revived and in operation across Nigeria, under the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative, creating 50,000 direct jobs and 70,000 indirect jobs?” the President asked.

He said when the Administration assumed office in 2015, Boko Haram was active in at least 10 states, could stroll into Abuja at a time and target of their own choosing to cause maximum havoc, in addition to holding territories and collecting taxes. “Today, Boko Haram has been so degraded that it lacks the capacity to carry out any organized attack, while also increasingly losing the capacity to even attack soft targets. Importantly, Boko Haram no longer holds any territory. The same vigour is being used to address the herdsmen-farmers’ clash, kidnapping for ransom and other crimes,” the President said.

He said the biggest challenge facing government information managers is how to project the achievements of their principals against the background of worsening cases of disinformation and fake news, adding that the best way to tackle the problem is to remain focused, refused to be distracted or intimidated and also to use facts and figures to counter the purveyors of disinformation and fake news.

Segun Adeyemi
SA To Hon Minister of Information and Culture
Abuja
23rd Oct 2017

Press Release: Vice President Osinbajo Calls For Global Actions Against Illicit Financial Flows

*Says, “Secrecy provides convenient cover for the criminal and the corrupt…’’

“we know that anonymous companies are not always illegal or are not always designed to harm. But we also know that secrecy provides a convenient cover for the criminal and the corrupt. And we are not just operating from the theoretical or hypothetical standpoint.’’

“Our lived experience has shown clearly that anonymous corporate ownership could serve as vehicles for masking conflicts of interest, corruption, tax evasion, money laundering, and even terrorism financing.’’

Below is the full text of his address:

Address By His Excellency, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President Of The Federal Republic Of Nigeria, At The EITI Beneficial Ownership Conference In Jakarta, Indonesia On 23rd October 2017

Protocol

I am honoured to have the privilege of addressing you at this important event. Let me start by commending President Joko Widodo and the government and the people of Indonesia for graciously hosting this conference, and for their remarkable hospitality since we arrived.

On behalf of all who have come to this critical conference from far and near, please accept our gratitude.

The EITI and its various partners are also deserving of gratitude for the valuable time and resources they have poured into this effort and for not relenting in the campaign to end corporate secrecy. We simply cannot thank you enough.

I will be preaching to the converted if I say that hidden corporate ownership poses real and present danger to most countries, especially the developing ones such as ours.

A report that will be frequently cited in this gathering is the one by the One Campaign, titled the “One Trillion Dollar Scandal.” The 2014 report claims that developing countries lose $1 trillion annually to corporate transgressions, most of it traceable to the activities of companies with secret ownership.

Another report that may enjoy mention here is the 2015 report of the High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa chaired by former South African President Thabo Mbeki. The panel stated in its report that Africa had lost over $1 trillion over a 50-year period and that Africa loses more than $50 billion annually to illicit financial flows. Most of these illicit flows are perpetrated in the extractive sector and through companies with hidden ownerships.

So for us in the developing world and especially in Africa, breaking the wall of secret corporate ownership is an existential matter. It is for us literarily a matter of life and death. Masked or Hidden corporate ownership is deeply implicated in the sad story of our underdevelopment.

Yes, we know that anonymous companies are not always illegal or are not always designed to harm. But we also know that secrecy provides a convenient cover for the criminal and the corrupt. And we are not just operating from the theoretical or hypothetical standpoint.

Our lived experience has shown clearly that anonymous corporate ownership could serve as vehicles for masking conflicts of interest, corruption, tax evasion, money laundering, and even terrorism financing.

But this is not just a developing world’s problem. We live in a more inter-connected world, and anonymous companies have footprints and tentacles that do not respect the developed/developing divide.

Even when the degree of exposure may differ, everyone in today’ world is at risk of the dangers posed by anonymous corporate ownership. If nothing else, the Panama Papers clearly illustrated the global scale and spread of this problem. So this is a global challenge and nothing less than a truly global approach will be needed to tackle it.

We salute the United Kingdom, Norway, Netherlands and Denmark for leading the way in establishing public registers of the real, human owners of companies in their countries and call on other G8 and G20 countries not only to follow suit by initiating actions to end corporate secrecy at home and their dependencies. Open Ownership and its partners must also be commended for establishing a global register of beneficial ownership with entries on about two million companies.

However, we must note that current legislative measures in the mentioned countries may need to go farther to effectively discourage or totally prohibit non-disclosure agreements by governments with big corporates, and to re-evaluate the use of secret trusts to hide beneficial ownership from the prying eyes of the law.

It is important to underscore the fact that opacity in one section of the globe undermines openness in the other. We need to break down this wall together as we are all at risk of the evil effects of opacity in business ownership.

Nigeria is still grappling with the negative consequences of the use of opacity by senior members of government and their cronies between 1993 and 1998 awarding themselves juicy contracts in the extractive industry. One of such incidents involving a company called Malabu Oil and Gas has been and is still subject of criminal and civil proceedings in many parts of the world involving huge legal costs while the full benefit of the natural resource remains unexploited for the benefit of the people of Nigeria to which it belongs.

We must be careful not to frame this campaign as a zero-sum between society and business. While governments and citizens stand to benefit from increased revenues, better law enforcement in this area should improve citizens’ welfare as a result of more ownership transparency. Many big businesses are equally concerned because most are legitimate and many have signed on to business integrity protocols such as EITI and the UN Global Compact.

Legitimate businesses benefit not only from the better business climate that results when governments better serve their citizens but also from knowing who they are doing businesses with or competing against, they benefit from a level playing field, lower costs of doing business, and from reduced reputational risks.

A paper by Stefan Zeume of the University of Michigan and two others showed that 1,105 publicly listed companies mentioned in the Panama Papers lost market capitalisation of $230 billion to the leaks, a loss of $200 million on the average per company.

On many occasions, companies have incurred hefty fines in their home countries for engaging in bribery and other unethical conducts. Hidden ownership and other underhand business practices could thus erode profitability and shareholder value. This is why Ownership transparency is a potential win-win for all, business inclusive.

So we need everyone on board: governments, businesses, development partners, international organisations, civil society groups, media, and citizens.

For us in Nigeria, we will remain on board the EITI and the ownership transparency train because they align with our national priorities and will help to advance the electoral mandate of our administration, which is to fight corruption, combat insecurity and grow the economy.

You will recollect that Nigeria was one of the first set of countries to join the EITI, one of the 12 EITI-implementing countries that piloted beneficial ownership disclosure, and one of the few countries that have disclosed beneficial ownership details in three audit reports. Through our national EITI agency (NEITI), we also published a comprehensive roadmap that will culminate in the establishment of the register of beneficial owners of companies operating in our extractive sector.

But we are taking this beyond the extractive sector. At the May 2016 London Anti-Corruption Summit, President Muhammadu Buhari made a commitment to establish a public register of the beneficial owners of all companies operating in Nigeria.

In December 2016, Nigeria joined the Open Government Partnership (OGP) and submitted a National Action Plan that prioritises the establishment of this all-encompassing and publicly accessible register. These are commitments that we made with all sense of seriousness. They are commitments that we made not because we are seeking applause or commendation, but because we are convinced they are in our best interests.

To further reinforce our determination by our course of actions we presented a draft Money Laundering Prevention and Prohibition Bill to the National Assembly in 2016. The 2016 draft Money Laundering (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act attempts to cure the deficiency of the 2011 Act Money Laundering (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act No. 11, 2011 to bring it in line with the FATF standards and it contains robust provisions on removing the barriers to full beneficial ownership disclosure in our laws.

We are however mindful of challenges that will dog this initiative not just in our country but globally. Already, we have noted that the laws passed in some very developed countries do not go far enough to set the examples we really need as they do not cover territories and dependencies where most of the stolen assets from developed countries end up.

Furthermore, we should expect the following reactions or problems:

1. Resistance in many countries by vested interests to the passage of a comprehensive legal framework for the implementation of an effective beneficial ownership disclosure regime.

2. The huge budgetary implications for developing countries of establishing, verifying and ensuring compliance.

3. Balancing conflicting interests and the right to personal data protection/safeguards from political witch-hunting.

4. Resolution of grey areas on the materiality threshold and the scope of beneficial ownership.

These are of course all surmountable with the required political will and sustained pressure from the global community.

Let me conclude by sharing a message that we constantly deliver to ourselves. As difficult as it may seem, establishing a publicly accessible register of beneficial owners of companies may the easiest part. Making the register count will take a lot of work. It will be important to develop mechanisms to verify the data disclosed and to build the capacities of tax authorities, law enforcement agencies, media and civic groups and even citizens to wade through, interrogate, make sense of and use the data in the registers.

We also need to move away from the illusion of a magic bullet. In fact, there are no magic bullets in the quest for openness and governance reforms. Those who profit from opaqueness will not roll over. They do not have the incentives to do so.

So, it is not inconceivable that as we are busy trying to break down the walls of corporate secrecy, they are also busy erecting new ones. So have no illusions that they will not devise grand schemes to game the system. In fact, they will try. Our task is to make it more difficult for them to hide or disguise the identities of real owners of companies to the detriment of the larger society. As with freedom, the price of openness will always be eternal vigilance.

In a related vein, we should not look at EITI as the one-stop-shop for reversing the resource curse. It is a wonderful tool, which must be mainstreamed and combined with other tools to ensure that natural resources are more prudently managed and better deployed towards both economic growth and sustainable human development. While uniform standards are necessary, we should not make a fetish of them.

It is important to take adequate account of national realities, to iterate, to be ever vigilant of and adapt to new arenas of work such as ownership transparency, and to focus more on impact than on just activities or box-ticking exercises. This is a powerful initiative. It can be even more potent by the collective commitment that we share.

May I, as I take my seat again, thank you, your Excellency and the EITI for this opportunity to share our thoughts.

I wish you fruitful deliberations at this important event.

I thank you all.

Released by

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity)
Office of the Vice President
23rd October, 2017