Speech: Prof. Yemi Osinbajo’s Address At The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on January 24, 2018

I’m extremely pleased that you have the time to come to spend some time with us here.

The truth is that what we are trying to achieve is just exactly what was described by the Honourable Minister who had just spoken; one that addresses specific issues and then we can deal with them with the partners and government through the right people; and that access will be made available. That’s why we have the industrial council. We also have the business forum and would ensure that we are opened at all times.

I think it is important that we emphasise and keep emphasising that the partnership that we are trying to build is a genuine partnership, because we understand that in a big country, especially a federation, many times we have issues, even with the state governments, and we have to be able to resolve them. Some of them are easy to resolve through a phone call, but we insist that those we do business with in Nigeria must find it easy to do business and that really has been the way that we have tried to function, especially in the last two and half years. We intend to maintain that approach and we really would like you to join us in proving that this will work.

Some of the issues that were mentioned (there was a Q & A before the VP spoke) include security, for example. As you can imagine, security is obviously an ongoing issue, but l want to say that, perhaps, for people in the diaspora and if you are following the social media, it might be difficult to appreciate; maybe you have been away too long, maybe you also come back and see for yourselves.

In the country, people are doing business and are doing fine, but that’s not to say there are no herdsmen and farmer clashes and all that, or to say that all is settled down in the North East; but in major places where business is being done, where investments are been done.

But by and large, we should raise (the issue of) adequate security. l think a lot of people are reasonably satisfied with the security, but we are doing all we can to improve on security. A lot of police reforms are going on, we are ramping up even the number of police officers we are recruiting. We are also getting joint task forces, sometimes involving the military in some of these joint task forces, where we think that there might be trouble.

A few months ago, we held a security summit with all of the governors and the service chiefs, where security agencies looked at all of the specific places where there are problems, and tried to identify what the problems could be, especially in areas that people have investments.

In the Niger Delta, I’m sure that you will agree with me that between last year and now, a lot has changed; we still find opportunistic vandalism where people are vandalising properties, but by and large improvements are being made and we are working very hard on ensuring that we sustain that.

It’s possibly more important for us as sole business of government to ensure that people can walk around free and can do their business without looking over their shoulders. Because of our commitment to that, we are reasonably certain that we will achieve maximum security.

I think it was Tony (one of the participants at the Q & A) that said that in many parts of the world there are places that you may not want to go and there are always situations where there are breaches of security. But l think, by and large, we are really focused on ensuring security and most of the country is entirely peaceful and ready for business.

In respect to power, a lot has happened and I just wanted to address that. In power, I’m not going to talk about the issues that have been addressed already, but l think that the critical thing is that we have identified primarily what the issues are and now some of our reforms are going on. We are enabling a situation where industry or private sector and businesses can actually access power on their own without necessarily going through the DISCOs; we have a willing buyer-willing seller arrangement. Recently NERC issued a declaration to that effect.

So we are concentrating also on powering industrial areas, a lot of that is going on and is private sector-driven.

A lot of that has to do with the cost of power etc., and whether or not the cost is adequate, whether the cost is too high or too low and all that.

But what l will want you to do is to take advantage of some of the new regulations, especially in the willing buyer-willing seller that we are putting in place, so that industries can buy their own power and can even develop their own power structure, and even in the states. A lot of the state governments are now investing in power plants. Off-grid power is one of the very critical solutions for us because a lot of the power that is going onto the grid, we are able to take that much. But if that is the solution in Nigeria, we must have plenty of off-grid power opportunities and we are trying to work hard on all of those off-grid power facilities and create an environment where people can invest in power and supply power to those who need it without going through the system that we have at the moment.

So we think that, in the next couple of years, we will have a power situation that will certainly be a lot better than what we are experiencing today.

What we are trying to do is to ensure that we are not constrained by some of the problems that we have been experiencing in the past years, and we let go of the power marketing in such a way that many players can come in to do a lot more from generation to distribution, and especially transmission because we find that that is one of the critical areas for us today.

Transmission and distribution are critical areas for us and we are working very hard to ensure that we are able to do a lot with some of transmission and the distribution assets that we have. l know that a lot of those who are here are converts or at least people who do business and want to continue to do business in Nigeria, l want to thank you for the support you have given us over the years and hope that you will not only maintain that support, but also work with us in being able to create a better business environment and being able to do the kind of businesses that can be done in Nigeria.

There is no question at all as to why our country is a good destination; we know that the critical issue is to ensure that the environment is friendly enough and that we offer the necessary incentives where such incentives are crucial. We are ready to do that and we are ready to work with you to ensure that business is comfortable for you and that you can make profit and create the jobs and opportunities that we are also looking at.

Thank you very much.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity)
Office of the Vice President
January 25, 2018

Press Release: FG’S Collaboration With Private Sector Will Facilitate Take Off Of Special Economic Zones, Says Osinbajo in Davos Day Two

The Federal Government and Private Sector will collaborate in creating Special Economic Zones, starting first with the Textile and Garment industry in the hope of spurring the nation’s economic development, according to Vice President Osinbajo, SAN.

Speaking today at an interaction with selected investors in Davos, at the ongoing World Economic Forum, the Vice President noted that “having the right mind-set and understanding where we want to go”, will affect the implementation process whilst ensuring things get done in the nation’s business environment.

He stressed that the collaboration between private sector and the government ensures consistency in the implementation of economic policies.

The Vice President added that one of the reasons he is optimistic about the forthcoming SEZ for garment manufacturing is because it is “specific and is something we can measure very quickly; working with investors and allowing them to tell us what they want to achieve. This will help us attain set objectives.”

Furthermore, Prof Osinbajo stated that having labs, where issues around effective implementation plans would be intensely discussed with expert participants drawn from the private sector and public sector, will also help ensure “that we achieve our objectives” as those labs will set up the implementation agenda and see it through to the end.

Both the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, and Minister for Industry, Trade & Investment, Dr. Okey Enelamah were also at the interaction.

Speaking earlier, Senator Udoma mentioned that there were many advantages for Nigeria to create the SEZ for Textile manufacturing, citing the use of English as our official language, our political stable environment and the provision of an enabling environment for the private sector.

He further went on to say that confidence is being restored in the hearts of people regarding economic policies.

In his own remarks, the Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Okey Enelamah noted that 2018 is a year of implementation regardless of the consequences. Enelamah went on to stress the need for a continuous active implementation of the ERGP based on three legs; investment, trade and industrialisation with an enabling environment as the thrust that runs through all three legs.

Former World Bank Chief Economist, Professor Justin Lin who was also in attendance mentioned that the Garment and Textile industry in Nigeria has huge potential because Nigeria produces cotton, as well as the availability of good locations around the country, including the large markets both domestically and internationally.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
January 24, 2018

Press Release: VP Osinbajo To Speak At Harvard As US Ivy School Starts Business Lecture Titled “Africa Rising”

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, on the invitation of Harvard University, Boston, United States, would be delivering the inaugural, keynote lecture on “Africa Rising” at Harvard Business School on Tuesday, January 16, 2018.

In extending its invitation to the Vice President, the university noted that it deeply admired the immense progress that Nigeria has made by the Buhari presidency including the work of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC).

“It would be the highest honour for us were you to accept our invitation as we deeply admire the immense progress that Nigeria has made,” the Harvard invitation noted, commending in particular the work of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council.

Nigeria’s rise in world economic rankings and the vast range of business initiatives in the country were also noted.

The top US university further describes the lecture as “a historic moment” as it would be the first time that an Africa-focused course will be offered at Harvard Business School.

During the lecture, Prof. Osinbajo would highlight the progress made by the Buhari administration in the area of improving the country’s economy and investment climate.

In the latest World Bank Doing Business index, Nigeria climbed up 24 places and was placed on the list of 10 most reformed economies globally.

Alongside the President, the VP has been a strong advocate in the future of a greater Africa, and has proffered solutions on how to make the continent work better for its people and the rest of the world.

In a keynote address at the Financial Times Summit in London recently, the Vice President emphasised the depth of talent and innovation across Agriculture, ICT, Hospitality, Fashion, Energy, Manufacturing, Entertainment, and many other fields.

The Vice President, who will leave for Boston today, is expected back in Abuja later on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, Prof. Osinbajo had, alongside President Muhammadu Buhari, laid wreaths in honour of fallen heroes of the Nigerian Army at the National Arcade, Abuja to mark the 2018 Armed Forces Remembrance Day.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
15 January, 2017

Press Statement: Reports That Vice President Ignored Benue Governor’s Letter on Benue Attacks are Absolutely False

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, was shocked by a news report ostensibly quoting the Benue State Governor Sam Ortom as saying that the VP was warned of the savage and inhumane killings by alleged herdsmen in Logo and Guma local government areas which took place on the 1st of January 2018.

Although the Vice President, Prof. Osinbajo, does not believe that the Governor could ever have said so, it will be a terrible falsehood to suggest that the VP was ever informed by the Governor or anyone else of the imminence of the killing of citizens of our country in those or any other local governments in Benue State.

Governor Ortom wrote to the Vice President, then Acting President, on 7th June 2017 protesting a newspaper publication where the leadership of Miyetti Allah was reported to have stated that it was opposed to the Open Grazing Prohibition law of the State and that they would mobilize to resist the law. The Miyetti Allah had written to the Vice President on the 5th of June 2017 on the same law protesting several sections of the law. The Governor went on to say that the leadership of Miyetti Allah should be arrested because they used words such as “wicked, obnoxious and repressive,” to describe the law, and because these were “utterances that are capable of undermining the peace…”

The Vice President subsequently met with the Governor, discussed the matter and the security situation in the State and then ordered law enforcement agencies to be on the alert to prevent any attacks or violence. This was in June 2017!

In the said letter written by the Governor, there was no mention of any threat to any specific one of the 23 local governments of Benue State, so the best the law enforcement agencies could do even then was to await information or intelligence of an imminent attack. None came. Since then the VP has held several meetings with the Benue State Governor, including a visit to the State on the 6th of September, last year at the behest of Mr. President during the tragic floods in the state last year. At all such meetings, the Vice President discussed the security situation of the State with the Governor.

Following that, the then Acting President convened a major national security retreat which was attended by all State Governors, service chiefs and heads of security agencies. The Retreat featured very detailed discussions on the herdsmen/ farmers’ clashes.

To the best of our knowledge, neither Governor Ortom nor the Federal Government was aware of the imminence of the cowardly attack on Logo and Guma on the 1st of January, and therefore any suggestion that the President or the Vice President ignored the State Governor’s warning is both absolutely false and certainly misleading.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity to the President
Office of the Vice President
15 January 2018

VP Osinbajo’s Address at the Southwest Regional Summit in Oshogbo, Osun State

I am greatly honored to have been given an opportunity to say a few words here today. And I do not say this merely for correctness. Only a fool will reject an opportunity to speak to the future and the coming generation. I decided, as soon as I was told about this summit, that I must make effort to be here because it is an opportunity to speak to the future.

I must also commend the farsightedness and sense of purpose of the South-West governors under the auspices of the Development Agenda of Western Nigeria (DAWN) for initiating and thinking through a 25-year master-plan for the region. It is also eminently logical that those who are likely to be here in 25 years time should be here to make an input into this very important master-plan. People accuse us in this part of the world of not planning enough but I think that the DAWN Commission and the South-West governors have shown great foresight and they have presented a great example by planning 25 years ahead from today.

It is important because we are told that by the year 2050, we would be the third or the fourth most populous nation in the world. Anyone who knows that you are going to be the third most populous nation in the world must begin to plan now because that future is already here with us.

The Acting Director of DAWN has told us why we are here and he said in particular that they want to get the inputs of the young people who are here and I would like to throw in a few thoughts on what I consider fundamental to the success of individuals and societies.

I am not going to talk about the things that are in the master plan. The master plan already talks about education, healthcare, technology and innovation.

I want to talk about something that I consider the foundation of the success of any community, society or nation and individuals wherever they may be. That foundation is something that is called values. If you look at any society or any individual that has succeeded, values are crucial. Whatever you are seeing that is successful, underlying it are values, if there are no values the society does not work.

Values are the fundamental principle of any society. In the Yoruba culture, they call it “Omoluabi.” It just denotes character, hard work, integrity, courage, and the pursuit of excellence. In other cultures, they call it different names but the principles are the same. The principles that have made other countries successful are the principles that we must work on.

When our fore fathers developed the ethos of “Omoluabi,” they knew even then that those were the principles that would lead to success. And there is no country on the surface of the earth whether they are Afro-Asians, Arabs or whoever they are and wherever they may be, they have had to rely on these principles. So, there is nothing new about what we are saying when we say “Omoluabi” is the fundamental principle for our own development.

I will just take you through a few of those principles so that you will understand that as part of our 25-year development plan, if we don’t enthrone values as a fundamental principle, not much will happen.

The first is to recognize that talent by itself, (is potential & by itself means nothing. If there is no character, if there is no integrity and hard work, talent is nothing at all. The richest place in the world today, the place with the richest mineral potential, is in Africa and that is in the lake region. That is where the largest mineral deposit in the world is but it is also the poorest place in the world. The reason is that no matter how much talent you have, without character there is no way that progress can be made.

The greatest problem that our own country has is the absence of integrity, the greatest problem we have is corruption. If we remove corruption, we would have solved 70 percent of our problems, so, integrity is key anywhere in the world. Some people must make the sacrifice for others’ sake.

Somebody was telling me the other day of a business she started, it was a business of making greeting cards and after about a year she found out that she was not making money but she suddenly found that two graduates who she had employed and were working for her had opened their own stores somewhere in another part of Lagos, they were stealing from her and selling in their own shops. The truth of the matter is that if we do not ensure that businesses can thrive, nobody would be able to create opportunities for others. The reason why it is difficult for people to open branches of their businesses is that if you are not there yourself, you might as well forget your business.

Every society that does not emphasize integrity always fails. I always tell the story of my days as a post-graduate student in the United Kingdom. There was a particular occasion when I could not pay my school fees because we had delays with the Central Bank and so it was very difficult to send money across. So, I went to one of my supervisors and explained that I couldn’t pay my fees and it was getting late and he said to me, “Why don’t you go to the bank and borrow money”, and I said how can I go and borrow money when I don’t have any collateral but he said, “no, go and explain”.

So, I went to the bank and spoke to this lady across the counter, and she looked at my ledger and saw how money had come in and out and I had about 30 pounds left in the account. She asked how much I wanted and I said 600 pounds, she asked when I was going to pay back and I told her maximum two months. She brought out some papers for me to sign and she gave me the money and of course when my cheque came I paid back, and that was in 1981.

By 1984 in the same United Kingdom it was difficult for anyone who had a Nigerian passport to even open an account because many young Nigerian students had assumed that these people must be very stupid; that anybody that can give credit in the way that I was given money must be stupid. Many Nigerians just went in there took money and ran home and by such reason it became impossible for a whole generation of Nigerians to even open bank accounts let alone get money.

There is no question at all that any society that does not emphasize integrity and does not stand on integrity cannot succeed. The whole of the economy is based on trust, even the currency that you spend is based on trust, and business is based on trust. Many times as Nigerians we have lost that trust even dealing with international partners we have lost that trust.

So, it is important for us to understand that no matter what we do we must emphasize this Omoluabi ethos, the ethos of integrity. It is so crucial, without hard work it is impossible to do much. People say all sort of things, they say if you are well connected, you will be a success. There is a limit to what connections can do, even when you are connected enough to be given a job, if you are not serious and hardworking at that job you won’t move up on that job, so hard work is crucial.

I was listening to Governor Aregbesola when he was saying that he met Asiwaju during his participation in the struggle for June 12. I met him-Ashiwaju- in 1998 just after the elections when we were planning for the new government in Lagos State, and the conversations we had at that time were conversations about how to build great societies and it is incredible to note that even till now, anytime I meet him our conversations have always been on how to make the society better.

I listened to the MD of No leftovers, the lady who spoke so well about her progress, it was a short presentation but very powerful because she told how she started and told us where she is today but you must also recognize that in between her starting and now, there is so much she didn’t tell us, she could not have told us how many times she failed in that business before she attained the success that she is today.

I remember a lady also who owned a restaurant just close to a church i pastored in Ikoyi many years ago. She owned a Chinese restaurant called Chinaville and I remember going there with a group of people on this particular day and we were the only ones that were there and while we spoke to her she told us that we were the only customers that she had in three days. She said that some days she had no customers and that every day she will throw away food. She said that she was working in a bank and had to resign, sold her car and raised little money from her parents and started the business. But we encouraged her. That is the way to behave, if you stick at it and remain steadfast, one day you will see progress, Chinaville today is in Victoria Island.

I remember one day, myself, my wife and a minister in our church, we saw this woman driving a red jeep and the minister pointed to her and said “is this not the Chinese restaurant woman, this Chinese business is so easy to make money from”, and I had to tell the minister that there were days when this women used to throw away food, losing money but because she stuck to it and worked hard, and remained at it long enough, today people see her driving a jeep and all that.

It is only hard work, it is only the courage and persistent to remain focused that can get us as individuals and as a nation, from one point to the other.

I study very closely what young people are doing all over Nigeria. I have a group of young people working with me, I’m sure they are over 60 in different fields of expertise; some working in power, some in oil and gas, some in management, and a few of them are here with me, in various fields. These are Nigerian young people, very dedicated, very hard working, experts in their fields; and they are multitasking individuals, they can do a variety of things. Some of them are engineers; but when you hear them talk about agriculture, you will be amazed; some of them who are power experts, when you hear them talking about public health, you will be amazed; young people, almost all of them under 40, but they are so talented, and they are all over the place doing great things.

Like I said, I study very closely what young people are doing, and the reason why I said I study them is because I recognize that this country, which is the largest economy in Africa, is the key to the future, not just of Africa, but of the development of our world.

The places that are left to make the kind of growth and progress that the world can make are not very many. Africa is one such place. So we must watch closely what is happening in Nigeria, and that is one of the reasons why I watch and see exactly what young people are doing and try to encourage them. Today, you see that so many young people are into technology, doing all sorts of things. If you look at it, I’m sure that so many of us have come across Iroko TV, which is something in the world of entertainment and they show and distribute a lot of Nollywood films. A young man is the proprietor, it has become so successful that so many international parties want to buy into that thing. That is just one example.

There is Jobberman. I’m sure most of us know Jobberman, that employment website. Three young Nigerians started the site in 2009 – Olalekan Elude, Ayodeji Adewunmi and Opeyemi Awoyemi. They were young undergraduates at the time they started it, they were students of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife. They did not have any money, they only had that idea and they pursued that idea. Today, they have grown that investment into a major investment. As a matter of fact, they have divested their interests and have started investing in other start-ups all over Nigeria and the world.

I’m sure many of us have come across the website called Nairaland. Nairaland was started by a very young man, 20-year-old at the time, and also an undergraduate in the university. N10,000 was what he started Nairaland with. Today, Nairaland has more readership than probably all other print newspapers put together, and he started it in a room in the university. He didn’t complain, he didn’t come out to say, “we don’t even know what they are doing here, or what they are doing for us.” No. He saw the opportunity and took the opportunity, and it has become what it has become today. Innovation is critical, we must tell ourselves, we of this nation, and young people in particular, we must tell ourselves that it is good to hear stories of the good old days. I was talking to a group of young people and they were telling me about how “oh, you know in those good old days; your days were much better than our own.” But I would say, no. You must be very suspicious of people who are always talking of the good old days. There are no days that are better than the present, and no days would be better than the future. If we look at it, the opportunities that you have today I cannot have.

I remember as a young university lecturer, when I was doing a research, just one, I was researching an issue on “illegitimacy in Nigeria”, it took me eight weeks to just find the right materials. Today, I can sit at my desk in my study and just online, in a matter of hours, I can do all the research I need. We have all manner of opportunities now that nobody would have dreamt of some years ago. In fact, I remember a conversation we had in 1992 when one man was talking of technology, and he said one day, everybody would have telephones, he said even a beggar on the streets would have telephones and everybody laughed. But today, almost everyone has a telephone. The opportunities today are great, the opportunities are many. We must not keep looking back and saying, oh, maybe the good old days; but the good old days are here already. The days of today are your own days. You owe yourself the responsibility of ensuring that you maximise what you have today.

Education is critical. Everybody knows that education is so important, but let me just say to you, self-education is probably more important–educating yourself. A lot of us, of our own generation and even before, did a lot of self-education. I remember Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola who was telling me how he came across Marxist principles. He picked it up from reading some sheets of paper scattered across all over the place, I think, in front of the mosque, Marxist literature, literature talking about Karl Marx, etc.

I remember in 2005, Ogbeni and I went to Cuba for his son’s graduation; he was on scholarship in Cuba then. We were met by all his old compatriots from the communist days. Fidel Castro was excited to see him in Cuba. And here’s a man who was living in Ikare at the time, he had not travelled anywhere, but because he was curious and was looking for information and he was educating himself, he made friends, without the Internet, just by writing letters. He made friends across the world, such that when we were going to Cuba in 2005, he was welcomed as a hero.

So it is important that we understand self-education. The Internet is full of ideas, so much information.

There is no reason why a young Nigerian should speak only one language; there is no reason why he/she should not speak French or Spanish or German, and you can learn everything now on the Internet. It is easy to learn. There is no excuse. Some of you young people who are here today would be working in the United Nations, in different UN and international agencies. But you can’t do so if you are speaking only one language. You must be multilingual or at least bilingual. If they ask, what language do you speak, and you say English and Yoruba, or English and Itsekiri. No. You must be able to speak at least two international languages, and there is no reason why not. At any age, you can learn a language, and you must do so. We must self-educate ourselves.

The other thing I want to leave with you before I go is the value of small beginnings. I think it was Governor Ajimobi who emphasised that point, that don’t ever assume that because today does not look good, that today you don’t have anything or a job, it means that tomorrow is going to be the same; of course not. The value that thrives, what endures forever is the courage and persistence of human beings. That is the only thing that keeps human beings going; it is their courage and persistence. The difference between success and failure is your ability to see today and say although things are not working today, I am sure that tomorrow will be brighter and you make sure that you work towards it.

I was telling some people that I graduated early in life. At the age of 21, I was already a law graduate. I started teaching at the age of 24. So, in every way, I could be considered fortunate because I graduated early. But at that period of my life, teaching and being involved in legal practice, I was earning very little, because in the university we were paid N20 a month but we were able to do a few things. And I explained to these people who I was talking to that I never used a brand new car until 1998. Anybody seeing me in my old car in 1998 would have said, “Well, this man, what is he up to? He’s a professor, he is an advocate, but he must be keeping some money somewhere.” But I recognized even then that, it was important to build something, it was important for me that, in the future, I must be able to look back and encourage some people, young people, and let them know that they don’t have to steal, they don’t have to cheat or do anything untoward to get money. And I was saying that it is possible for a person to earn a salary, it may not be enough, but you are developing yourself, you are building up yourself.

A time came in my life that people would give me cars. Life itself is a journey; it is not a hundred-meter dash. If you hurry too much and you go around shortcuts, you would end up in big problems. There are people who would say, at the age of thirty-something, I must have built a house. Why must you build a house at the age of thirty-something? I built my own house at the age of 50. I moved into my house at the age of 51 and I enjoyed the house. Before then I used to live in a house that I rented. It was a rented accommodation. So there is nothing to be said for saying that by the age of 20, you would do this. So what? If God helps you and you are successful honestly, at the age of 20, fantastic. But don’t be under any pressure; don’t let anybody put you under pressure. You must be determined to work hard, you must determine to be a person of integrity, determine to ensure that you build your works correctly, so that at the end of the day, you are able to enjoy whatever you have in peace.

Finally, let me just say that we must also recognize that every generation owes itself the duty of converting its challenges to opportunities and success. And you must not see yourself as young people of the South-West alone. Yes, you are South-West citizens, you were born and bred here, but you are actually citizens of the world. You are citizens of Nigeria. You must make contacts across the country, you must build bridges across the country; you must see yourself first and foremost as a Nigerian citizen. It is from this Nigeria that we would make the kind of progress that each and every one of us need. There is no point doing our business only in the South-west, Nigeria is our playing field; this country is big enough. The advantage of our country is that it has everything that we need, and we must take advantage of it.

So while we are here locally, we must think nationally, and we must think globally. And we must act nationally, and we must act globally.

Thank you very much.

Released by:

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity)
Office of the Vice President
January 09, 2018

Press Release: Niger Delta: 10 Modular Refineries Reach Advanced Stage, 2 Ready To Ship In Equipment, Ogoni Clean-Up Record Progress

The Buhari administration is committed to promoting the establishment of privately financed modular refineries so as to increase local refining capacity, create jobs, ensure peace and stability in the Niger delta region, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

The initiative which featured prominently in recent talks between the Federal Government and the oil-producing areas, as represented by PANDEF, will also reposition the petroleum industry and ensure self-sufficiency of petroleum products, while serving as a disincentive for illegal refineries and oil pollution.

At an end-of-the-year review meeting of the Niger Delta Inter-Ministerial Committee at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, before the holidays, Prof. Osinbajo noted that the Federal Government, in line with its Niger Delta New Vision, is targeting measurable objectives in its efforts towards implementing development projects in the region.

The December 22 meeting received a report that 38 licensed privately financed greenfield and mini-modular refineries investors have so far indicated interests in the establishment of refineries in the region, and at least ten (10) of the licensed refineries investors are at an advanced stage of development.

The advanced stage of development means that these projects have passed the Licence to Establish (LTE) stage, while some have the Authority to Construct (ATC) licence or close to having it because they have met some critical requirements in the Licensed stage.

There are three stages in the process of refinery establishment; Licence to Establish (LTE), Authority to Construct (ATC) and Licence to Operate (LTO).

So far, 10 modular refineries are located in five out of the nine states in the Niger Delta region; namely Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Imo states.

Also, two out of these 10 – Amakpe Refinery meant to be located in Akwa Ibom, and OPAC Refinery to be based in Delta State – have their mini-refineries modules already fabricated, assembled and containerized overseas, ready for shipment to Nigeria for installation. The total proposed refining capacities of the 10 licensed refineries stands at 300,000 barrels.

Noting the issue of funding as a major challenge to most of the investors, and the primary reason holding further progress of the refinery projects, the Vice President directed that the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources keep providing the necessary support and creating the enabling environment for positive investments in modular refineries by engaging key government agencies.

The agencies include the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board, NCDMB, and financial institutions, including the International Finance Corporation, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, Bank of Industry, amongst others.

The Vice President stressed the importance of ensuring that the oil communities have a stake in the modular refineries and directed that an appropriate model be developed to achieve that.

Other issues addressed at the end of the year meeting include the Maritime University, Ogoni Clean-up, and other related issues such as increasing support for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the region.

On the Maritime University take-off, the Vice President noted that further support would be given by the Federal Government to ensure the training of staff to give the best to the incoming students of the institution.

On the Ogoni clean-up, the Project Coordinator for the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, (HYPREP), Dr. Marvin Dekil briefed the meeting that progress has been made in several areas of the clean-up.

He listed the evaluation of existing water facilities in the four local government areas in Ogoni land in the process of providing clean drinking water, demonstration of remediation technologies at sites in some of the impacted communities; hiring of and the technical training of Ogoni scientists. The Coordinator added that health impact assessment would be conducted in some communities in the coming weeks.

At the meeting were the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Usani Unguru Usani; Minister of Education, Alhaji Adamu Adamu; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu and the Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Usman Jubril.

Others include the Director-General of Nigeria Maritime Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside; Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Corporation, Mr. Nsima Ekere; and the Special Adviser to the President on the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Brig-General Paul Boroh (rtd).

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
December 30, 2017

Press Release: There is now a New Orientation To Grow Business In Nigeria – VP Osinbajo

“I think a new orientation has been birthed which is that as bureaucrats, we are meant to facilitate trade and commerce and business in our environment”, says Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

Speaking today at the State House to heads of Federal Government regulatory agencies at a meeting convened to review the implementation of the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Clinic (MSME Clinic) in the out-going year, the Vice President congratulated the implementing agencies saying “ I think that a tremendous improvement we’ve seen in the quality of service to the people is worthy of commendation and I want to congratulate you all.”

The Vice President told the implementing agencies not to rest on their laurels noting “next year will also be a more intense period where we will be required to double our efforts.”

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo later presented certificate of recognition to agencies who contributed to the success of the MSME Clinics namely; Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Bank of Industry (BOI), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN), National Export and Import Bank (NEXIM), National Food and Drugs Administration & Control (NAFDAC), Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) as well as the project coordinator, Brown Valley Partners Ltd.

Earlier at the review session chaired by Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Aisha Abubakar, the heads of agencies namely Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Bank of Industry (BOI), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN), National Export and Import Bank (NEXIM), National Food and Drugs Administration & Control (NAFDAC), and Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), during their various presentations lauded the visionary leadership of the Vice President, commending him for ensuring that the clinics were held in 11 (eleven) cities across the six geo-political in the country.

It would be recalled that the MSME Clinics was launched by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Januray 24 in Aba, Abia State. It was conceived in view of the Buhari administration’s consideration of MSME space as critical to the growth and diversification of the nation’s economy from oil given its capacity as a potential contributor to the GDP.

The Clinics are driven by the Presidency and the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment in conjunction with 14 MDAs which are critical to the operations of MSMEs in Nigeria.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity)
Office of the Vice President
December 19, 2017

Press Release: All Those Found Guilty in Osborne Towers Scandal Will Be Sanctioned – President Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday in Abuja said all those found culpable in the Osborne Towers scandal will be made to account and appropriately sanctioned.

Receiving a report of the panel established to review the operational, technical and administrative structure of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), President Buhari described the discovery of monies in the flat at Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos, in April this year, as an ‘‘unfortunate incident which rightly aroused public interest and outcry.’’

‘‘All the circumstances surrounding the obtaining, keeping custody and disbursement of the funds have been examined by the Vice President’s Committee and all those found to be culpable will be made to account and appropriately sanctioned.

‘‘However, it must be understood that this cannot be done in a manner that jeopardises national security or exposes the operations of any intelligence Agency, which must, by nature be conducted in secrecy.

‘‘Suffice it for me to assure all that justice will be done consistent with our anti-corruption policies,’’ the President said.

President Buhari, while commending the Presidential Review Panel on NIA led by Amb. Babagana Kingibe, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, for completing their assignment expeditiously, expressed the hope that the recommendations of the panel and that of an earlier Committee headed by the Vice President to look into the Osborne matter will assist Government in improving the operations of the NIA and the overall National Security architecture.

‘‘Your Panel’s recommendation, informed as they are by your collective experience and expertise in this field, should in particular help to reposition the NIA to better perform its vital functions with greater professionalism.

‘‘The Osborne Tower incident and its aftermath has also brought to the fore the need to review the entire National Security Architecture, which has now been in operation as established 31 years ago.

‘‘Once again, I thank you very much for undertaking this national assignment, ’’ he said.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was present at the presentation of the report by the panel which has Chief Albert Horsfall, Amb. Zakari Ibrahim and Amb. Ezekiel Oladeji, as members.

Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity)
December 19, 2017

Press Release: Working Together Will Boost Economic, Technological Growth, VP Osinbajo Tells Young Innovators

Nigeria’s youths will achieve more if they collaborate more on projects that will benefit them and also boost the nation’s capacity in innovation and technology, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

Prof. Osinbajo said this when he received a delegation of young Nigerian innovators and beneficiaries of grants from the Growth and Employment (GEM) Project, an initiative of the Federal Government under the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, which is supported by the World Bank and the DFID.

In furtherance of the Buhari administration’s economic empowerment initiatives, the project empowers young Nigerian innovators and entrepreneurs with sustainable and innovative business models that will create more jobs for Nigerians and contribute to the nation’s economic growth.

“I am happy that everyone is a co-founder; it speaks to what we say about collaboration and working together, and also with international players,” the Vice President said.

At the meeting, the young entrepreneurs showcased their business models during short presentations to Vice President, who commended them for their efforts and engaged them with questions on the sustainability of their laudable projects.

It will be recalled that the innovators were selected following the Aso Villa Demo Day (AVDD), a technological innovation competition organised by the Presidency earlier in the year.

Also, at the meeting was the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole.

In his remarks, the Project Coordinator of the GEM Project, Mr. Ugo Ikemba, thanked the Vice President for all the support the Buhari administration has given to the project since its inception. He said the project will continue to find platforms to support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by enabling them get more access to funding.

In the same vein, the Director-General of Nigerian Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Mr. Jelani Aliyu, thanked the Presidency for providing leadership that supports and empowers young Nigerians to dream and innovate.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity
Office of the Vice President
18 December, 2017

Speech: VP Osinbajo’s Address at the 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea in Abuja

It is my pleasure and privilege to express the warm felicitations of the Government and people of Nigeria to you all on this occasion of the Tenth Conference of Ministers and the Tenth Anniversary of the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC). Please accept also, our congratulations on the occasion of your tenth anniversary.

Let me also extend the gratitude of the Government and people of Nigeria, to the FCWC for giving us the opportunity to host this anniversary, I’m told this is the second time Nigeria is hosting this yearly meeting and I hope we will be given the chance to host it frequently.

It is important to remind ourselves of the objectives of this regional body, which includes the strengthening of sub-regional cooperation in fisheries management, monitoring, surveillance and enforcement operations; and the development of the capacity of small-scale fishing operators in member countries, to create sustainable livelihoods.

On the matter of small-scale fishing operators, a point that we cannot overlook, is that most of our national economies thrive largely on the combined energy of multitudes of individual entrepreneurs and small businesses – farmers, fishermen, artisans, traders. Our policies and programmes as governments must therefore, be directed towards supporting the aspirations and ambitions of these small-scale-but-big-energy entrepreneurs.

All six member-countries also need to deepen strategic cooperation, to harness the enormous fisheries potentials in the Gulf of Guinea for the benefit of our people. I implore the secretariat of the FCWC to prioritize the speedy sharing of information between member states, in order to more effectively checkmate the activities of foreign vessels fishing illegally within our territorial waters.

Your Excellencies, it is in the common and vital interest of our nations that we continue to give the FCWC our full support for the sustainable management of our fisheries resources.

On the part of Nigeria, we will continue to play our role in the support of FCWC. In line with this, I am happy to inform you that we have paid almost about $200,000 of our debt to the FCWC this year. I say the figure just to encourage everyone else, to toe the line of repaying debts as quickly as possible.

The safety of Nigeria’s maritime waters is also of principal concern to us. To this end, President Buhari has approved the purchase of some patrol vessels for the Department of Fisheries, which will be managed in collaboration with the Nigerian Navy.

These vessels will boost the search and rescue capacities of the relevant security agencies, deter illegal fishing, prevent illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, and help secure our vessels at sea.

In the Northeast of Nigeria, terrorist activities of Boko Haram have devastated a fishing industry that has historically supplied much of West Africa. President Buhari earlier this year, approved the establishment of a Lake Chad Naval Base, to boost security, and fast-track the restoration of deprived livelihoods in that zone.

The theme of this conference which is: “Investing for Growth and Sustainability for Fisheries in West Africa” is an important one, both in terms of sharing experiences and laying out our aspirations for the economic well-being of our people.

Perhaps I might ask that you indulge me for a minute to share some of our success in agriculture and investments generally. Agriculture and aquaculture in particular, is easily one of the most critical of the multiple engines that will help diversify our economies, and create jobs and prosperity, especially for our young people.

We have focused on agriculture as being the pathway for sustainable growth for our people, and providing much needed jobs for the hundreds of thousands of young people graduating from various levels of our educational institutions. We think that fisheries and the whole aquaculture economy, will supply what we need in terms of opportunities for several of these young people and there are several initiatives we are proffering which the Ministry of Agriculture has been leading in the past few months.

I’m pleased to note that our efforts to reduce fish imports and increase local fish production, by encouraging the private sector to invest in aquaculture, is yielding positive results. Our domestic fish production in the last two years has increased from 450,000 metric tons to 1.1million metric tons.

This is no doubt regarding the result of the work we’re doing to encourage and enable investment in Nigeria. Our conviction is that Nigeria’s economic revolution must be led by private capital, and that government’s primary role is to create the enabling environment for commerce to thrive unhindered and this has greatly assisted our work in this respect.

We have worked quite hard, to ensure that we create the environment for investments; small, medium-sized and large investments.

We have worked at this especially in the last one year, by implementing a series of reforms that have earned us a place on the World Bank’s list of top ten most improved economies in 2017, from a business climate improvement perspective.

These reforms range from simplifying registration processes for new businesses, to making it easier for investors and entrepreneurs to access credit, to implementing a visa on arrival scheme that takes just about 48 hours to process. We are also effecting reforms aimed at easing bottlenecks in our seaports, for the benefit of importers and exporters.

Many of these reforms are in nascent stages, we are working daily to improve and fine-tune them. We have realized that we need to have an enabling environment, not just for foreign investments, but in particular for local investments to thrive. It is when local investments thrive that foreign investors may then feel enabled and inspired to come in to invest. Our focus is ensuring local investments thrive through several of the initiatives we have introduced.

I would like to reiterate the philosophy behind these reforms; Nigeria is open for business and investment. We would like to see investors take us up on this pledge. You’re very likely aware that there is a great deal of opportunity in Nigeria’s aquaculture industry – the size of our domestic market and our status as a gateway to West Africa together constitute a compelling business case.

On this note, let me once again express the sincere gratitude of the Nigerian government and people of Nigeria to the FCWC for giving Nigeria the opportunity to host you all. I hope that all the visiting Ministers and delegates have in the last few days, found the time between the busy sessions to experience and enjoy the beautiful scenery and warm hospitality of Abuja. If you have not, there is still a bit of time to catch up on that.

I trust that you have had successful and result-oriented deliberations so far, and that this Ministerial Conference will be ending on a fulfilling and productive note.

Thank you very much and God bless you all.

Released by:
Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity
Office of the Vice President
December 15, 2017