Budget impasse: Buhari in crucial meeting with Osinbajo, Udoma

ITRealms:

In effort to resolve the budget impasse between the Executive and Legislature in Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, Tuesday summoned his Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udo Udoma to the State house, Abuja, reports ITRealms.

President Buhari, ITRealms recalls had been away in China on a state visit for the past one week.

Whereas Presidency was trading blame with the National Assembly for the delay in assenting to the 2016 budget, the National Assembly on the other hand said they have done their best as far as the 2016 appropriation bill is concerned, insisting the ball is in the Executive court.

Development experts have also warned that with the continuous of blame between NASS and the executive arm of government, the Federal Government and indeed, Nigeria may shut down in June due to the delays in assenting to the budget.

Meanwhile the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked presidency and NASs to resolve whatever issues they have because Nigerians are the ones suffering while the two elephants fight.

Also, Senator Udoma had earlier met with Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki ahead of this meeting with Mr. President.

It is expected that the meeting between the trio of President, his vice president and Udo Udoma is to fashion a way forward.

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Buhari on 5-day vacation, hands over to Osibajo

ITRealms:

The President, Muhammadu Buhari has commenced a five-day short vacation from Friday, February 5 to February 10, 2016, just as he handed over the mantle of leadership to his vice president, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, reports ITRealms.

The presidential spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, confirmed this to ITRealms, saying that while President Buhari is on vacation, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo will perform the functions of the President.
 
This, he said, was in compliance with Section 145 (1) of the Nigerian Constitution, even as President Buhari has dispatched a formal notice of his vacation to the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives in that order.

Meanwhile on Friday met with the members of the Nigerian Community in London.

Buhari was accompanied by the National Security Adviser Babagana Monguno, Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama, Acting High Commissioner to London Amb. Simon Ogah and Special Adviser on Media & Publicity Mr Femi Adesina.

  

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VP Osinbajo, Zinox chairman, Ekeh lead dignitaries to GOCOP launch

ITRealms:

The Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) has been confirmed to, this Thursday, lead high-powered delegation of corporate Nigeria to the formal launch of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) in Lagos, reports ITRealms.

In a press statement made available to ITRealms by the leadership of GOCOP indicated that all is now ready for the launch and that VP Osinbajo would be joined at the event slated for Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, by notable Nigerians.

According to the chairman, Launch Committee, Mr. Chijama Ogbu, the VP, Osinbajo would deliver the keynote address while other eminent corporate magnets would join him in the discussion thereafter.

These include the Chairman of Zinox Group, Dr. Leo Stan Ekeh, and the Chairman of Channels Television, Mr. John Momoh, as guest speakers, whereas the former Chairman, Punch Newspapers, Ajibola Ogunshola, would be the chairman of the occasion.

ITRealms recalls that GOCOP is a non-governmental, non-partisan, non-profit making organization for the highest strata of working journalists who have attained the exalted position of editors in the journalism profession and have delved into online publishing.

The primary objectives of the organization are ensuring that online publishers uphold the tenets of journalism and provide a platform for peer review.

"It is our goal is to provide order in online media within Nigeria’s geographic space, which currently boasts of a high population of charlatans,” Ogbu said, stressing that GOCOP believes it is important to provide a platform for journalists in this business to come together to set barometers of compliance with the ethical codes of the journalism.

 
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Presidency: Assets declaration confirms Buhari austere lifestyle

ITRealms:

The presidency has said that the assets declaration of both president Muhammadu Buhari and his vice president, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo confirmed the austere lifestyle of Mr. President.
Senior Special Adviser to President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, informed ITRealms that documents submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), showed that the retired General indeed has been living an austere and Spartan lifestyle, contrary to what many might expect of a former Head of State of Nigeria and one who has held a number of top government positions, such as governor, Minister of petroleum and the head of the Petroleum Development Trust Fund (PTDF).

Shehu also said that the documents submitted to the CCB still undergoing vetting will soon be made public, and showed that prior to being sworn in on May 29, President Buhari had less than N30 million to his name. He also had only one bank account, with the Union Bank. President Buhari had no foreign account, no factory and no enterprises. He also had no registered company and no oil wells.

The Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) who had been a successful lawyer before his foray into politics declared a bank balance of about N94 million and 900,000 United States Dollars in his bank accounts.

President Buhari declared however that he had shares in Berger Paints, Union Bank and Skye Bank. 

“This is entirely unlike what one might expect from a former head of state of a country like Nigeria,” a source who was given the document to handle said.

The documents also revealed that President Buhari had a total of five homes, and two mud houses in Daura. He had two homes in Kaduna, one each in Kano, Daura and in Abuja. One of the mud houses in Daura was inherited from his late older sister, another from his late father. He borrowed money from the old Barclays Bank to build two of his homes.

President Buhari also has two undeveloped plots of land, one in Kano and the other in Port Harcourt. He is still trying to trace the location of the Port Harcourt land. 

In addition to the homes in Daura, he has farms, an orchard and a ranch. The total number of hisholdings in the farm include 270 heads of cattle, 25 sheep, five horses, a variety of birds and a number of economic trees. 

The documents also showed that the retired General uses a number of cars, two of which he bought from his savings and the others supplied to him by the federal government in his capacity as former Head of State. The rest were donated to him by well-wishers after his jeep was damaged in a Boko Haram bomb attack on his convoy in July 2014.

As revealed by the same forms, highlights of the Vice-President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo’s asset declaration include his 4-bedroom residence at Victoria Garden City, Lagos and a 3-bedroom flat at 2 Mosley Road, Ikoyi. The Vice President also has a 2-bedroom flat at the popular Redemption Camp along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and a 2-bedroom mortgaged property in Bedford, England. Aside from these, the Vice President has no other landed properties on the form.

Apart from his law firm, known as SimmonsCooper, the Vice-President also declared shareholding in six private companies based in Lagos, including Octogenerium Ltd., Windsor Grant Ltd., Tarapolsa, Vistorion Ltd., Aviva Ltd. and MTN Nigeria.

According to details shown on the form, the Vice-President has about ninety four million naira, nine hundred thousand US dollars and nineteen thousand pounds in Nigerian Banks with the foreign currencies kept in local domiciliary accounts. His personal vehicles are one Infinity 4-Wheel Drive SUV, one Mercedes Benz and a Prado Jeep.

“As soon as the CCB is through with the process, the documents will be released to the Nigerian public and people can see for themselves,” the source said. 

+Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) 


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Pix: President Buhari

Osibanjo in Ethiopia for South-Sudan mediation summit

ITRealms:

The Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, on Sunday departed Abuja to represent President Muhammadu Buhari at a peace mediation summit on the situation in South Sudan tomorrow in Addis Ababa, reports ITRealms.

Confirming this, the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President, Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, told ITRealms in a press statement on Sunday that the summit would be on the platform of the Inter-Governmental Authority (IGAD) Plus. 

He explained that IGAD is the regional trade group of eight African countries from the Horn of Africa, Nile Valley and the Great Lakes.

Akande also said that participating in IGAD for this important peace effort are a number of leading African nations including Nigeria, and others like the United States, China, United Nations, European Union, African Union among others in the international community.

The Vice President who will join other leaders from the continent and outside including the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Mr. Hailemariam Dessalegn, will return to Abuja later on Monday.

 
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Pix: VP Osibanjo