Vice
President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) yesterday laid to rest speculations about his
emergence as presidential running mate in last year’s election
He
said in Lagos that he was nominated by the National Leader of the
All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
“I
was nominated by the leader of our party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, under who I
served as a commissioner in Lagos State,” Osinbajo said at a colloquium
on the state of the nation in Lagos organised by the Coalition of Nigerian
Apostolic Leaders.
His
statement tallies with the earlier account of the event given by the Secretary
to the Lagos State Government ,Mr. Tunji Bello.
Osinbajo
at the colloquium also spoke of Federal Government’s determination to
intensify the battle against corruption which he called one of the key
strategies for liberating the country from recession.
Government,he
said,would revamp the economy through diversification, development of
infrastructure and creation of a conducive atmosphere for the private sector to
increase productive activities and boost employment opportunities.
Osinbajo
said: “The reasons for the recession are because of the drop in the production
of oil and corruption. Other factors are the manifestation of the two
problems.”
The
vice president, who explained that things were going to change overnight, said
a lot of damage had been done to the economy. He noted the impatience of
Nigerians, recalling that even the Isralites once complained to Moses to take
them back to Egypt, the land of corruption, when they got to the Red sea.
Urging
Nigerians to have patience with the Federal Government as it intensifies its
efforts at repositioning the economy, Osinbajo lamented that 15 billion dollars
were lost to corruption through the defense contract under the last
administration. He said the problem in the Northeast could have been averted, if
the money meant for arms procurement had not been stolen.
The
vice president explained measures adopted to boost revenue generation and
prevent graft. These include the banishment of the menace of ghost workers and
payroll fraud, the enforcement of tax compliance, the introduction of the
Treasury Single Account (TSA), the expansion of the Value Added Tax (VAT)
coverage, the deregulation of the downstream sector and concerted action on the
foreign exchange rate.
He
said the Federal Government will pursue the diversification of the economy
through the development of agriculture to guarantee food sufficiency, job
creation and export to attract earnings.
On
the anti-corruption battle, Osinbajo said : “Allegations of corruption
must be submitted to the right channels. The President does not interfere in
the activities of the agencies. He has given the agencies concerned the
independence to act, when a formal complaint is submitted. Where there are
proven cases of corruption, the appropriate agencies will always act.”
Osinbajo
said Christians should not panic over speculations about Sharia
bill in the National assembly.
He
said “The government should not be interested in any Sharia matter beyond what
is in the constitution. If the government is interested, it is the
Attorney-General that will submit the bill, following the decision of the
Federal Executive Council.
“Sharia
is in the constitution; it is only applicable to Islamic marriage. You cannot
change.
Source:The
Nation
Tags
Politics