6 things Osinbajo has done as acting president
President Muhammadu Buhari is currently in the United Kingdom on a 10-day vacation which started on Monday, January 23 and will end on Monday, February 6.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was given the responsibility to act as president in the absence of Buhari.
Since
Buhari’s absence, there have been rumours concerning the health of the
president. There was a even a rumour that the president was dead but the
presidency has since debunked it and presented photo evidence that
Buhari is hale and hearty.
This
is not the first time Osinbajo will be playing the role of president
since Buhari took over power on May 29, 2015. Buhari has gone on
vacation abroad three times and all those times, Osinbajo has acted on
his behalf.
The first time was in
February 2016 when Buhari took five days leave. The second was June,
2016 when Buhari traveled to London to attend to an ear infection.
Below are some of the activities Osinbajo has carried out as acting president.
1. Inauguration of task force on rice and wheat production
In
June 2016, while Buhari was away, Osinbajo inaugurated a task force on
rice and wheat production, while stating that feeding the nation’s
population was the focus of Buhari’s administration.
2. Meeting with governors of Niger Delta states and the Service Chiefs over militant attacks
 |
| Osinbajo meets South South govs, service chiefs, others over bombing threats |
Acting as president in June 2016, Osinbajo held an emergency security meeting
at the State House in Abuja. In attendance were all governors of oil
producing states, all the four Service Chiefs, minister of defence, Dan
Ali; minister of state for petroleum, Ibe Kachichuwu; the special
adviser on Amnesty Programme, Gen. Boroh and others.
3. Chaired the second Presidential Business Forum
Speaking
at the meeting on Monday, January 23, Osinbajo stressed the need for
full public/private partnership in the salvation of Nigeria’s ailing
economy.
4. Chairing the meetings of the Federal Executive Council (FEC)
Whenever Buhari is away, Osinbajo as acting president presides over the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting
in Abuja. However, the FEC meeting he chaired on Wednesday, January 25,
was trailed by controversy. Repot surfaced that he was under pressure
from Nigerian governors to resign as vice president amid rumours
trailing Buhari’s health. This resignation pressure rumour was quickly debunked by Buhari's political adviser, Senator Babafemi Ojudu.
5. Launched the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME Clinic) in Abuja
The
media launch of the federal government’s Micro Small and Medium Scale
Enterprise Clinic, (MSME Clinic) in Abuja held on Tuesday, January 24.
Osinbajo, who launched the project said it would serve as a one stop
shop to address challenges faced by small business owners.
6. Briefed on the 2017 Appropriation bill
On Monday, January 30, Osinbajo met with the Senate leader,
Senator Ahmed Lawan, who briefed him on the progress made so far by the
Senate in the consideration of the 2017 Appropriation bill at the
National Assembly. The meeting was said to have been attended by a
governor on the platform of the All Progressives Congress and the
speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara.
