"You'll never catch Buhari and I deceiving Nigerians" - Osinbajo

Osinbajo made the declaration as a guest of Abuja based Brekete Radio on Monday, October 29, 2018.

During the programme, the vice president stated that, “The focus of our government is on how things can be better for the common man. We are not in the business of trying to deceive Nigerians. You can accuse myself and the President of anything, but you will never find us deceiving Nigerians.”

On the National Social Investment Programme (N-SIP), Osinbajo noted that the Buhari administration has been able to do so much more with less resources.

“The President has ensured that nobody steals money from the treasury. The major problem Nigeria had before now was the fact that people stole from the nation’s coffers. Once the country is it would be better.

“The first thing we did was tackle unemployment by employing young men and women through the N-Power job scheme, which has so far employed 500,000 young graduates."

Osinbajo talks about N-Power

A paid volunteer programme, the N-Power job scheme has a two-year duration which has now been extended for a batch.

Osinbajo adds that, “every state has N-Power. There are plans to employ more because of the number of graduates. This is a social safety net for young unemployed Nigerian graduates.

“So far, we have given about 400,000 MarketMoni loans, but the target is to give 1 million loans to artisans and traders, while s a N10,000 interest-free loan to petty traders, of which 2 million are expected to be reached in the first phase.”

Clean and affordable electricity

Osinbajo also highlighted the federal government’s Energizing Economies Initiative, which seeks to provide clean, affordable, and constant power to economic clusters such as big markets and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across Nigeria.

Last week Friday, the vice president commissioned the Sura market Independent Power Project in Sura shopping complex in Lagos State; a 1.5MW independent mini-grid power supply system which government claims will provide clean and affordable electricity to over 1,000 shops in the market.

The Buhari administration’s Energizing Economies Initiative, which is being implemented by Rural Electrification Agency (REA), is designed to provide clean, stable and affordable electricity to Nigerians in economic clusters.

According to the federal government, thousand of shops in Sabon Gari in Kano State, Ariaria market in Aba, Isinkan market in Akure, Ondo State, Edaiken market in Benin, Edo State, and Sura market, Lagos, have been provided solar power through the initiative.

“Power is a major problem in Nigeria and our efforts is to solve this through alternative energy such as solar power. We are not relying on the national grid alone. We are also encouraging the private sector to provide power. The new strategy of the government is to put power in different places so as to make life easy for Nigerians without relying on the national grid. We are still working on the national grid. This country is very big, that’s why we have to decentralize," Osinbajo said.

Home grown school feeding programme

Speaking further on the benefits of the N-SIP, the vice president assured Nigerians that the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme was authentic and was a major part of the administration’s plan to improve the lives of Nigerians. “Currently, it feeds daily over 9 million schoolchildren in public primary schools in 26 states. Also, the products are sourced from local farmers, which improve local economy", he said.

Buhari won the 2015 presidential election on the back of a reputation that bordered on honesty, frugality, integrity and transparency.

Buhari will square up to Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, Oby Ezekwesili of the ACPN, Kingsley Moghalu of YPP, Fela Durotoye of ANN, Omoyele Sowore of AAC and 70 other presidential candidates, in the battle to keep his job beyond 2019.