It is no longer news that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has been relieved of some key decision roles according to sources stating that the Vice President’s office received a memo requiring that all agencies under his supervision should seek presidential approvals before execution.
The Office of the Vice President manages the governing boards of the following parastatals such as the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), the National Boundary Commission (NBC), the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA) and he also chairs the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) as well as the Board of Directors of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) and a few others.
There have been speculations that this new directive emerged due to some inconsistencies in the management of these agencies according to the Daily Trust and as such the directive was informed. The news agency also reports that the Office of the Vice President refuted such claims in a statement. Read the statement below in part:
“Our attention has been drawn to a sensational report by The Cable published on September 17, 2019, which claims that His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, has directed Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, to seek approvals for agencies under him.
“The report suggests, falsely, that agencies under the supervision of the Vice President do not normally comply with established rules where presidential approvals are required.
“This is obviously misleading and aims only to plant seeds of discord in the Presidency while attempting to create unnecessary national hysteria.
“The agencies in question are established by law and the Vice President has always insisted on due compliance with the enabling statutes and other established regulations.
“Depending on the particular scope of activity in question, agencies may require management approval only, at the level of the Director-General or Chief Executive Officer. In this category falls the great majority of their day-to-day activities.
However, Mr Austine Allegeh, a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) had advised that whispers of discord between the President and his Vice should be ignored as the President had every right to determine how his government would be run.
“No friction should be read into this neither…It is not to whittle down the powers of the VP. It is the President’s absolute discretion to give the VP more work in other areas,” he said.
However, an undisclosed northern politician has opined that there are going to be speculations on anything the president does as the fight is already on concerning his successor. Therefore he is just tightening the strings keeping his house in order. He also disclosed that the President needs to say something officially to clear the misunderstanding.
The Vice President has however continued his regular duties and no public statement has been made.
