Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, on Wednesday presided over the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the State House, Abuja, concentrating on state matters as directed by President Muhammadu Buhari, who is away in Senegal.
President Buhari departed Lagos for Senegal on Tuesday, January 24, 2023, to attend the 2nd edition of the Dakar International Conference on Agriculture.
The high-level Dakar 2 Summit hosted by President Macky Sall of Senegal, who is the Chairperson of the African Union, is holding under the theme “Feeding Africa: Food Sovereignty and Resilience.”
Recall Osinbajo also presided over the first FEC meeting of 2023 last Wednesday, January 18, 2923, playing his deputizing role for the President, who was also away in Nouakchott, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania to participate in the Programme of the Third Forum of the African Conference for Peace.
Like the first, the second FEC meeting of the year, held at the Council Chambers, was attended by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Folashade Yemi-Esan; and the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari.
Other cabinet members at the FEC meeting were ministers of Finance Zainab Ahmed; Interior, Rauf Aregbesola; Aviation, Hadi Sirika; Youth and Sports, Sunday Dare and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.
Others are Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo; Health, Osagie Ehanire; Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige; Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola; Agriculture, Mohammad Abubakar; Niger Delta, Umana Umana; Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo and Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi; Federal Capital Territory, Mohammed Bello; and Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen.
President Buhari, had, last year September, directed Osinbajo and Mustapha to be left out of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), so they can face governance.
Mr President has specifically directed that the Vice-President and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha should be left out of the Campaign Council to concentrate on the governance of the country and administration of Government.
The spokesperson for the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, also addressing the matter, had in a statement on Saturday, September 24, 2022, said as a responsible party and government, all the key functionaries of government cannot abandon their positions for electioneering campaigns.
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He noted that the President had “specifically” directed that the Vice President and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation should be left out of the campaign council to concentrate on the governance of the country and administration of government.
“Nothing can be farther from the facts. For the avoidance of doubt, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, is the Chairman of the Campaign Council. As a result, Mr President has specifically directed that the Vice President and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha should be left out of the Campaign Council to concentrate on the governance of the country and administration of Government.
“As a responsible party and government, all the key functionaries of government cannot abandon their positions for electioneering campaigns. The APC has the mandate of the Nigerian people to administer the country on their behalf at least till May 29, 2023, and this we intend to do with all sense of responsibility.
“We will not toe the path of those who governed the country in an irresponsible manner before us and our Party is not in total disarray like those who wish to ‘rescue’ the country, but cannot simply manage their own internal affairs,” Keyamo stated.
