BREAKING: Osinbajo presides over NEC

Contrary to the rumours making the rounds that the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has been stripped of his constitutional roles with the dissolution of his economic management team and sensational report that suggests that he would do nothing without the approval of the President, the realities on ground do not correlate.

As at the time of this report, NewsTrack can authoritatively confirm that Prof. Osinbajo presiding over the National Economic Council (NEC) at the State House.

Meanwhile, Mr. Laolu Akande, the spokesperson to Prof. Osinbajo, had tweeted that NEC is the constitutional body that advises the President on the coordination of the economic affairs of the country.

He noted that state governors, the Central Bank of Nigeria governor and some members of the Federal Executive Council were in attendance.

“Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is now presiding over the monthly National Economic Council, NEC meeting with state governor, CBN governor and some members of the FEC,” he tweeted.

He added that, “NEC is the constitutional body that advises the President on the coordination of economic affairs of the Nigerian federation”.

Vanguard had also reported that NEC under the leadership of Prof Osinbajo between 2015 to April 2019 passed 173 resolutions in 38 meetings.

Some of the resolutions include the approval of $650 million seed funding as the Federal Government established Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund.

NEC also approved Community Policing in Nigeria as well as synergy among security agencies in a bid to improve intelligence gathering and end internal security crisis which included kidnapping.

The Council approved the National Transformation Livestock Plan (NLTP) which was launched by the Vice President in Adamawa on September 10.

NEC under Osinbajo’s leadership approved Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) clinics to help MSME with loans, materials and to make the process of doing business easy.

Mores so, Mr. Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity had said in a television interview that prof. Osinbajo superintend over agencies and other functions as enshrined in the constitution. He also said: “I am not aware that the Vice President is no longer overseeing the operations of National Emergency Management Agency. Constitutionally, the Vice President is in charge of NEMA”.