NEC Members Hail Osinbajo as Council Holds Valedictory Meeting

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

Members of the National Economic Council (NEC) including  State Governors, and some members of the Federal Cabinet rose from the monthly NEC meeting on Thursday with words of commendation and praise for the Chairman of the Council, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

According to a release issued by Osinbajo’s media aide, Laolu Akande, the Governors and other council members who were having a physical meeting in a long time rounded up their accolades for the VP when they all rose up singing “for he is a jolly good fellow” in unision and a round of applause at the end of the meeting held inside the Council Chambers at the State House, Abuja.

Speaking on behalf of all the 36 State Governors and under the auspices of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), Sokoto State Governor, Hon Aminu Tambuwal commended “ Mr. Chairman and the Vice President for leading the council very very well and under your leadership, the NEC has been very regular and effective. You have managed the affairs of NEC with a sense of fairness and patriotism. 

NEC has been proactive and pragmatic under your leadership. Many atimes when the situation demands, NEC under your leadership has risen to the challenges of our national survival even beyond the scarce economic matters.

“And therefore Mr. Chairman and the Vice President, on our behalf, we congratulate you for raising the bar, for doing the nation proud and for doing very well and for serving this country in this capacity. We thank you for your leadership, you provided a level playing field for every one of us to make his contributions irrespective of our various and varying backgrounds devoid of partisanship but maintaining focus and fairly managed a platform of NEC.

“Thank you very much and we pray that God Almighty shall continue to guide you andmembers of your family as you continue with the journey,  stepping aside. You remain indeed an asset, a reference, a rallying point for our country, as you continue to improve on issues of good governance and entrenchment of democratic action.

“Thank you very much. We thank God for your gift, we pray God continue to guide you as you serve out your term as the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Chairman of National Economic Council. On behalf of all of us, we thank you for your interventions, we thank Mr. President through you for his interventions especially at those very difficult times when states were battling a lot of challenges especially during the 2016 period when a number of states could not even pay salaries, bail outs and such other interventions really helped all of us, various states to really discharge our constitutional roles per state. The Vice President, Mr. Chairman, we thank you, we can’t thank you enough, we thank you very much.”

Speaking earlier during the meeting, Kaduna State Governor Nasir El Rufai said the eight years that Osinbajo chaired the Council as the best of all the executive bodies spelt out in the Nigerian Constitution.

 According to him, “out of all the Federal executive bodies, only this functions according to the Constitution and this is because of the way the VP chairs the Council. I want to appreciate you and your leadership. God will reward your leadership in this country.”

 Jigawa State Governor Badaru Abubakar spoke in the same vein ssying “all of us” share the sentiments expressed by Governor El-Rufai. “We thank you for your patience, support and understanding”

On his part, Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade commended the Vice President “for your spirit of tolerance. I have borrowed from your maturity.”

Responding to the encomiums at the end of the meeting, Osinbajo expressed his appreciation for the gesture.

His words: “Thank you very much. Your Excellencies, I’ll like to thank you very much for the singing of “He’s a jolly good fellow”. Thank you very much.

“I would like to thank Your Excellencies, members of the National Economic Council for your commitment and patriotism and the way that you have worked so hard to ensure that our country is not just properly advised by the Federal Government, but the country at all times is kept …

“I think that the stabilizing voice of the National Economic Council has already been very well acknowleged including by Mr. President himself on several occasions when he has had cause to comment on the work of the National Economic Council and your Excellencies, the governors.

“The National Economic Council has been advising especially the questions around subsidy, reports. There were also situations where the National Economic Council had to advise on very many matters concerning the economy of the country. And your advice is always objective, your advice is always genuine in the overall interest of the country.

“I must say that in very many ways, the National Economic Council in the past few years or 10 to 15 years has demonstrated that our country has quality leadership. Your political leadership has shown in very many ways,  that we respect working together as a country.

“I must commend you for ensuring that in all our decisions, the unity of our country has played the most important role. So I’d like to thank you very much for working with us in the past eight years or so and I pray that all of you, more than you think, will be rewarded by the Almighty God for your contributions to your states and to our nation.

“I also pray for those who are continuing, the Governors who are continuing and those who are coming in, that you will experience the best years yet of our nation and  that our nation under you, and your states under you, will prosper and that the decisions we elect will be one that will be celebrated for years to come.”

 The Vice President also presented a Legacy Document of NEC in the last eight years at today’s meeting.

According to him “The Legacy Document is a report of the activities of the National Economic Council from 2015 to 2023. It is of course a summary of all the activities including the major contributions of the National Economic Council from 2015 to 2023.

“So on your behalf it is my very special privilege to officially present the National Economic Council Legacy Report of 2015 to 2023. Thank you all very much.”

Also at the NEC meeting,  Finance Minister provided an update on the issue of fuel subsidy disclosing that the Council agreed on the need to remove the subsidy in an orderly and well considered way.

 She said it had been decided at the Transition Council with members from the Buhari Administration and the incoming administration that the fuel subsidy would not be removed during the transition period.

 NEC also had a section of the meeting to hold the Annual General Meeting of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) as the Governors are the members of the NSIA Governing Council.

Chairman, Board of Directors of the NSIA, Mr. Farouk Gumel and the Managing Director/CEO Mr. Aminu Umar-Sadiq made presentations to the Council.

NEC then received the NSIA  reports and approved  Management prayers thus:

* Continued support to the growth of NSIA -such as injection of capital in NSIA & support NSIA to explore alternative sources of capital to further drive its mandates

*Continued support for the strengthened governance of NSIA.

 The Council also received the NSIA Consolidated & separate financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2022 which was presented by a representative of the PWC which authored the statements.

 Council also received presentations on the Ad-Hoc Committee of NEC on Flood Relief and from the NEC’s Human Capital Development unit.

According to the Jigawa State Governor who chairs the Ad-Hoc Committee, 16 States have sent in the required report of the extent of damage ocassioned by flooding across this country during the last raining season.

 He said however a further extension of one week would be granted States who have not yet sent in their reports.