R-L: Ag President Yemi Osinbajo, Out-going Minister of Environment, Mrs Amina Mohammed, Minister of Water Resources, Alhaji Suleiman Adamu and Minister of State Environment, Alhaji Ibrahim Jibrin after the valedictory session at the Council Chamber, State House, Abuja, 22nd Feb 2017. Photo by: Novo IsioroNigeria’s Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, is gradually taking charge of the country as chances dim that President Muhammadu Buhari who is on medical vacation in the United Kingdom would return anytime soon to assume power.
Mr. Buhari has been battling with his health since January 19 and has been advised by his doctors to remain there until everything is fine. But reports have said that he may remain there for many months if not more.
On Thursday, Mr. osinbajo paid a surprise visit to Nigeria’s largest airport in Lagos and declared that the country needed to move quickly to correct the mess left by past administrations.
“As part of our work on the Ease of Doing Business, on making the environment friendly, not just for local businesses but also for those who want to come and do business in Nigeria, the airport obviously is one of the major places where we need to ensure that facilities are working and that things are being run properly,” Mr. Osinbajo said at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport.
“We have looked around, we’ve seen some of the equipment. There are many many things that need to be done, many things that need to be corrected, and we have to work on them as quickly as possible,” he added.
Days ago, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, PEBEC, chaired by Mr. Osinbajo, adopted a 60-day Action Plan to push Ease of Doing Business reforms in the country.
In a statement, Mr. Osinbajo’s spokesman, Laolu Akande, said the Acting President checked out the toilets during his unscheduled visit and noticed some of the non-functioning carousels in the arrival hall.
He went to Immigration officials to check the progress of plans to grant visa on arrivals to foreign investors, observed the non-functioning air-conditioners and chillers in the Departure and Arrival halls, the escalators and elevators that are in a state of disrepair among several others.
He was accompanied on the trip by the Aviation Minister of State Hadi Sirika.
At Tuesday’s meeting of PEBEC, Prof. Osinbajo had said “we are trying to improve the business environment in three broad respects; the entry and exit of goods, the entry and exit of persons into Nigeria, and then general government transparency and efficiency in government agencies & parastatals.”
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