NBA-AGC 2017: FG spent N1.3trn on capital projects in 2016, says Osinbajo

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo said on Monday that the Buhari
administration spent N1.3 trillion on capital projects in 2016, the
highest in the history of the country.

Osinbajo disclosed this at a plenary of the 2017 Nigerian Bar
Association (NBA) national conference in Lagos with the theme:
“African Business: Penetrating Through Institution Building.”

The sub-theme of the plenary was “Conversations With The
Vice-President”, moderated by Miss Zain Asher, a CNN news
anchor.

“The Federal Government spent about N1.3 trillion on capital
projects in 2016, the highest in the history of the country.

“The power sector reform is also ongoing as it is one of the
most important sectors in the country,” Osinbajo said.

Responding to Asher’s questions, Osinbajo said the
administration had set a solid foundation for the nation’s economic
recovery which, he described, as the most important reform of the
administration.

He said:“We were dealing with a mono-economy (relying on one
major export or natural resource) and a financial industry that was
essentially opaque.

“We have set a foundation of rebuilding the economy, creating
the Single Treasury Account (TSA), monitoring government’s
spending, modifying the tax system to be more efficient and
implementing executive orders.”

According to the vice-president, the administration has also
cleared what he described as a mess inherited from the previous
administration.

On whether poor Nigerians in the rural areas have felt the
impact of the reforms, Osinbajo said diversification into
agriculture had been embraced in most northern states with a lot of
transformation.

“For the economy, we are going to see a tripling in the
harvesting of rice, prosperity is returning to some states like
Kebbi and Zamfara.

“The rural areas where the highest level of poverty is
experienced, there is a turnaround as the highest number of people
who went for 2017 hajj were farmers.

“There is a lot of export of agricultural products, what we need
to do is to engage in more value added exports and we have quite a
few investors,” Osinbajo told the conference.

He noted that agricultural sector had witnessed hi-tech farming
and investments with more people taking to farming.

The vice-president, who also spoke on the efforts of government
in tackling corruption and laundering the country’s image, pointed
out:“Government ownership of business encourages corruption. The
more private sector involvement in businesses, the more efficient
the system will be and the less corrupt the system will be.

“We are currently working on a `one-government system’ to tackle
bureaucracy. For example, if you need five different approvals from
five government agencies, under this system communication with one
agency is sufficient as all the agencies will liaise with one
another.

“We have introduced technology in a lot of processes. For
example, company registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission
(CAC); tThe less human contact, the less incidences of
corruption.

“We must punish offenders, there must be consequences for
offenders, fighting corruption is multi-sectoral and we have to
work together.

“ Convictions on corruption cases have been slow, from my
experience as a former prosecutor, getting cases to court is slow,
the system allows a lot of inefficiencies.

“We have to try cases efficiently and secure convictions so
people can see the consequences of corruption.”

Osinbajo stressed the need for collaboration among the three
arms of government to make the reforms a success.

On the initiative get more wealthy Nigerians into the tax net,
he said government had introduced the `Beneficial Ownership Scheme’
giving them a 90-day period of grace to disclose their property in
order to pay tax or face the full wrath of the law.

“We have got quite a few wealthy Nigerians approach us to
disclose what they own.”

Osinbajo noted that the global oil crisis had given rise to the
promotion of the non-oil sector in the country, pointing out that
all over the world, oil was losing its relevance, citing countries
such as Japan, China and Britain looking for alternative sources of
energy.

Commenting on business opportunities in the country, the
vice-president said: “There are more opportunities for
entrepreneurs., imports are more expensive, there are more
opportunities for local production.

“There is no guarantee of immediate prosperity but the
opportunities are there. Our commitment is to leave the country
with sufficient resources as honestly and efficiently as we
possibly can.

“We are improving the economy, the electricity sector,
manufacturing as well as the growth of the business
environment.

“We are committed to running a government that is efficient,
serves the people and sensitive to the Nigerian people.

“These are the projections that we make, the future is certainly
bright for the country.”

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo said on Monday that the Buhari
administration spent N1.3 trillion on capital projects in 2016, the
highest in the history of the country.

Osinbajo disclosed this at a plenary of the 2017 Nigerian Bar
Association (NBA) national conference in Lagos with the theme:
“African Business: Penetrating Through Institution Building.”

The sub-theme of the plenary was “Conversations With The
Vice-President”, moderated by Miss Zain Asher, a CNN news
anchor.

“The Federal Government spent about N1.3 trillion on capital
projects in 2016, the highest in the history of the country.

“The power sector reform is also ongoing as it is one of the
most important sectors in the country,” Osinbajo said.

Responding to Asher’s questions, Osinbajo said the
administration had set a solid foundation for the nation’s economic
recovery which, he described, as the most important reform of the
administration.

He said:“We were dealing with a mono-economy (relying on one
major export or natural resource) and a financial industry that was
essentially opaque.

“We have set a foundation of rebuilding the economy, creating
the Single Treasury Account (TSA), monitoring government’s
spending, modifying the tax system to be more efficient and
implementing executive orders.”

According to the vice-president, the administration has also
cleared what he described as a mess inherited from the previous
administration.

On whether poor Nigerians in the rural areas have felt the
impact of the reforms, Osinbajo said diversification into
agriculture had been embraced in most northern states with a lot of
transformation.

“For the economy, we are going to see a tripling in the
harvesting of rice, prosperity is returning to some states like
Kebbi and Zamfara.

“The rural areas where the highest level of poverty is
experienced, there is a turnaround as the highest number of people
who went for 2017 hajj were farmers.

“There is a lot of export of agricultural products, what we need
to do is to engage in more value added exports and we have quite a
few investors,” Osinbajo told the conference.

He noted that agricultural sector had witnessed hi-tech farming
and investments with more people taking to farming.

The vice-president, who also spoke on the efforts of government
in tackling corruption and laundering the country’s image, pointed
out:“Government ownership of business encourages corruption. The
more private sector involvement in businesses, the more efficient
the system will be and the less corrupt the system will be.

“We are currently working on a `one-government system’ to tackle
bureaucracy. For example, if you need five different approvals from
five government agencies, under this system communication with one
agency is sufficient as all the agencies will liaise with one
another.

“We have introduced technology in a lot of processes. For
example, company registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission
(CAC); tThe less human contact, the less incidences of
corruption.

“We must punish offenders, there must be consequences for
offenders, fighting corruption is multi-sectoral and we have to
work together.

“ Convictions on corruption cases have been slow, from my
experience as a former prosecutor, getting cases to court is slow,
the system allows a lot of inefficiencies.

“We have to try cases efficiently and secure convictions so
people can see the consequences of corruption.”

Osinbajo stressed the need for collaboration among the three
arms of government to make the reforms a success.

On the initiative get more wealthy Nigerians into the tax net,
he said government had introduced the `Beneficial Ownership Scheme’
giving them a 90-day period of grace to disclose their property in
order to pay tax or face the full wrath of the law.

“We have got quite a few wealthy Nigerians approach us to
disclose what they own.”

Osinbajo noted that the global oil crisis had given rise to the
promotion of the non-oil sector in the country, pointing out that
all over the world, oil was losing its relevance, citing countries
such as Japan, China and Britain looking for alternative sources of
energy.

Commenting on business opportunities in the country, the
vice-president said: “There are more opportunities for
entrepreneurs., imports are more expensive, there are more
opportunities for local production.

“There is no guarantee of immediate prosperity but the
opportunities are there. Our commitment is to leave the country
with sufficient resources as honestly and efficiently as we
possibly can.

“We are improving the economy, the electricity sector,
manufacturing as well as the growth of the business
environment.

“We are committed to running a government that is efficient,
serves the people and sensitive to the Nigerian people.

“These are the projections that we make, the future is certainly
bright for the country.”