The Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, has technically confirmed that Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, is the National Coordinator of the economy.
The Minister, dismissed the controversy over President Muhammadu Buhari’s letter to the National Assembly, in which he stated that Osinbajo would “co- ordinate government activities”, in his absence.
Lai Mohammed, after the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting, described the reaction as a needless distraction, adding that, the operative phrase in the letter, was “in compliance with Section 145 (1)” of the 1999 Constitution. He pointed out that once the phrase was in the letter, any other words that were included, were not of paramount importance.
“I think it is a needless controversy, and just a distraction. The operative sentence is ‘in compliance with Section 145 sub- section (1)’, so any other words are irrelevant”, Mohammed said.
Recall, that when the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, read the letter on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday, announcing Buhari’s follow-up medical trip to the United Kingdom, Senator Mao Ohuanbuwa (Abia North), had raised a point of order, questioning the use of the words “co- ordinate activities of government”, as against “discharge the functions of my office”, which the President had used in his January 18 letter, when he embarked on a similar trip.
Ohuanbuwa, was of the view that the language in the letter, had implied that the full reins of power were not handed over to the Vice President, Osinbajo.
However, Osinbajo in his response to a tweet on Tuesday, seeking to know if Buhari had officially handed over to him, on his Twitter handle @ProfOsinbajo, confirmed that power was indeed handed over to him, by the President.
Meanwhile, the wordings of the President’s letter has generated heated debate among Nigerians, especially on the various social media platforms, with many concluding that the rewording of the letter, was deliberate and politically motivated.
