Members of the cabal in the
presidency want the National Social Investment Programmes (N-SIP) ‘Tradermoni’
taken away from the Office of the Vice President and handed over to the newly
created Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social
Development.
Speaking with Daily Independent
on Sunday, a credible source in the presidency said the deal had already been
perfected and that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo may no longer be in charge of
the Social Investment Programmes (SIP) ‘Tradermoni’ except President Muhammadu
Buhari intervened.
According to our source, members
of the cabal were not comfortable with the popularity the vice president was
getting with the scheme, especially among the masses, hence the need to move it
away from his office.
The Federal Government introduced
a portfolio of social investment programmes in 2015 under the Office of the
Vice President with the goal of taking millions of Nigerian citizens out of
poverty.
TraderMoni is part of the Federal
Government’s social intervention aimed at funding micro-businesses in the
country through soft loans, beginning from N10, 000 to N100,000.
The programme was launched in
August while the vice president began his tour in Osun State on September 3,
2018, barely three weeks to the Osun State governorship election.
In promoting the scheme, the vice
president has visited markets across the country where he interacts with the
traders.
Our source said the cabal
believes the scheme was giving Osinbajo undue advantage and popularity across
the length and breadth of the country.
The source said: “Yes, I can
confirm that there are plans to move the scheme away from the vice president’s
office. I don’t know whether it has to do with 2023 presidency, but the fact is
that some power brokers in the presidency are not comfortable with the
popularity the vice president is getting from the masses whenever he goes to
promote the scheme, hence the resolve to move it to the new ministry.
“Aside from that, there have been
allegations of corruption levelled against some officials handling the
programme. Maybe they feel the newly created ministry will be well-equipped to
handle the scheme. But except President Buhari intervenes, plans have been concluded
to take the scheme away from the vice president’s office.”
“Which cabal? People are just
playing politics. As far as I am concerned, there is only one presidency, not
two: the president and the vice president.
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“Since 1999, there has not been a
smooth working relationship between the president and vice president like we
have now between Buhari and Osinbajo.
“So, what is the proof that they
want to remove the vice president or reduce his powers? Is it because of the
Economic Advisory Team set up by the president? What is wrong with that? He did
that to smoothen operation and to ensure that we move to the Next Level.
“You think it is easy to remove
the vice president? During Obasanjo’s time, they tried to remove Atiku, did
they succeed? Atiku, as vice president, even stood on the platform of another
party to contest because the position of the vice president is a constitutional
one.
“There is a procedure for accepting
that position and there is a procedure for removal or for leaving that
position. Why are people just giving the impression that the Office of the Vice
President is like that of a houseboy who can be sent packing anytime?”
Momoh also denied the claim in
some quarters that Abba Kyari, the President’s Chief of Staff, was more
powerful and wielded more influence than Osinbajo in the current
administration.
“How can the Chief of Staff be
powerful than the Vice President? The Chief of Staff is a personal staff of the
President while the Office of the Vice President is a constitutional one. Do
you see the role of the Chief of Staff in the constitution? He is a personal
staff of the President.
“When the president is going on
vacation or indisposed, he writes to the National Assembly handing over to the
vice president, why can’t he hand over to his Chief of Staff?
“The Chief of Staff is a person
who moderates the movements of the President. He is the one who schedules the
president’s affairs.
“Everyone who wants to see the
president must pass through the Chief of Staff because he is like a gatekeeper
to the president.
“From morning till night, he is
at the beck and call of the president and should be the person who is closest
to the president. Is that what makes him powerful than the vice president?”
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