Mr Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice President, has said reports that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo did not follow due process in the supervision of agencies under him are not true.
Laolu, in a recent statement in Abuja, said the rumor circulating by The Cable which said President Muhammadu Buhari had told Yemi Osinbajo to find approvals for agencies under him was sensational.
He added that the report suggested, wrongly, that agencies Osinbajo is supervising did not comply with established rules where presidential approvals were needed.
It read, “This is obviously misleading and aims only to plant seeds of discord in the Presidency, while attempting to create unnecessary national hysteria.
“The agencies in question are established by law and the vice president has always insisted on due compliance with the enabling statutes and other established regulations.
“Depending on the particular scope of activity in question, agencies may require management approval only, at the level of the Director-General or Chief Executive Officer.
“In this category falls the great majority of their day-to-day activities.
“However, other activities, or procurements, with value exceeding a certain threshold, require Board approval.
“These may get to the agency Board chaired by the Vice President.
“In a few cases where presidential approval is required, the Director-General must seek such approval from the President, through the vice president.
“These rules have always guided the activities of statutory agencies and the ones under the vice president’s supervision have always been so guided.”
“Even though the vice president has a statutory role as Board Chairman of some government agencies under his office, with appropriate approval limits, which often do not include contract approvals, it is ludicrous to even insinuate that a Board Chairman approves contracts.
“Evidently, the Federal Executive Council, which oversees Federal Ministries and agencies of government, is chaired by the President, and it is in its purview to approve or ratify award of contracts within the prescribed threshold.”
“We urge media organisations, as gatekeepers, to uphold truth, balance, fairness and objectivity in their reports.”
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