Politics
OSINBAJO, STILL THE DANIEL OF OUR TIME
While few critics tend to shy away from the sterling performance of the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, but rather concentrate on concocting all manner of stories and innuendos on his person, I have chosen to take an alternative route. Before I start, let me admit that occupying a high office anywhere in the world is not a tea party. It is a herculean task. Professor Yemi Osinbajo shares a lot of values with President Muhammadu Buhari, and principally among them is their legendary integrity, patriotism and commitment to national development.
Let me use this medium to address some of the mundane issues raised in the article written by Shaka Momodu, titled Osinbajo Unlike The Biblical Daniel, published on the Thisday Newspaper. That Vice president Yemi Osinbajo wants to be seen as a hero, I beg to say that this is a misrepresentation of his persona as he is always himself and not a pretender. To say that he was eager to impress his principal attests to his unalloyed loyalty to Mr. President, and the philosophy of the administration, which is to render service to Nigerians.
Granted that Professor Osinbajo is ‘’not tough’’ in the sense the writer implied, yet his belief in the rule of law, rather than brigandage remains unwavering, especially in matters of state. He cannot therefore on this account be seen as a ‘’spineless professor’’.
It is also wrong to make sweeping statements by linking the administration to any malfeasance, as the government has never hesitated to act if there is a grain of evidence against its officials. Professor Osinbajo still remains a professional with a world view to improve the lot of Nigerians.
On the allusion to his visits to the airports, markets and filling stations I want say that this is desirable as it shows a connection between the government and the people. There is no hypocrisy or self-righteousness in Professor Osinbajo as he is always himself. As a leader he owes it a duty to connect and feel the pulse of the people, as this is standard practice all over the world. It should not be misconstrued.
For the avoidance of doubt, most cabinet members hold the vice president in very high esteem and they repose a lot of confidence in him, especially when he stands in for Mr. President. Let me observe that most of the negative comments in the article are mere conjectures deliberately adumbrated to achieve a premeditated objective. They don’t reflect the position of the president, his vice or the entire administration about some happenings in Nigeria.
Though I disagree that the image of Professor Osinbajo’s party, APC is ‘’sagging’’ as the writer tried to impute, but I ask: what is wrong if a vice president shores up the image of his party with public appearances? To me this is pedestrian argument.
Till today, many Nigerians still appreciate Professor Yemi Osinbajo for his contributions to the Buhari administration as he has not failed at any time to make his wealth of knowledge available towards steering the ship of state. For example during President Muhammadu Buhari’s three months absence in London, Professor Osinbajo held forth and was able to assuage the feelings of the Niger Delta agitators who had threatened to bring down our oil production to zero. It can only be imagined the state of affairs in Nigeria if he had not acted as a go-between with the Niger Delta militants.
Professor Yemi Osinbajo has used his position as the chairman of the National Economic Council to proffer solutions to some problems that would have been intractable. Even in the case of the farmers/herders clashes, his leadership has resolved on the issue of ranching which ab-initio was the preferred option for the grazing herdsmen? It is only a blind man or someone prejudiced by bias that will not see the ‘’Daniel role’’ Professor Osinbajo is playing in Nigeria today.
He remains a towering example of a conscientious leader, consummate gentleman and preacher of the gospel. His participation in government has not in any way lowered his esteem in the eyes of right –thinking people as he has been taken things in his stride, observing a high level of sobriety and being loyal to the president and the country.
Or what more can you ask of a man who has denied himself pleasure and comfort to serve his country and help navigate the ship of state to a secure corner where all interests will be catered for? Luckily, he is in good company with his principal, President Muhammadu Buhari who continues to ensure that Nigerians reap bountifully from the hope they reposed in them.
Professor Yemi Osinbajo is still standing tall among eminent men and women in Nigeria if we consider that he has used his position to address the plight of the Nigerian youth who are the leaders of tomorrow. For example, the impact of the N-power programme; School Feeding Programme; Conditional Cash Transfer programme and several other social intervention programmes which he has directly midwifed in this administration are visible for all to see.
As things stand today, President Muhammadu Buhari and his Vice Yemi Osinbajo are the most popular and charismatic politicians in Nigeria today. This did not happen by accident as the duo had through their sincerity of purpose and determination to improve the lot of the ordinary Nigerian have earned the trust and confidence of Nigerians irrespective of tribe and religion. This is the difference between the duo and the past PDP administrations. While the past PDP administrations focussed on serving some vested narrow interests, the Buhari/Osinbajo administration has made Nigerians the fulcrum of their development agenda.
On the issue of corruption, why would any right thinking person begrudge Professor Osinbajo who revealed that despite 60% less in revenue compared to the accruals for the previous government, that the administration has spent the highest capital expenditure on infrastructure in Nigeria’s history with about N1.3 trillion. It is needless to say that good infrastructure is key to the total revival of the economy, job creation and economic emancipation of Nigerians.
Based on the visionary leadership of President Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the capacity of the Transmission Company of Nigeria to transport energy has grown from 5000MW in 2015 to 7,125 MW in 2017 thereby making more power available to Nigerians. This is evidence of a focussed government.
How can anyone in his right senses deride an administration that has deployed about N16.67 Billion to each of the six geo-political zones out of the N100 Billion Sukuk fund to fix our dilapidated road network? The difference between the PDP era and the Buhari/Osinbajo era is the absence of corruption and introduction of transparency in governance.
The Buhari/Osinbajo administration is also building two legacy projects which the previous PDP administrations shied away from for sixteen years. They are the Mambilla power project and the Second Niger Bridge. It takes courage and commitment to embark on this kind of projects in austere times as we have today.
Even on the issue of security, the Buhari/Osinbajo administration has ensured the release of 106 Chibok girls from Boko Haram captivity, while the fire power of the military has greatly degraded the ability of the terrorists to conquer and occupy territories.
President Osinbajo’s humble mien can easily mislead some people to adjudge him as weak, but far from it as Professor Osinbajo carries himself with dignity and within the confines of his constitutional responsibilities. His luck is also that the president reposes confidence in him and periodically entrusts him with the responsibilities of his high office. On his part Professor Osinbajo has always lived up to the billing.
For example, during such occasions when the president must travel outside the country, he usually writes the National Assembly to officially transmit power to him, and on several occasions Professor Yemi Osinbajo has presided over the federal executive council and they usually came out with useful resolutions for Nigeria. In my estimation and many Nigerians Professor Osinbajo remains a role model and his association with President Buhari is refocussing Nigeria and laying a solid foundation for sustainable development.
By Chukwudi Enekwechi
An Abuja-based Journalist
Customs at the Crossroads: When Lawmakers Look Away and the Executive Looks Aside
By Dr. Bolaji O. Akinyemi
In a democracy, legislative oversight is the scalpel that cuts through deceit, inefficiency, and corruption in public institutions. It is the people’s last institutional shield against abuse of power. But what happens when that shield becomes a shelter for the very rot it is meant to expose? And what happens when the Executive arm, whose duty is to supervise its agencies, pretends not to see?
The unfolding drama between the National Assembly and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) reveals more than a policy dispute. It exposes a dangerous triangle of confusion, complicity, and economic sabotage. At stake is not only the rule of law but the survival of an economy already gasping under inflation, a weak naira, and suffocating costs of living.
The House Talks Tough
In June 2025, Nigerians saw a glimpse of legislative courage when the House of Representatives Committee thundered at Customs:
> “Nigerian Customs Service, by June 30, must not collect CISS again. You are to collect only your 4% FOB assigned by the President. Even the 7% cost of collection you currently take is illegal—it was an executive fiat of the military, not democratic law. Any attempt to continue these illegal collections will be challenged in court. The ‘I’s have it.”
The voice was firm, the ruling decisive. Nigerians expected a turning point.
But the righteous thunder of the House was quickly muffled by the Senate’s softer tone, which suggested not the enforcement of the law but a readiness to bend it.
Senate: Oversight or Escape Route?
At a Senate Customs Committee session, Senator Ade Fadahunsi admitted openly that Customs has been operating illegally since June 2023. Yet rather than demand an end to illegality, he extended a lifeline to Comptroller-General Bashir Adeniyi:
> “If we come back to the same source… the two houses will sit together and see to your amendment so you will not be walking on a tight rope.”
But should Adeniyi be handed a loose rope while Nigeria’s economy hangs by a thread?
Instead of accountability, the Senate Customs Committee floated adjustments that would make life easier for Customs. The nation was given hints about fraudulent insurance and freight data, but instead of sanctions, what we saw was a search for escape routes. This is not oversight—it is overlook.
Smuggling and Excuses
The Senate Committee also lamented cross-border smuggling—Nigerian goods like cement flooding Cotonou, Togo, and Ghana at cheaper prices than in Nigeria. Senator Fadahunsi blamed the Central Bank’s 2% value deposit for encouraging the practice.
But where are the Senate’s enforcement actions—compliance checks, stiffer sanctions, cross-border coordination? None. The result is predictable: smugglers prosper, reserves bleed, and ordinary Nigerians pay more for less.
A Bloated Customs Budget
The Service’s 2024 capital allocation ballooned to ₦1.1 trillion from ₦706 billion. Instead of channeling these resources into modern trade systems, Customs is expanding empires of frivolity—such as proposing a new university despite already having training facilities in Gwagwalada and Ikeja that could easily be upgraded.
Oversight is not an afterthought; it is the legislature’s constitutional duty. To see waste and illegality and yet propose amendments that would legalise them is to turn oversight into overlook.
Customs has about 16,000 staff, yet many remain poorly trained. Rather than prioritise capacity building, the Service is busy building staff estates in odd locations. How does Modakeke—an inland town with no border post—end up with massive Customs housing projects, while strategic border towns like Badagry, Idiroko, and Saki remain neglected? Is Bashir Adeniyi Comptroller-General of Customs—or Minister of Housing?
The 4% FOB Levy: A Policy Blunder
The central controversy is the Federal Government’s plan to replace existing port charges with a new 4% Free-On-Board (FOB) levy on imports.
Nigeria is an import-dependent nation. This levy will instantly hike the costs of cars, spare parts, machinery, and raw materials—crippling industries and punishing consumers.
Already, the consequences are biting:
A 2006 Toyota Corolla now costs between ₦6–9 million.
Clearing agents who once paid ₦215,000 for license renewal must now cough out ₦4 million.
New freight forwarder licenses have jumped from ₦600,000 to ₦10 million.
Customs claims the revenue is needed for its modernisation programme, anchored on a software platform called B’Odogwu. But stakeholders describe this so-called “Odogwu” as epileptic—if not comatose. Why commit trillions to a ghost programme that will be obsolete by January 2026, when the Nigerian Revenue Service is set to take over Customs collections?
Industry Raises the Alarm
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has warned that the levy will worsen inflation, disrupt supply chains, and hurt productivity.
Lucky Amiwero, President of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, calls the levy “economically dangerous.” His reasoning is straightforward:
The 4% FOB levy is much higher than the 1% CISS it replaces.
Peer countries like Ghana maintain just 1%.
The new levy will fuel inflation, raise the landed costs of goods, and destabilise the naira.
He also revealed that the Customs Modernisation Act, which introduced the levy, was passed without Senate scrutiny or meaningful stakeholder consultation. He estimates that the levy could add ₦3–4 trillion annually to freight costs—burdens that will be transferred directly to consumers.
Who Is Behind the “Odogwu” Masquerade?
The haste to enforce this levy, despite its looming redundancy, raises disturbing questions. Who benefits from the “Odogwu” project draining trillions? Why the rush, when NRS will take over collections in a few months?
This masquerade must be unmasked.
The Price Nigerians Pay
For ordinary Nigerians, this policy translates into one thing: higher prices. Cars, manufactured goods, and spare parts are spiraling beyond reach. A nation struggling with inflation, unemployment, and a weak currency cannot afford such reckless experiments.
So, while the Senate looks away, the Executive cannot look aside.
The Executive Cannot Escape Blame.
It is easy to focus on the failings of the legislature. But we must not forget: the Customs Service is an agency of the Federal Ministry of Finance, under the direct supervision of the Honourable Minister of Finance, Mr. Wale Edun.
If Customs is breaking the law, wasting resources, or implementing anti-people policies, the buck stops at the Executive’s table. The Minister of Finance is Chairman of the Customs Board. To fold his hands while the Service operates in illegality is to abdicate responsibility.
History gives us a model. In 1999, the Minister of State for Finance, Nenadi Usman, was specifically assigned to supervise Customs and report directly to the President. Meanwhile, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala focused on broader fiscal and economic policies. That division of responsibility improved accountability. Today, the absence of such an arrangement is feeding impunity.
President Tinubu and his Finance Minister must act decisively. Oversight without executive will is a dead letter.
A Call to Accountability
The truth is stark:
Customs has been operating illegally since June 2023 to the Senate’s own confession.
The 4% FOB levy will deepen inflation and worsen economic hardship.
The Ministry of Finance bears ultimate responsibility for Customs’ conduct.
Until importing and consuming, Nigerians demand accountability—of the Comptroller-General, the Senate, and above all, the Finance Ministry—this bleeding will continue.
Nigerians deserve better. They deserve a Customs Service that serves the nation, not a privileged few. They deserve a House that enforces its resolutions, not one that grandstands. They deserve a Senate that upholds the law, not one that bends it. And above all, they deserve an Executive that does not look aside while illegality thrives under its ministry.
Only public pressure can end this indulgence. If Nigerians keep silent, we will keep paying the price—in higher costs, weaker currency, and a sabotaged economy.
Citizens’ Charge: Silence is Not an Option
Fellow Nigerians, the Customs crisis is not a drama for the pages of newspapers—it is a burden on our pockets, our businesses, and our children’s future. Every illegal levy is a tax on the poor. Every abandoned oversight is an open invitation to corruption. Every silence from the Executive is an approval of impunity.
We cannot afford to fold our arms. Democracy gives us the power of voice, the duty of vigilance, and the right to demand accountability. Let us demand that:
The Senate and House of Representatives stop playing good cop, bad cop, and enforce the law without compromise.
The Ministry of Finance takes full responsibility for the Customs Service, supervising it in the interest of Nigerians, not vested interests.
The President intervenes now, before the Service crosses the dangerous line of turning illegality into policy.
History will not forgive a people who suffered in silence when their economy was bled by recklessness. Silence is complicity. The time to speak, to write, to petition, to protest, and to demand is now.
Customs must serve Nigeria—not sabotage it.
Dr. Bolaji O. Akinyemi is an Apostle and Nation Builder. He’s also the President of Voice of His Word Ministries and Convener Apostolic Round Table. BoT Chairman, Project Victory Call Initiative, AKA PVC Naija. He is a strategic Communicator and the CEO, Masterbuilder Communications.
Email:[email protected]
Facebook:Bolaji Akinyemi.
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Instagram:bolajioakinyem
Aare Adetola Emmanuel King Congratulates Hon. Adesola Ayoola-Elegbeji on Election Victory
The Chairman/CEO of Adron Group, Sir Aare Adetola Emmanuel King KOF, has congratulated Hon. Adesola Ayoola-Elegbeji on her resounding victory in the just-concluded by-election for the Remo Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives.
In a goodwill message issued by him, he described the victory as “a historic moment for the Remo people, coming at a time when the constituency yearns for a leader with vision, courage, and genuine commitment to service.”
He noted that the outcome of the election was an attestation to the trust and confidence reposed in Hon. Ayoola-Elegbeji by the people, adding that her sterling qualities, integrity, accessibility, and compassion for the grassroots had endeared her to the electorate.
“The overwhelming support you garnered at the polls is proof that you are the right voice at the right time to carry the aspirations of Remo to the national stage,” he stated.
While acknowledging that the by-election followed the painful demise of the late Hon. Adewunmi Oriyomi Onanuga (Ijaya), Aare Adetola Emmanuel King said Hon. Ayoola-Elegbeji’s emergence symbolizes the continuity of purposeful representation. He expressed confidence that she would not only sustain the legacy of her predecessor but also surpass it with new energy, innovative ideas, and progressive leadership.
The Adron Group Chairman further prayed for divine wisdom, strength, and compassion for the Member-Elect as she assumes office, expressing confidence that her tenure will usher in meaningful development, economic empowerment, and greater opportunities for the people of Remo Federal Constituency.
ADC Condemns Intimidation Campaign Against Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola
The African Democratic Congress (ADC), Ogun State Chapter, strongly condemns the ongoing intimidation and smear campaign targeted at our party leader and Interim National Secretary, *Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola*, by opposition forces in the South West region.
It is unacceptable and undemocratic that as he exercises his constitutional and political right to campaign across the region, elements of the opposition resort to harassment and attacks instead of engaging in issue based politics. Such actions are a direct assault on democracy, free expression, and the spirit of fair political competition.
The ADC calls on security agencies and all relevant authorities to guarantee the safety and freedom of movement for Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and all our party leaders nationwide. Democracy thrives on inclusivity, tolerance, and fairness not intimidation.
We urge our members and supporters to remain steadfast and law-abiding, as the ADC will continue to pursue its vision of a just, democratic, and prosperous Nigeria.
*Signed:*
Honourable Muhammed MJG GKAF
*Publicity Secretary, ADC National Media Frontiers, Ogun State*
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