The Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo has said he was nominated by a National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu, as the running mate to President Muhammadu Buhari during the 2015 election campaign but that his church kicked against it.
Speaking at a State of the Nation Address convened by Coalition of Nigerian Apostolic Leaders in Lagos, Osinbajo urged the leaders to see his nomination and elevation to the position of Vice President as an “opened door” for a Christian to become a President.
He said, “An APC National Leader who had served when he was governor was interested in putting me forward as the running mate of President Muhammadu Buhari in consensus with other national leaders of the party.
“I was a product of this system (Coalition Leaders). The church was reluctant and I understood why the church was reluctant. The church was looking at the head of the ticket (President). This is our first opportunity. This is our first shot at it.
“We need to maximize it and do the best we can. I think what my nomination and appointment have done is that it has open the door for us. We can do it and we can be influential in doing it.”
On the state of the nation, the VP said the nation is losing serious revenue due to the activities of oil vandals in the Niger Delta region.
“Our projected oil revenue is 2.2 million barrels a day. Because of oil vandals in the Niger Delta, we are losing close to 1 million barrels a day. That is about 60 percent drop in the revenue.
“If you are losing 1 million from your 2.2 million barrels every day, there will be a shock to the economy. The economy will suffer a major shock. That is the problem with the economy.
“We stopped the importation of food so that Nigerians can easily patronize Nigerian produce. If we continue importation the way we are importing, absolutely we will discourage those farmers. If we are to diversify, we have to restrict importation of rice and those things we are producing,” Osinbajo said.
Following the controversy surrounding his emergence as Vice President, Osinbajo, had in October disclosed that, “somebody somewhere” nominated him to the position he currently occupies, though he was silent on the identity of the “somebody.”
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