Buhari ‘More Experienced’ Than VP Osinbajo – Presidency

This was according to President Buhari’s Special Adviser on Political Affairs, Babafemi Ojodu.  

Ojudu made the statement against the backdrop of recognitions being given to Osinbajo as some Nigerians believe that the Vice President has performed better than President Buhari within a short space of time as Acting President.  

Ojudu further described as untrue reports that things only started getting better when Osinbajo took over in acting capacity, adding that “nothing that has been done since the vice president started acting that is not something that started far back in the past.”

He said that, “Some people are trying to promote division and we are not going to allow that. This president and vice president worked together in tandem and we know they both have confidence in this nation.”  

Ojodu further accused the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of being behind such reports.  

“It is thoughtless. I also see it as a ploy by the opposition to cause an unnecessary ‎division. It is a joint ticket, the president and the vice president were elected based on the manifesto of the party and since they were sworn in, they have been committed to implementing that manifesto,” he said.  

“The same people who said we never had an economic team, no policy, nothing are the ones saying this. It is the policies we are now implementing and they are seeing the result. It is not a question of one person being better than the other person.  

“There is nothing that has been done since the vice president started acting that is not something that started far back in the past.

“A good example is the Niger Delta initiative. The president called the vice president and said I am giving you the mandate, go into the Niger Delta, meet with everyone who is a stakeholder, all the communities, talk to the militants and make sure you solve this problem for the benefit of Nigerians.  

“We are losing 1.2 million barrels of oil per day, all the gas pipelines powering the turbines are being blown up. And the president has said unless and until we resolve this problem we will not get out of recession. The VP took up the mandate and went to the Niger Delta, it is the initiative of the president not that of the vice president,” Ojodu said.  

Ojodu said Osinbajo “consults the president on a daily basis” concerning major decisions. “This is a joint ticket, the president of Nigeria remains the president of Nigeria. He is more experienced, he has been in the game longer than the vice president and if there are major issues that he needs to take decision on, he could call on him and say ‘sir, what do you think about this, we are about to take a decision on it’, that does not mean he is not in charge.  

“One other thing you have to see is that if you give someone a responsibility, he must be able to show to the president that his not being around is not going to create any vacuum.  

“He can then decide not to sleep at all, all through the time the president is away just to show him that he is capable of ensuring that Nigeria goes on well while the president is away. And the president could also have given the mandate that the vice president should let nothing go wrong. You must make sure that you do this. If you have a boss who gives you an assignment, you will want to impress him and Nigerians as well and that for me is what has happened. ‎It is not that one person is better than the other, certainly not,” he said.