Osinbajo backs judges’ arrest, govt to begin micro-credit scheme

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has backed the arrest of some judges by the Department of State Services (DSS). He maintained that courts remain public resource, hence the need for judges to be held accountable for their performances.

He spoke while representing President Muhammadu Buhari at the opening of the 46th yearly conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), which featured participants from the United Kingdom and other African countries. The theme of the conference was “Accountability Now, Nigeria.”

Osinbajo explained that performance has been so low in Nigeria because public officials are not held accountable. He told ICAN members who often are charged with public finances to raise their accountability a lot more to ensure increased performance.

According to him: “Those who handle public or private resources must account for their performance because lack of performance can hold down a country. Courts are a public resource, therefore judges and lawyers like every other public or private officials must be held accountable for their responsibilities. We must be able to hold ourselves accountable for the responsibilities that we are charged with.

Besides, at the ongoing 22nd Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, the Vice President assured local manufacturers, business owners and foreign investors that the current administration remains focused on improving the business environment.

According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, Osinbajo said the administration was ‘seriously’ tackling issues relating to local production, employment generation and all that would be needed to re-energize the economy.

Osinbajo has also disclosed that the Federal Government would commence the disbursement of loans ranging from N60, 000 to N100, 000 to artisans, traders and market women under its micro credit scheme at the end of this month.

Giving the indication at the Presidential Villa yesterday, Osinbajo disclosed that “we expect before the end of the month, to engage 200,000, out of the 500,000 unemployed graduates the Buhari administration plans to hire in the N-Power jobs programme.”