Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo has told traditional rulers in Ekiti State that President Muhammadu Buhari does not care if a state is being governed by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, or the All Progressives Congress, APC, in his developmental plans for the country.
The Vice President said the President was committed to the development of all the states of the federation irrespective of the political party in charge of the states.
Osinbajo said this while addressing traditional rulers from Ekiti State at the palace of the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adejugbe, and was contained in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande
He noted that this is why Ekiti State had been benefiting from the Federal Government’s Social Investment Programme despite being a Peoples Democratic Party state.
He cited the N-Power programme under which he said 3,339 young graduates from Ekiti State had been employed.
The VP explained that the beneficiaries had been assisting the state as teachers, extension workers and health workers.
Osinbajo disclosed that additional 8,600 graduates had been pre-selected and would be engaged at the end of this month, therefore bringing the number of beneficiaries in the state to 11,000.
He added that 10,664 beneficiaries from the state had also received micro-credit from the Federal Government of Nigeria under the SIP.
Another 10,688 people, he said, were benefiting from the Conditional Cash Transfers in the state by receiving a monthly benefit of N5,000.
He said, “These have been done, as I said, because the President’s view is that we must not play politics with the health and welfare and prosperity of our people. No politicking.
“That is why despite the fact that this is not an APC state, all of these benefits have been given to these people, the indigenes of this state because they are Nigerians,” he said.
Osinbajo further expressed the belief that if the candidate of the APC, Kayode Fayemi, was elected, the state governor in the July 14 governorship election, the state would be better for it.
He said the country needed devoted and serious-minded people to be in the saddle.
“I want to say that nothing comes easy; you need people who are devoted, people who are serious-minded, dedicated to the work of improvement and development. That is what our country needs today.”
