Update on Osinbajo’s powers: How weekly FEC meeting failed to hold in Buhari’s absence

Reports had shown that the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting did not hold last Wednesday, August 28, 2019 at the State House while President Muhammadu Buhari was in Yokohama, Japan, for the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD).

The reports indicated that the meeting was supposed to be the first FEC session after the appointment of the new ministers by President Buhari the previous week.

As in some instances in the past, the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, who is said to be identified as the Vice Chairman of FEC, could get the mandate to chair the cabinet meeting while President Buhari was away. This time, the ministers had to wait for the return of the president before the weekly FEC meeting would hold.

National Daily gathered Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who was in the country, however, later presided over a meeting with heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to deliberate on matters relating to the economy and government finances, among others.

The President had since returned to the country at the end of the Yokohama, Japan, for the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD).

There  were innuendos that the last Wednesday’s FEC meeting could not hold in the absence of the President being the first since the inauguration of the new Ministers. The meeting was said to be crucial such that the President needed to be present.

There were no indications of any confusion, however.