The presidency yesterday said the recent attempts to smear the person and reputation of the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will not deter or distract him or the Buhari administration from the work of protecting and empowering every Nigerian.

Presidential aide on political matters, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, stated this while responding to purported plot hatched to smear the image of the Vice President.

“We have read reports in the media that the meeting in a foreign country of the major opposition party was centred on trying to attack the Buhari administration by targeting the Vice President using different tactics.

“It is now evident through the NEMA report, that the opposition is indeed making frantic efforts to tarnish the image of the Vice President,” he said.

He said even after Rep. Ali Isa, the Chairman of the House Committee on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness had publicly admitted that the VP was not mentioned in the report, the opposition still found it expedient to continue to attack the reputation of Osinbajo by claiming without evidence that fraud was committed in the N5.8b Emergency Food Intervention Fund for North-East.

Ojudu said, contrary to insinuations in some quarters, there were no violations in approval of N5.8b Emergency Food Intervention Fund for North-East and the then Acting President did no wrong in approving fund for the emergency intervention.