Nigeria’s acting president Yemi Osinbajo has received good reviews on social and traditional media channels for his leadership. The 28 February is the 40-day mark since President Muhammadu Buhari announced his departure for medical leave in the UK, and Osinbajo became the acting president. Since then, Osinbajo has engaged with Nigerians in a way that President Buhari never did. This has attracted commendations but has made some of Buhari’s closest allies very uneasy.

Osinbajo has held a series of key meetings in the Niger Delta. He personally visited the three key states and hot beds of militancy in the region: Gbaramatu Kingdom in Delta State on 16 January; Bayelsa State on 10 February; and Port Harcourt in Rivers State on 13 February. He called for a new peaceful approach and a new level of engagement. Regional sources have told Nigeria Politics & Security that these visits have managed to calm the tensions in the Niger Delta, and are being credited for the recent decline of attacks on oil assets.

In addition to this engagement, Osinbajo has also held discussions with the business community in a way that President Buhari has never done. While preparing for the launch of the Economic Growth and Recovery Plan (EGRP), Osinbajo has personally held different stakeholder meetings with the business community in an attempt to incorporate their input into the plan, which was billed to be launched this month. Osinbajo has also undertaken a number of one-on-one meetings with National Assembly leaders in a bid to ensure the smooth passage of the 2017 Budget.

In a surprising act, Osinbajo took time out, while in Lagos on 23 February, to visit the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) in order to promote the Federal Government’s plans to issue a US$63 million green bond. The acting president is the chairman of the committee on ‘the ease of doing business’, which is tasked with ensuring that the airport provides a good point of first contact for visitors. Osinbajo’s personal visit was a message to both the country and the committee that the presidency is taking the initiative very seriously. A day after his visit, on 24 February, all nine directors of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) were dismissed but two were later reinstated.