BY Claire Mom
President Bola Tinubu has assured Olaf Scholz, German chancellor, that his administration is determined to bring about a transformative government in Nigeria.
Tinubu spoke on Sunday while having bilateral talks with the chancellor who is on a two-day visit to the country.
The president said Nigeria is still struggling to record giant economic strides, noting that his government had been distracted by the election contests in court.
“Nigeria is still crawling, but we are determined to change the narrative and bring about a transformative government in the country,” Tinubu said.
“You are very welcome with your delegation to partner with us in terms of education, power, mineral resources and all the other opportunities.”
Tinubu added that his administration has been able to tackle insecurity “significantly” but still needs support to “totally” crush the challenge.
“We have gone a long way to bring about the security of our people,” the president said.
“We are fighting terrorism and that is improving. We still need support very much in that area. And for us to be able to sustain democracy, the rule of law and freedom for our people, we need to fight for democracy.
“And democracy must win at all times for us to meet the expectation of an African dream.
“That is why your visit this time around is more than necessary and welcome. I hope you will enjoy yourself.
“You would have noticed, that I don’t need to go about the various problems happening in the Sahel region of Africa. You have seen and noticed the coup in Guinea and recently in the Niger Republic.
“We have people diplomatically managing the situation. The need for you to help in that of security will be emphasised and we will continue to require your knowledge.
“We thank you for your past contributions, particularly police, and law enforcement training. We need more help.”
Tinubu assured that the country is ready to partner “with Germany as the largest economy in Europe”, adding that Nigeria has the right environment to support foreign investments.
“And the largest economy in Africa is Nigeria, you know that,” he said.
“We are blessed with good environment, weather and mineral resources. Our hydrocarbon industry is still fledging environmentally while we are moving towards the transition energy source.
“I know Germany has advanced a lot in protecting the environment and modernising energy to meet the 21st century needs both of the world and Europe in particular.”
‘GERMANY DETERMINED TO CREATE BENEFICIAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR NIGERIA’
On his part, Scholz assured the Nigerian president that Germany would continue to support the country to create beneficial opportunities.
“I can assure you that we will continue our support and our cooperation also in this field,” the German chancellor said.
“One of the main aspects for cooperation will be developing the economy and using the economic opportunities of your country.
“As you already said, there are a lot of chances not just from gas and oil, which is traditionally linked to your country, but there’s a lot of room for improvement and for better using the capacities of your country, but also for going into investments for the future, which is about hydrogen and all the things that are important for an economy that is able to produce all the necessary goods for the people without harming the environment.
“It is also important that we use the way of developing your economy in the fields of the minerals you have. I think that the investments into this structure must be easy, but also beneficial for your country.”
This is the chancellor’s first visit to Nigeria since he assumed office in 2021.
Both leaders had, however, met at the 18th G20 Summit in India.
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