- Shettima leads Nigeria’s delegation to annual summit
- Nigeria building investor-friendly financial system — Tinubu
- President receives Jega’s committee report on livestock sector
President Bola Tinubu will not attend the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York this year.
In his stead, Vice President Kashim Shettima will lead Nigeria’s delegation to the annual summit.
Tinubu “wants to focus on domestic issues and address some of the country’s challenges, especially after the recent devastating flooding,” a statement from the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, revealed on Thursday.
It read, “President Bola Tinubu will not attend the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York this year.
“Therefore, the President has directed Vice President Kashim Shettima to lead Nigeria’s delegation.”
Tinubu, who returned to the country last Sunday after his trips to China and the United Kingdom, “wants to focus on domestic issues and address some of the country’s challenges, especially after the recent devastating flooding,” Onanuga said.
At UNGA 79, Vice President Shettima will deliver Nigeria’s national statement to the General Assembly, attend important sideline events, and hold bilateral meetings.
The high-level General Debate, with the theme “Leaving No One Behind: Acting Together for the Advancement of Peace, Sustainable Development, and Human Dignity for Present and Future Generations,” will run from Tuesday, September 24, through Saturday, September 28, 2024.
Nigeria building investor-friendly financial system — Tinubu
Meanwhile, President Tinubu has stated that his administration is prioritising investment in Nigeria’s financial system to attract both local and foreign investment into the country.
In a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Thursday, following a meeting between the President and the global leadership team of Coca-Cola Company, led by John Murphy, its President and Chief Financial Officer, and the Chairman of Nigerian Bottling Company, Ambassador Segun Apata, Tinubu reiterated his administration’s commitment to creating a robust financial system and a business-friendly economy that will attract more foreign direct investments.
He commended Coca-Cola for its long-standing partnership with Nigeria and for promoting investment opportunities that have employed over 3,000 people across nine production facilities.
“We are business-friendly, and as I said at my inauguration, we must create an environment of easy entry and exit for businesses.
“We are building a financial system where you can invest, re-invest, and repatriate all your dividends. I have a firm belief in that,” he said.
Tinubu informed the delegation that private sector partnerships, which sustain investments, are central to his government’s far-reaching reforms aimed at improving the business environment.
He pledged that the government would continue partnering with Coca-Cola to expand investments in Nigeria and address environmental issues, including climate change.
“The size of this country is enormous in Africa, and the consumption capacity of Nigeria is expanding daily,” President Tinubu added while commending the company for scaling up its skill development and community initiatives as part of its corporate social responsibility.
Presenting an overview of Coca-Cola’s business in Nigeria, Murphy noted that the company generates N320 billion annually through nearly 300,000 customers and contributes almost N90 billion in revenue to the Nigerian government.
“We are very proud of the growth of the business over a long period and its impact on the daily lives of many Nigerians.
“Beyond the financial impacts, we are also very committed to supporting communities, and over the last number of years, we’ve had a special focus on several areas in the world of sustainability, water packaging and others,” he said.
Earlier, the CEO of Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, Zoran Bogdanovic, explained that the company’s confidence in Nigerian government policies had encouraged it to make the $1 billion investment pledge.
“Mr President, in your inaugural address, we were very pleased to hear of your invitation for foreign investors to invest and your assurance that foreign businesses can repatriate dividends and profits.
“That assurance gives us the confidence to continue our investments. Since 2013, we have invested $1.5 billion in Nigeria in capacity expansion, the transformation of our supply chain infrastructure capabilities, training, and development.
“I am very pleased to announce that, with a predictable and enabling environment in place, we plan to invest an additional $1 billion over the next five years.
“We believe Nigeria’s potential is tremendous, and we are committed to working with the government to realise this potential,” he said.
Tinubu receives Jega’s committee report on livestock sector
Also, the Presidential Committee on Livestock Sector Reforms Implementation on Thursday submitted its initial report to President Tinubu at the State House Abuja.
Speaking to journalists shortly after meeting with the President, the Chairman of the Committee and former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Attahiru Jega, said the committee was able to identify measures on how the government can judiciously utilize the livestock industry in Nigeria.
He revealed that the 152-page document submitted to President Tinubu recommends measures that the government can use to mitigate the farmer/herders clashes across the country.
According to him, the committee’s position is that it would be counterproductive to immediately stop open grazing as a traditional method of pastoralism.
He noted that both ranching and open grazing can coexist in the short term until there is enough awareness and adequate infrastructure that will enhance the adoption of full ranching.
The committee has prescribed a ten-year plan that would guide the government to ensure remarkable improvement in all aspects of the livestock in Nigeria.
The committee also recommended the adoption of technologies in livestock production in Nigeria.
According to Jega, a detailed guidance on the operations of the newly created Federal Ministry of Livestock that was announced by President Tinubu recently has been given in the report.
The report of the committee is expected to be made public very soon with a view to getting more inputs from the public.
President Tinubu had in July inaugurated the Presidential Committee on Implementation of Livestock Reforms to address obstacles to agricultural productivity and open up new opportunities which will benefit farmers, herders, processors, and distributors in the livestock-farming value chain.
