- Tinubu, King Charles meet in London
Nigeria and United Kingdom (UK) yesterday committed to eight bilateral partnerships that could see Nigeria gaining more than N589 billion in investments across key sectors of the economy.
Both countries agreed to collaborate on development of critical sectors, including health, education, climate change and governance.
The agreements were signed in Abuja yesterday by Minister of Budget and National Planning Atiku Bagudu on behalf of Nigeria and the United Kingdom High Commission Charge d’ Affaires, Ms Cynthia Rowe for Britain.
On Wednesday, King Charles III met with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at Buckingham Palace in London.
The partnership agreements, with underlying value of more than £272.6 million, would boost existing UK-Nigeria support programmes worth more than £1 billion, under the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO).
The agreements included a three-year, N324 billion or £150 million Human Assistance and Resilience Programme (HARP), the N84 billion or £83.8 million Nigeria Governance and Climate Change Programme (NGCP), N82 billion or £38 million Strengthening Peace and Resilience in Nigeria (SPRING) and N8.3 billion or £3.8 million Equipment Support for Health Training Institutions (ESHTI).
Others included Climate Resilient Infrastructure for Basic Services (CRIBS), with a value of N41 billion or £19 million; Building Resilience in Nigeria’s Nutrition Stockpile (BRINNS), N26 billion or £12 million; Strengthening Humanitarian Access in Nigeria (SHAN), N24 billion or £11 million and Manufacture Africa, with technical assistance to African countries worth N151 billion or £70 million.
Bagudu and Ms Rowe emphasised the longstanding historic cooperation of the two countries.
Bagudu said the latest agreements were further show of the significance of the friendship between UK and Nigeria, noting that the timing of the implementation agreement was significant given the downward trend of world economies.
“Many economies in the world are going through turbulent times. Nigeria and the UK are not exceptions,” Bagudu said.
He commended UK’s spirit of partnership, which enabled it to support other countries despite its economic challenges.
Bagudu noted that some agreements deal with global issues.
He said: “Health is no longer a local issue. COVID-19 reminded us that we have a shared universe. Climate is a universal phenomenon. Governance is no longer a local issue. Governance failure in one country can affect other countries through forced migration, conflict or the spread of arms”.
He explained that while the economic reforms of the government might have caused some discomfort among the people in the short term, the reforms are part of government’s Renewed Hope Agenda strategies aimed at macroeconomic stability that would stimulate local and foreign investments needed for the nation’s economic revival, growth, and development.
Bagudu said the agreements recognised that despite the best efforts of a country, it might not have all the resources it needed to meet its developmental needs, adding that Nigeria was confident that with working partners, it would overcome its challenges.
He personally commended Rowe for her cooperation and assistance in ensuring the consummation of the implementation agreements, which were the 15th to be signed by the ministry within a month.
Rowe appreciated Nigeria’s long-standing cooperation and praised the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning for being an integral partner that had shaped the relations.
According to her, the new implementation agreements would complement the over £1 billion that had been spent on several programmes in states across the country.
She said: “I am passionate about the UK’s close relationship with Nigeria and working with the Government to advance the country’s development agenda.
Read Also: Nigerian duo claims Yucateco Boxing Pan-African titles in Uzebba
“The signing of these important agreements today builds on our support worth over £1billion, delivering real improvements for people in health, education, governance, our work with women and girls, and helping where there is humanitarian need.”
She commiserated with Nigeria over the recent flood in some states.
For decades, the implementation agency, FCDO, has been actively engaged in other sectors of the country’s national development, demonstrating a long-term commitment to Nigeria’s growth and stability. This includes human development, the Lake Chad Basin Conflict, UK-Nigeria People-to-People links, and economic transformation.
The FCDO has set four clear objectives for the partnership agreements. These include delivering honest, reliable investment, providing women and girls with the freedom to succeed, stepping up life-saving support in times of crisis, and promoting sustainable economic development. These goals aim to help Nigeria attain a more stable, inclusive, resilient, healthy and prosperous polity.
The HARP aims to deliver on the integrated review of an earlier programme, “Force for Good Agenda,” and provide life-saving humanitarian assistance in the Northeast.
The NGCP aims to support coalitions engaging with the government on areas to help resolve climate and governance problems affecting the poorest and most vulnerable Nigerians; increase state government income from internally generated revenue; mainstream climate action in the centre of state government policy, planning, and budgets; and strengthen election delivery and credibility.
The SPRING aims to reduce conflict and support Nigerian communities to better adapt to the effects of climate change. SPRING will support the reduction of rural violence and increased peace, security, justice and climate resilience for citizens in volatile regions of Northern Nigeria while the Manufacture Africa plans to drive inclusive economic transformation needed to create jobs for the future by providing technical assistance to African countries.