The Nation Newspaper

Tag: African Development Bank (AfDB)

  • No plan to sell any asset now, says FG

    No plan to sell any asset now, says FG

    The federal government Tuesday said it has not taken any decision to sell any national asset.

    Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma appealed to those opposed to the planned sale of some national assets to exercise patience with the government “as the government is yet to decide on assets sale in its stimulus package.”

    Udoma made the disclosure in Abuja at the 57th Annual Conference of the  Nigerian Economic Society (NES) where he stated that the idea of selling national assets “is just a proposal within the stimulus package of the federal government to scale up revenue but is yet to be finalised or even agreed on.”

    The budget and national planning minister said government will consult widely and hear views on the cost and benefit of the planned sale before any such decision will be made.

    He said the administration has several packages and plans that will ensure that Nigeria comes out of the current recession soon and stronger. One of such packages he noted is the stimulus plan to borrow from the World Bank, African Development Bank (AfDB) and the China Exim Bank.

    Udoma said that the stimulus package was being worked upon and was yet to be finalised, adding that to achieve this speedily “we are working to fast track procedures through presidential directives and legislation and I want to emphasis that notwithstanding the current economic challenges we face, we are not discouraged at all and this is a crisis we must not waste.”

    The minister lamented that Nigeria’s foreign reserves had shrunk from $26.51 billion from the second quarter of 2016 to $24.74 billion in September.

    Udoma said that government was working on a programme with the private sector to launch made in Nigeria campaign. He said the intent of the programme was to encourage more production and consumption of made in Nigeria goods and services.

    According him, “we believe that with more patronage Nigerian producers will be encouraged to improve the quality of their products. We should encourage the branding of Nigerian products by self-regulatory industry bodies such as wine makers have in France. Made in Nigeria should become a badge of quality.

    The minister added that “as the quality of our goods and service improve, both local and international demand for them will increase and high local demand would give Nigerian producers the platform to explore the export market.

    He said one of the fastest routes to grow the economy and create jobs for teeming population was by pursuing export-led growth. The Minister said that this strategy holds high promise for adding to our foreign reserves and further stabilising the Naira.

    He urged Nigerians to “see this crisis as an opportunity for us as a country to make those major structural changes needed to change this economy for good. We should use this crisis to implement the reforms needed to unlock the economic potentials of the non-oil and high employment sectors.”

     

  • African Union’s CFTA-NF 1st meeting kicks off

    African Union’s CFTA-NF 1st meeting kicks off

    The 1st Meeting of the Continental Free Trade Area Negotiating Forum (CFTA-NF) kicked off on Wednesday at the African Union Commission (AUC) Headquarters in Addis Ababa.

    During the next three days, Member States will consider the post launch preparatory issues and essential process issues and technical documents that will enable the efficient conduct of the negotiations. The Meeting will consider and adopt the Rules of Procedure for the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) Negotiating Forum.

    The 25th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, which was held in Johannesburg, South Africa in June 2015, launched the negotiations for the establishment of the CFTA.

    The launch of the negotiations marked a major milestone in the implementation of the Summit decision to establish a continental free trade area by the Indicative date of 2017.

    In her statement, the Commissioner for Trade and Industry, H.E. Mrs. Fatima Haram Acyl reminded participants how critical it is to deliver the CFTA by 2017.

    “Why is this important? Because the whole world is watching and waiting. And Africa must prove to itself and the whole world that it can agree internally on solutions towards its own development. We must strive to deliver the CFTA by 2017, and the Rules of Procedure that we will be considering and adopting in this session will be highly consequential in this regard”, she echoed.

    According to the Commissioner, negotiating a free trade area among such various Member States will require enormous amounts of energy, effort, and persistence. At the same time, Commissioner Acyl also acknowledged that diversity is Africa’s strength, that’s why she urged the participants to work as a team in a spirit of tolerance.

    “With a collective spirit of ‘Together as one Africa’, where disagreements are tolerated and differences of opinion are encouraged, we can and will prevail. With your commitment, the establishment of an African Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) can and will become a reality”, she concluded.

    The role of the African Union Commission in the negotiations is to provide and coordinate technical and administrative support to the Member States and REC’s. The AUC also serves as the Secretariat to the CFTA Negotiating Forum.

    In playing its support and harmonization role, the AUC closely collaborates with the RECs, the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) who are members of the Continental Task Force on the CFTA which operates at the level of Chief Executive Officers and at the Technical level.

    This was published on African Union website.

  • Photo : Osinbajo at swearing-in of AFDB President

    Photo : Osinbajo at swearing-in of AFDB President

    Darius Dickson Ishaku Taraba State Governor, Gov Umar Ganduje Kano State Governor, Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), Daniel Kablan Duncan Prime minister, Côte d’Ivoire at the swearing in ceremony of president of AFDB.
    Darius Dickson Ishaku Taraba State Governor, Gov Umar Ganduje Kano State Governor, Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), Daniel Kablan Duncan Prime minister, Côte d’Ivoire at the swearing in ceremony of president of AFDB.
    Dr. Kayode Fayemi Former Governorof Ekiti State, Amb. Ifeoma AKABOGU-CHINWUBA, Head of Mission Embassy of Nigeria in Côte d'Ivoire Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina as President of the African Development Bank, AfDB at the swearing in ceremony. Mrs Adesina Wife of President of AfDB Governor of Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele, Gov Umar Ganduje, Kano State Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku Taraba State Governor Cecilia Akintomide Vice President African Development Bank, AfDB.
    Dr. Kayode Fayemi Former Governorof Ekiti State, Amb. Ifeoma AKABOGU-CHINWUBA, Head of Mission Embassy of Nigeria in Côte d’Ivoire Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina as President of the African Development Bank, AfDB , Mrs Adesina Wife of President of AfDB,Governor of Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele, Gov Umar Ganduje, Kano State Governor,Darius Dickson Ishaku, Taraba State Governor,Cecilia Akintomide Vice President African Development Bank, AfDB.

  • AfDB backs women entrepreneurs

    The African Development Bank (AfDB) has reiterated commitment to supporting women entrepreneurs achieve their goals.

    Florence Kouadio, an Ivorian, said during the bank’s celebration of the International Women’s Day that women can be presidents, bank directors, entrepreneurs, and can drive the African continent forward. Women have a right to be decision-makers, and they are doing it.

    Kouadio said: “Many girls are now going to school unlike before when they remained at home to do household chores as boys pursued education. More women are speaking out against harmful practices such as female genital mutilation, which is prevalent in many African nations,” said the award-winning artist.

    Patricia Anoma Cissé, technical counsellor to Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Industry and Mining, observed the need for formulation of policies that benefit women and communities at large. “We have to be very deliberate on making plans with women in mind. We have to work together with them to identify their needs and how these can be met because their participation in policy formulation processes is participation in development,” said Anoma Cissé.

    She cited policies in her country that have encouraged women to come together, forming one of the largest networks, a body of farmers from across the country, which provides food for the entire nation.

    The National Federation of Croppers Cooperatives, supported by the bank, is now marketing products for its members, and consequently supplying different kinds of food items throughout the nation. “Our members are now economically empowered. They are able to earn good income and support their families,” remarked Colette Irié Lou, the group’s chairperson.

    Statistics from World Bank indicate that 75 per cent of women in the country’s rural areas live below the poverty line. “With support to establish income generating activities, women in my country, especially in the villages, can be self-sufficient just as I have become,” said Irié Lou.