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Tag: Morocco

  • Don’t put pressure on S/Eagles, Rohr begs Nigerians

    Adeyinka Akintunde

     

     

    Super Eagles Chief Coach, Gernot Rohr has appealed to Nigerians not to put pressure on his young team ahead of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations holding in Egypt from June 21 to July 19

    Asked which of the group B games will be the toughest for Nigeria in the 2019 AFCON, Rohr said: “Burundi, because it is the first match. The first match is always the most difficult match of a competition. Everybody is fresh, the new comers have nothing to lose, and we must be focused tin this game.”

     

    Excerpts of the interview below:

     

    Which country do you think will be a stumbling block for Nigeria?

    You know that we are not the first in the ranking of African football, we have teams like Senegal, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Cameroon, and there can also be a surprise team in the competition.

    We will see what happens match-by-match. We are not the favourite for me. My first favourite to win this AFCON is Egypt, and then Senegal, and then Morocco or Tunisia, but we are among the top five teams for this competition in my prediction.

    How will you describe the friendly with Zimbabwe?

    It was eight days and we had a good training session. We arrived on Sunday, most of the players were here already. We had special situations like the Ramadan, so some players arrived later. We were complete on Thursday.

    We are in a very good spirit. We had twenty-five players and everybody was doing well, and in good conditions, in the hotels, dressing room and in the stadium. We had a memorial for Stephen Keshi, who was a great man while he lived. Everybody was there. We were received in Asaba, we had a special condition, rainfall in Asaba, during the game against Zimbabwe, but even in the condition, I saw a very good game. We were only missing the goals which we have to work on. Our foundation is good, but we have to work on the offensive.

    How difficult was it to select the final 23 players for the AFCON

    It is always a very difficult decision to take, and everybody deserved to be in the 25-man squad. The problem is that we have so many good strikers and we have to put away a striker and a midfielder, to accommodate the return of Captain Mikel Obi. We had to put out Semi Ajayi and my striker (Kelechi Iheanacho), who was losing confidence, but worked very hard during the week. Everybody in my staff, the five of us agreed on these two names. It is not a good decision to take, but we had to do it, and the players were professional in accepting this decision.

    They know that they are still in stand-by. If an injury occurs to any of the player, one of them will be called back. I do not pray for this to happen, but it did happen during the World Cup, when we lost Moses Simon in the last camping, and he had to be replaced.

    Let us hope that preparations go well, in Egypt. Certainly in other conditions, it will not be rainy there, it will be hot and I hope we have a good pitch there.

    What has been the secret of Eagles impressive record after the World Cup?

    I think that this team has a mixture of youthfulness and experience, and also, the atmosphere in the team is very good. We are working hard; we have good defenders and strikers. We don’t know who will be our number one goalkeeper, we will decide after the last weeks of preparations, but we trust our goalkeepers.

    So I think our strength is in our solidarity. There is always someone to stand for the other, on and off the pitch. We have new players coming in to bring new mentality to the boys. It is a good refreshing atmosphere and it can help us in Egypt.

    I think that the experience of Obi Mikel is also good. Everybody wanted him to come back. He has been well received by the group, like he has always been with us. It is important to make this first week the re-integration of Obi Mikel, as he is on the right way to being fit. So for the moment, we are in very good conditions. I hope no problem arises.

    Are you having a good feeling of Nigeria winning the AFCON?

    It is a very good prediction. Even when I went to the AFCON with Gabon, we started with a 0-0 draw and won other games in the group. We won against Niger Morocco and Tunisia. I hope to repeat the same.

    For our friendly matches, the result is not the most important, but we are unbeaten for the past one year and we want to stay unbeaten. We want to go into our first match against Burundi with a good mind and a good confidence, and continue in the competition, match-by match. But for the moment, our focus is the first match.

    Which game do you think will be the toughest in the group?

    Burundi, because it is the first match. The first match is always the most difficult match of a competition. Everybody is fresh, the new comers have nothing to lose, and we must be focused tin this game.

    Burundi has a very good team. They are unbeaten in the qualifiers. They have good players plying their trade in Europe and South Africa. It will not be easy, but we are Nigeria, we were one of the five teams that represented Africa at the World Cup, so we have experience. From my final 23-man list, 15 were at the World Cup last year, so this experience can help us.

    What is your message to Nigerians who have high expectations for the AFCON?

    They are right. I also expect a lot from this tournament. But it is not good to put pressure on a young team. Let work, fight and do their best. I can only promise that every training session and match will be on the highest level

    And sometimes, we need the help of the “God of football”, and sometimes, the referee decisions too, like we saw in Russia, can affect a team. This is a charm in football that we have to accept.

    What I can say to Nigerians now is that, I have been here for three years, and I say that we love this country, we want to do our best and win AFCON for Nigerians, but we have to stay hungry. All the twenty-four teams will be prepared, so to win it, you have to win seven matches.

    It will not be easy, but we can only promise to fight lions to go and win the Africa Cup of Nations.

  • Looters stashing funds in Seychelles, South Africa, Niger, Ghana, says Magu

    The Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Ibrahim Magu on Friday said looters now stash illicit funds in African countries such as Ghana, Egypt, Cameroon, South Africa, Niger Republic, Morocco and others.

     He said the preferred destinations for looters have traditionally been the United Kingdom, United States, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Seychelles but they have started expanding down home to African countries.

    Magu made the disclosures at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and its Niger Republic counterpart, the High Authority Against Corruption and Relating Crimes (HALCIA) in Niamey.

    He said: “From available intelligence and our investigations, it has been revealed that looters from Nigeria now go to Ghana, Egypt, Cameroon, South Africa, Equatorial Guinea, Niger Republic, Morocco, Seychelles and so on, to stash their loots.

    “This has led to sharp increase in the number of Nigerians buying properties in African countries.

    “Nigerians “even go to the extent of changing their names and acquiring the destination countries’ international passports in collusion with corrupt public officers in their countries of residence in order to hide their identities and evade detection.”

    Read also: Ganduje promises to welcome back Kwankwaso to APC if…

    He said: “the fight of the EFCC against looters’ safe havens is total.”

    The EFCC boss further disclosed his visit to Niger Republic was part of his continuing tour at mobilizing international efforts against looters’ safe havens.

    He added: “We have already visited Ghana and Cameroun, today we are in Niger Republic and we will continue to reach out to other preferred looters destinations in Africa and beyond.

    “Interestingly, the efforts of the Nigerian Government to trace, recover and return assets stolen from Nigeria coupled with our increased advocacy to discourage safe havens have begun to yield results.

    “It is my conviction that our collaborative efforts will go a long way in eliminating safe havens.

    “In fact, this is in tandem with renewed global commitment by countries to shut their doors to stolen funds.

    “I also want to call for conscious measures to sanitize and strengthen the legal framework so as to make it difficult for looters to transfer illicit funds to Niger Republic for investment or whatever purpose.”

    He called on the global community to urgently redouble its efforts towards strengthening the mechanisms for dismantling safe havens for proceeds of corruption.

    He also called on the international community to ensure the return of stolen funds and assets to their countries of origin.

    According to a statement by Acting Head of Media and Publicity of EFCC, Mr. Tony Orilade, the MoU will strengthen the collaborative efforts between the Nigerian front row anti-corruption agency and that of its Niger Republic counterpart.

    HALCIA, which is the agency in charge of the prevention and fight against corruption and related offences in Niger Republic was established by the country’s Law No 2016-44 of December 06, 2016.

    The signing of the document followed a two-day working visit to Niger Republic by the EFCC Acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu.

  • Nigeria, Morocco gas pipeline study ready

    The Group Managing Director (GMD), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, yesterday said Nigeria and Morocco have completed the feasibility study for the construction of the 5,660km Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline.

    He said the pre-Final Investment Decision (FID) for the pipeline was currently ongoing, adding that the facility would boost the region’s industries when completed.

    Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, announced that African countries were mobilising about $2billion to develop a financing body that will fund the energy sector.

    Both Kachikwu and Baru made spoke during  the second Nigeria International Petroleum Summit in Abuja which had senior government officials from across Africa, Europe and America in attendance.

    The theme of the summit is : Shaping the Future through Efficiency and Innovation. The forum will create an excellent business environment to interact, cross-pollinate ideas and make deals happen.

    Kachikwu  urged the participants to “Think Africa, Think Nigeria, Think Collaboration.”

    Baru said: “We need to collaborate especially in the area of infrastructure. Today, Nigeria and Morocco are collaborating to construct a gas pipeline that will traverse at least 15 West African countries and connect the existing Europe gas pipeline. The feasibility study has been concluded and the pre-FID greenfield optimisation study is currently ongoing.

     

  • Georgia Oboh makes final cut in Morocco

    What started on a slow pace has now become a joyful ending for Georgia Oboh at the Ladies European Tour (LET) Qualifying School Final in Morocco, as the Nigerian teenager made the cut for the grand finale of the tournament to become the first Nigerian member of the Ladies European Tour.

    The Edo State-born teenage golfer on the final day of qualifiers, made the top 60 cut for today’s final holding at the Amelkis Golf Club in Morocco.

    Despite her first tee-off ending in the lake, Oboh fought well to finish well and made the cut for the finals.

    From four days, over 115 players across the globe started the battle for a place in the top 60 with Oboh starting the first 78 but there was an improvement in her score on the second day with a score of 73. But on Tuesday, she played her best to net a score of 70, while on the final day where the top 60 were selected for the grand finale, the Nigerian scored 72.

    From the three Africans that started the campaign on Sunday, Oboh and South Africa’s Lejan Lewthwaite are the only Africans competing in the grand finale.

    An excited Oboh told journalists from Morocco on Wednesday that she was happy achieving her dream of becoming a LET member. “The first day was full of up and down for me but I believe I played much better on the second day. It was indeed an improved outing on the third day and the final day was a better despite starting with the first tee-off on the lake. I am happy my dream of starting my career on the European Tour has become a reality. This will surely give me the opportunity to play with the best in the world. I thank God and I am grateful to my family and supporters for their prayers and encouragement since I started this journey,” the 17-year-old said.

  • Looters ‘shun Dubai for Morocco, Jo’burg, Ghana’

    •Convictions up from 158 to 246

    THOSE who plundered the wealth of the country have found safer havens in Morocco, Johannesburg and Ghana, where they are investing their loot in properties, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Acting Chairman Ibrahim Magu said in Lagos yesterday.

    According to him, looters have shifted base from Dubai, The United Arab Emirates (UAE).

    Magu said Dubai, hitherto, an attractive investment destination for looters, had lost its appeal following better anti-corruption cooperation between Nigeria, the UAE and several western countries.

    He said  looters got more desperate to sell off their properties in Dubai, but afraid that the EFCC “will get to know it.”

    Magu spoke at a media parley at the commission’s Lagos Office.

    He said the Federal Government was mounting pressure on United Kingdom (UK) to extradite former Petroleum Minister Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, so that she can face trial following the country’s failure to prosecute her over three years after it began investigating her for corruption.

    Magu said: “We are working with other law enforcement agencies seriously. I attended an INTERPOL meeting in Dubai, I was there for five days and there were interactions.”

    To him, since technology has made it easier to investigate financial crimes, the UK’s three-year investigation of Diezani is unacceptable.

    Magu said: “…in this era of digital banking, there is no aspect of financial crimes you will say the matter will go on for three and a half years, for three and a half years! One case!

    “So, I told my colleagues in the NCA (National Crime Agency) and CPS, Crown Prosecution Service (in the United Kingdom) that ‘No, it doesn’t make sense; if you cannot do it, give us, because we have gone to London and back, even America.

    Read also: Looters’ list: Court refuses to jail Lai Mohammed

    “The Americans, Nigerians and the United Kingdom; we met in London, we met in Washington, we met here several times, so we have done a lot of things you cannot even imagine.

    “This Diezani case is everywhere. Any law enforcement agency that comes to Nigeria; even last time, the people investigating the Malabu case, they came, they just finished last Saturday and returned to their country. We had exchange of information.

    “So, the case has become very notorious, it has touched everywhere. You cannot investigate a matter endlessly; there are a lot of expectations; that’s why we said ‘give us if you cannot take action. Give us, we can take action.’ We are still insisting.

    “I met Nigerians in the Diaspora and I begged them to put pressure on the authorities to help us extradite Diezani and repatriate whatever loot has been recovered.”

    The EFCC boss said it was also on the case of “so many other politically exposed persons who are even in Ghana. For instance, Johannesburg; and even Morocco has become a haven.

    “A lot of them are now buying properties in Morocco and we are monitoring them. They have stopped buying the ones in Dubai. They are busy hiding it, to sell the ones in Dubai.

    “If you sell one property in Dubai, we will get it. I’m telling you. All countries of the world are no longer tolerating this nonsense. The world has realised that loot and proceeds of corruption dent their economy.”

    Magu vowed to, in collaboration with foreign anti-graft agencies, block inflows and outflows of illicit funds ahead of the 2019 polls.

    He said” “So, we work together and it is getting very difficult for you to move money in and out of Nigeria throughout the electioneering period; so difficult, absolutely impossible.”

    According to him, the EFCC is apolitical and would not take sides during the 2019 polls. He urged Nigerians to resist vote buying and pledged to prosecute money launderers.

    Magu said: “Let me state upfront that we are apolitical at the EFCC. However, the concern of EFCC is with those who seek to use the political space for money laundering. We would enforce the provisions of the anti-money laundering law to the letter, no matter whose ox is gored.

    “Some vested interests are already attacking us for our stand on the side of the law.  Let us remind them that the law is no respecter of persons.”

    As another evidence of its impartiality, Magu hinted that the commission would move against an unnamed high ranking member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the coming days.

    He said the EFCC was investigating a petition against former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomole before he became All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman.

    The EFCC chief vowed to prosecute any lawbreaker, whether in the APC or the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Magu patted the commission on the back for its “tremendous” convictions.

    He said: “I recall that at the last interactive session, I announced that the Commission had recorded 158 convictions, including the cases of two former governors who were jailed 14 years each and a senior lawyer who bagged a year jail term.

    “But as I speak with you, the number has increased tremendously. As at November 30, 2018, the figure has jumped to 246. So, I make bold to say that the Commission is winning the war against corruption.

    “In terms of assets recovery/forfeiture, the Commission has secured quite a number of temporary or permanent forfeiture of properties and various sums of monies unlawfully acquired by persons of questionable character.”

    He vowed to carry out a nationwide sweep against internet fraudsters from next month.

    Magu said: “More than ever before, we are giving Internet fraudsters sleepless nights; also, shady night club owners who harbour “yahoo-yahoo boys” now see the Commission as a pain in their necks.

    “So also we have begun to send red alert to car dealers to check their books or be ready to face the wrath of the law.”

  • FIFA Ranking: Nigeria move up by Four spots placed 44th

    Nigeria’s Super Eagles have moved up by four spots to the 44th in the world in the October FIFA -Coca Cola Ranking.

    In the ranking table published on the website of the world football governing body on Thursday, Nigeria garnered 1431 points as against 1415 it had in September.

    The movement has now placed Nigeria as the third in Africa behind Tunisia and Senegal.

    The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that it was during this period that the Eagles thrashed Libya 4-0 (home) and 3-2 (away) in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers.

    Read Also: FIFA rankings: Nigeria moves 5 places up

    Tunisia is ranked 22nd in the world and Senegal 25th. Congo DR (ranked 46th and Morocco(47th) are the other African countries among the top 50.

    On the global scene, Belgium are now ranked world number one, ahead of France with the narrowest of margin–just one point in the new the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking published today. The Belgians have 1733 points to France’s 1732 points.

    In September, the two countries were tied on the first spot.

    The top two remain out in front after a month in which each of them enjoyed a win and a draw, with Belgium and France beating Switzerland (8th, unchanged) and Germany (14th, down two) respectively in the UEFA Nations League. Brazil is third with 1669 points, Croatia fourth with 1635 and England fifth with 1619 points. Leo Messi’s Argentina are ranked 12th in the world.

  • Nigeria, Morocco to explore renewable energy opportunities

    As a means of improving intra-regional trade, Nigeria and Morocco are exploring ways of enhancing their trade relations by focusing on opportunities in renewable energy resources, oil and Gas and Agriculture.
    It would be recalled that the Nigerian and Moroccan governments had earlier this year signed three agreements, in Rabat, Morrocco which included a regional gas pipeline that will see Nigeria providing gas to countries in the West Africa sub-region that extending all the way to Morocco and Europe.
    OCP Policy Centre, a think tank which participated at the just concluded 24th Nigeria Economic Summit‎-NES#24 are pushing for the expansion of the trade relations between Nigeria and Morroco beyond the investments in the Gas Pipeline infrastructure.
    The Nigeria/Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP) designed to be 5,66km long, will reduce gas flaring in Nigeria and encourage diversification of energy resources in the country while cutting down poverty through the creation of more job opportunities.
    Karim El Aynaoui, Managing Director of OCP Policy Centre during panel discussions on Morocco-Nigeria relations said “the Pipeline has a huge role to play beyond fertilizer and Gas. Remember it would pass several countries and there are already discussions around clean energy adoption providing electricity to the countries that the Gas pipeline would pass through.”
    ‎According to him, “there are opportunities in renewable energy and and oil and Gas which we have already commenced on work with the Nigerian government. There are also training exchange programmes to build the capacity of farmers through the Bank of Agriculture. We are producing solar panels and there are lots of progress we have made on the renewable energy to expand opportunities of electricity in Nigeria”
    He also said Morocco was assisting Nigeria in attracting investments noting that “predictable macro-economic environment enhances opportunities for attracting investors.”
    During his contribution at the panel session, Doyin Salami, CEO of Kainos Edge consulting Limited said “the federal government must have‎ a shared vision on the specific benefits it Is working to harvest from the Kingdom of Morocco.”
    “Nigeria must be able to unleash the power of the huge economic size by attracting the benefits of the countries willing to do business with it” he said.
    In his intervention, Segun Adaju, said the renewable energy association of Nigeria was already working towards ensuring that by 2040, 40% of energy usage in Nigeria would be sourced through renewable energy sources. We would be engaging the Moroccan representatives in Nigeria on the possible ways of ‎ exploring opportunities in the renewable energy sector. To harvest more benefits in the renewable energy sector, we must consider generating power from solar and selling to the grid. These are the opportunities that we must keep exploring at all times” he said.

  • How Morocco is closing Nigeria’s entrepreneurship skills gap

    Through various initiatives, Morocco is working with Nigeria to fund and train entrepreneurs desirous of launching successful start-ups. The North African country’s strategic partnership with Nigeria may have raised hopes of local entrepreneurs catching up with the rest of the world over the next decade. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    TWO Nigerian companies, Vicfold Recyclers and Saint Michelles and Joey Limited, were among 12 African start-ups that won $100, 000 each in the recently-concluded African Entrepreneurship Award (AEA) sponsored by BMCE Bank of Africa, a leading Moroccan bank.

    Vicfold Recyclers is a Kwara-based incentive-inclined recycling social enterprise engaged in transforming waste to wealth through recycling and empowering unemployed women and youths. The firm was led by Folashade Amusa.

    Saint Michelles and Joey Limited manufactures jumbo rolls of recycled paper, which it sells to toilet paper and napkin firms. Sylvester Mujakperuo represented the company.

    The 12 winners were selected by a jury chaired by BMCE Bank of Africa president, Othman Benjelloun, in Casablanca.

    The award, with a yearly price of $1 million, was intended to reward projects with social and sustainable impact in the three programme areas namely, education, environment and uncharted fields.

    Morocco may have emerged a strong force in grooming African entrepreneurs and potential future industrialists. This year, Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) Entrepreneurs participated in a Hackathon held in Morocco last April.

    MEST companies, including Nigeria’s online subscription based payments solution, Amplify, were selected to participate in the hackathon after pitching to Royal Air Maroc representatives.

    The event ended with six teams being selected to move forward and work on their proposals with Royal Air Maroc, including MEST portfolio company, Amplify.

    To catch up with the fast-growing digital world, the government and private sector in Morocco are putting facilities in place to leap-frog young entrepreneurs into a new era of tech businesses.

    At the forefront of this is the OCP Group, Morocco’s largest integrated mining and agricultural concern. It is the world leading exporter of phosphate rock and phosphoric acid and Morocco’s single largest corporate employer.

    Ecole 1337 Centre in Khougibga is a thriving entrepreneurship academy in Morocco, also sponsored by OCP.  It is a start-up centre, which handles 150 participants after a competitive screening.

    They provide free accommodation and feeding in an arrangement that looks like a technology hub. Participants engage each other in conversations meant to help in solving problems.

    One of the administrators of 1337 Centre in Khougibga, Youssef Dahbt, said people are allowed to work as individuals and tackle challenges offered by the digital economy.

    He explained that there is a free environment to help youths innovate and develop applications and technological solutions.

    Also, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University located in the heart of the Green City of Benguerir in Morocco is partnering a few states in Nigeria. It is supported by OCP Foundation.

    The university’s Head of Mission, Khalid Baddou, said one of the goals of the institution was to partner Nigeria and other African countries to build new exciting start-ups around sustainable products.

    According to him, the marketplace is challenging, and many new ventures have difficulty developing technologies, this is where the institution comes in.

    Baddou explained that the institution was ready to train Nigerians to launch and commercialise their businesses, thereby improving local economies and strengthening ties to their communities.

    He explained that the institution was a key player in Morocco’s green city project designed to stimulate activities in clean tech industries.

    The green city project connects entrepreneurs and private industry with faculty, students, and state-level resources.

    The goal was to have positive impact across environment, economy, energy, entrepreneurship, and education.

    Baddou said the institution was dedicated to building and developing a healthy entrepreneurial system.

    He said the university was ready to work with Nigerian organisations to groom entrepreneurs and thinkers.

    He said the school, opened to undergraduates and graduate students, emerged as a place to further promote the human-centred approach to learning, problem-solving and innovation.

    According to Baddou, the school applies design thinking across fields, equipping students with the ability and mindset to tackle difficult global problems in industries from healthcare to energy.

    He hinted that the university was establishing a business incubator for students, with a passionate and overwhelming urge to start a business or launch a product or service.

    In addition to vocational training, the school offers aspiring entrepreneurs unparalleled access to intelligent peers and mentors, and a risk-free testing ground for their ideas.

    Students conduct extensive interviews and research on their products’ target audience, build prototypes and then test them.

    According to Baddou, the university wants to create a top breeding ground for young entrepreneurs, whose ventures can be collectively grown into a driver for the African economy.

    OCP Group Managing Director, El Ouafi Mustapha, said raising entrepreneurship awareness and providing access to training, support and other resources are critically important to the communities’ ability to nurturing entrepreneurial potential.

    He stressed that OCP, as part of its corporate social responsibility, supports nationwide efforts to promote skills development and entrepreneurship among young people.

    Mustapha added that through its network, dedicated to entrepreneurship, OCP aimed to improve the Moroccan economy and create new opportunities for sustainable development.

    In Morocco, the special entrepreneurship track offered by OCP skills training centres in Khouribga and Benguerir, enrolled more than 300 youths and provide coaching for many start-ups.

  • Rohr, Amuneke hit Morocco

    Eagles coach Gernot Rohr and member of the FIFA Study Group for the 2018 World Cup Emmanuel Amuneke will be in Rabat, Morocco, from tomorrow for a CAF World Cup workshop over the weekend. All five African teams at Russia 2018 failed to go past the group stage.

    Amuneke told SCORENigeria: “I will be attending a conference starting from tomorrow mainly to discuss the five representatives of Africa to the World Cup and the way forward for African football.

    “I believe there is still room for Africa to hit it big in world football, we just have to get the basics right which is right attitude and mentality to work. The talent is there already and so we can push to the next level.”

    Eagles coach Rohr is expected to submit his World Cup report in Rabat.

  • Presidency unveils six benefits of Buhari’s visit to Morocco

    The Presidency yesterday highlighted six benefits coming to Nigeria from President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to Morocco.

    The president had visited the Kingdom of Morocco from June 10 to June 11, 2018 where he signed some memoranda of understanding and agreements.

    An article written by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, entitled ‘President Buhari’s visit to Morocco: Six Quick Takeaways’ said great benefits are coming to Nigeria from the agreements signed.

    He said “FACT: The Federal Government’s programme of Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) of former agitators in the Niger Delta region of the country, as part of the Amnesty Programme, brought calmness to the country at its commencement. It floundered and wobbled due to irregularities until the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari put it back on track. Now there is peace once again.

    “Question: If the disarmament and rehabilitation of 30,000 ex-agitators could do so much for nation, how far would 18,000 skilled and unskilled new jobs go towards cementing that peace?

    “The jobs in view are calculated to come from the commitment to the Regional Gas Pipeline, which will connect Nigeria’s gas resources, those of some West African countries and Morocco, thereby fostering integration and development of countries in the West African region.”

    “Yet another important takeaway is the decision by the two countries to strengthen cooperation in the efforts to combat radicalisation and violent extremism in Africa and beyond.”

    “On the basis of their exemplary cooperation, the two Heads of State agreed to develop partnership in the field of agriculture, particularly through the signing of Cooperation Agreement on vocational training and technical supervision. This will involve about 80 Nigerians in varied fields of agriculture and the setting up of 20 farmers’ schools.

    ‘Broken down to specifics, the agreement promised that Morocco will support university education with scholarships of eight agricultural engineers per year,” he said.

    He went on: “In the same breath, the Kingdom of Morocco will support and provide technical assistance in setting up 20 farmer-field schools (FFS) for the training of Nigerian farmers.

    “The agreement concerning this sector is for a period of three years and may be renewed for a further period.

    “For Morocco, which has lately been making strong efforts to improve relations with neighbouring states and the rest of the continent since their return to the African Union, it is important that our two states have agreed to consult and coordinate on regional and international issues of mutual interest and concern, and to coordinate the positions of the two countries in regional and international organisations, including the African Union.

    “His Majesty King Mohammed VI congratulated President Buhari for his leadership in the regional initiative against terrorism in the Lake Chad region and commended his efforts in the fight against corruption and his role as the African Union anti-corruption champion.

    “Morocco has many economic strengths; including the world’s largest phosphate reserves and a diverse agricultural sector. On the basis of an agreement between Moroccan state firm, OCP, and the Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN), Nigeria has been receiving the needed phosphate for the local blending of fertilizer. So far, 14 of the county’s moribund fertilizer plants have resumed production.

    “Activities have been generated in the value chain in terms of transportation, labour engagements at the plants, including loading and offloading with more than 250,000 jobs created directly and indirectly.

    “The Presidential Fertilizer Initiative plans to make available one million metric tons of fertilizers, amounting to 20 million bags to farmers this year.” he stated