Nigeria is targeting annual economic growth of no less than 7% anchored on macroeconomic stability, improved productivity, and strategic investments in infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture, and education, Vice President Kashim Shettima has said.
During a series of high-level bilateral engagements on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, United States on Tuesday, Shettima also called for a stronger relation between Nigeria and Namibia.
Shettima, who is representing President Bola Tinubu at the UNGA, said that Nigeria’s growth ambitions were backed by reforms already underway under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
The Namibian leader, who assumed the presidency last 21 March, praised Nigerian diplomats for their invaluable contributions to her government and country in so many ways.
‘All the Nigerian diplomats were basically Namibians, helping in so many ways’, she stated, acknowledging Nigeria’s leadership role among African member states.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said that she found it appropriate to leverage the UNGA opportunity to meet with Shettima, promising: ‘I will still find time to come physically and introduce myself to the President’.
Shettima reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to deepening bilateral ties with Namibia, saying, ‘We are all Africans, and the Nigeria–Namibia relationship should be taken to the next level, beyond where it is now’.
The meeting was attended by senior officials from both countries, including Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar; Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim; and Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa.
In a separate high-level session, the Vice President met with a delegation from the Gates Foundation led by the CEO Mark Suzman. He thanked the Foundation for its support in healthcare, agriculture, and financial inclusion, while calling for expanded investment in Nigeria.
‘In the Gates Foundation, we have a partner that we trust and believe in. If all high-net-worth individuals made even half the investment Bill Gates has made, the world would be a better place. Kindly convey the highest regards of my boss, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to Mr. Gates’, he said.
Highlighting Nigeria’s growth ambitions, the Vice President added: ‘Our target over the next few years is to achieve annual growth rates of no less than seven per cent, anchored on macroeconomic stability, improved productivity, and strategic investment in infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture, and education’.
Alausa also appealed for Gates Foundation support in education, especially in the areas of technology, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.
‘What I want to put on the table to the Gates Foundation is increased investment in education. I have met with your representatives in Africa, and they indicated that the initial focus over the years had been on child nutrition but not education. Now I think there is more focus on education, so I am seeking enhanced support in that area to bolster our foundational education. We don’t have adequate support at all’, he said.
Responding, Suzman pledged enhanced investment in human capital development, education, and health, noting the foundation’s significant progress in digital identity and digital financial inclusion in Nigeria.
He commended the strong commitment of President Tinubu and Shettima, stating: ‘Nigeria is really one of our strongest partnerships on the African continent, and I’m looking forward to hearing from you about where and how we might be more helpful while assuring you of our continued support.
‘We just signed new grants with the Central Bank of Nigeria to support related initiatives, and we are very encouraged by your broader efforts’, Suzman added.
Also present from the Gates Foundation were President of Global Growth and Opportunity Division, Mr. Rodger Voorhies; Country Director of its Nigeria Office, Mr Uche Amaonwu; and Director for Africa, Dr Paulin Basinga.
