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Workers’ Day: Collaboration With FG Will Boost Economy, Development, AUDA-NEPAD Urges Workers
Editor
As the nation joins the rest of the world to celebrate ‘Workers Day’ Nigerian Workers should further join hands with the Federal Government and other relevant bodies to reposition the economy on the path of greatness, socio-economic development, says Princess Gloria Akobundu, National Coordinator/Chief Executive Officer, African Union Development Agency- New Partnership for Africa’s Development/ African Peer Review Mechanism (AUDA-NEPAD/APRM) Nigeria.
Akobundu made the call in her message to Management and staff of the Agency for the 2021 edition of `Workers Day’, a global celebration of human labour in both Public and Private sectors through a In a statement signed by the Media Assistant to NC/CEO, AUDA-NEPAD/APRM Nigeria Abolade Ogundimu on Saturday.
According to her, workers in Nigeria are hard working with readiness to contribute immensely to Federal Government’s ongoing efforts to eradicate poverty and fast-track development.
Let our labour be geared towards improving the society while earning our daily living.
“FG’s Social Investment Programmes (SIP) and Development Programmes targeted at key sectors of the economy require synergy with workers and other key sectors to be successful.
“In line with Federal Government’s commitment in lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty, we have launched an initiative that is capable of promoting prosperity of small and micro scale farmers in the country.
“The `AUDA-NEPAD Initiative to Strengthen Smallholder Farmers Capabilities amid COVID-19 Pandemic’ seeks to help farmers at the grassroots in acquiring relevant skills and supports for better productivity and prosperity.
“The initiative will also ensure that other grassroots players along agricultural value chains are skilled in their activities like crop processing, packaging and marketing to standard level.
“The Agency is supporting Mr. President’s vision in the areas of food security and job creation, which is naturally in tune with African Union Agenda-2063 ‘Africa We Want’,” she said.
Akobundu said all Nigerians should join hands with the Federal Government to deepen peace, unity and prosperity in the country.
Akobundu called on the public to cooperate with the Agency by providing adequate information so that it could further play its role as `Early Warning Tool for Conflict Prevention in the country’.
APRM in its mandate under NEPAD launched ‘Early Warning Programme’ in 2018 to identify and report issues capable of leading to violence in the society.
It would be recalled the Agency conducted various workshops, Roadshows and Seminars with relevant stakeholders on `Silencing the Gun’, `Counter-Terrorism’, `End to Electoral Violence’, among others.
The Agency had also been coordinating the Second Peer Review of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for voluntary assessment of the nation’s achievement’s and challenges, looking at APRM thematic areas namely: Democracy and Political Governance; Socio-Economic Development; Corporate Governance and Management; and Economic and Governance Management.
AUDA-NEPAD/APRM Nigeria had been carrying out Sectoral Consultation to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and other Public and Private bodies to gather verifiable data on how each sector had fared in the years under review.
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Alake Inaugurates Nigeria-US Solid Minerals Committee, Dismisses $700bn Claim, Says No Assets Sold
Joel Ajayi
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, on Tuesday inaugurated the Nigeria-United States Committee on Strategic Cooperation in the Solid Minerals Sector in Abuja, dismissing reports that Nigeria sold $700 billion worth of solid minerals to the US.
The inauguration followed the strategic cooperation framework established between Nigeria and the United States during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Head PRESS and Public Relations Department Mrs. Kania Maliki Andeyaba stated that, Alake in the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed with the US is a government-to-government platform to facilitate business-to-business engagements between American investors and Nigerian local operators, not a sale of assets.
Harping on the importance of the solid minerals sector to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic diversification agenda, he noted that the administration was committed to reducing dependence on a mono-product economy through the sustainable development of Nigeria’s vast mineral resources.
According to him, the Nigeria–US partnership as a strategic initiative to attract investment, promote technology transfer, strengthen local mineral processing and create employment opportunities.
“There is no sale of any Nigerian asset. There’s nothing exchanging hands,” Alake declared.
“We created a platform to facilitate mingling of US investment ventures with Nigeria’s local operators. It is in the public domain. We signed it in public and published it in four or five national newspapers.”
The Minister said reports claiming the US was coming to take over Nigeria’s minerals and security architecture were untrue at best and products of riotous imagination at worst.
Explaining the policy thrust, Alake said Africa has historically held the short end of the stick in global economic transactions, and Nigeria is determined to change that model.
“We have the resources, the critical elements the world needs to transit to clean energy. So we are creating a new paradigm — you bring your capital, expertise and technology, to match with our natural resources and create a win-win situation . The investor gains, Nigeria gains.’’he said.
Nigeria, he stressed, had operated a mono-cultural economy dependent on oil, while solid minerals were exploited informally — with ores taken “from pit to port” without value addition.
Alake said government has now made local processing mandatory, refusing to grant mineral titles to investors without a clear pathway to processing in Nigeria.
He said the policy led to the springing up of processing factories, including the largest lithium processing plant in West Africa commissioned recently in Nasarawa by the Vice President, and informed the formation of the African Minerals Strategy Group.
Alake noted that investor confidence has returned due to macro-economic reforms by President Bola Tinubu that guarantee security of tenure and repatriation of profits.
He charged the committee to discharge its assignment responsibly, saying its work is strategic to achieving the President’s $1 trillion economy target.
To this end, he told the Committee to ensure effective coordination, identify investment opportunities and translate the framework into measurable outcomes capable of positioning Nigeria as a competitive player in the global solid minerals industry.
In his welcome address, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Engr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo, said the inauguration translates growing bilateral engagements into a structured framework for practical cooperation and investment mobilization
Economic Officer at the US Embassy, Jonathan Baas, said President Donald Trump has prioritized three areas for US embassies — energy, artificial intelligence/super intelligence, and critical minerals.
Baas said Washington’s direction is to work with partners to secure critical supply chains while ensuring partners capture value.
“We just signed a contract today on looking into building AI data centres in Nigeria at the Nigerian Economic Summit. That’s the direction Washington wants us to go,” he said.
In his vote of thanks, CEO/Managing Director of Nigeria Solid Minerals Company, NSMC said that the committee
is expected to coordinate implementation, facilitate investment and monitor progress towards achieving the objectives of the Nigeria–US cooperation framework.
The inauguration reinforces the Federal Government’s commitment to repositioning the solid minerals sector as a key driver of economic diversification, industrial development and national prosperity under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
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