Nigeria’s Vice President, Mohammed Namadi Sambo has commenced discussions with the Kuwaiti Fund towards accessing finances for infrastructural development.
Namadi Sambo who received the Director – General of the Kuwaiti Fund, Abdulwahab Al-Bader in his Jumeira Messilah Beach Hotel and Spa room recently stated that though Nigeria is a member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), its size and population necessitates a lot of assistance to meet her infrastructural requirements.
Sambo explained that Nigeria has a well articulated vision for development known as the Transformation Agenda which aims to address areas militating against the growth of the country. He added that infrastructural needs have become very relevant in the areas of power supply, transportation (roads, railways, bridges, dredging of rivers and construction of new deep sea ports) through Public Private Partnerships (PPP).
He further indicated that the country has many out of school children which number up to nine million; noting though the government is tackling the issue through the construction of well designed boarding schools, it requires assistance in this venture.
The Vice President pointed out that the aspiration of the Government in the privatization of the power sector and development of the institutional framework for ensuring thriving private sector institutions such as the Bulk Trader and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission is in order to promote international best practices.
He also observed that the efforts of government in the development of the power sector are largely on thermal power plants rather than hydro. While calling for an inclusive development of irrigation schemes, the Vice President stated that studies have been completed on twelve dams, whereas this is ongoing in seventeen other dams. Adding, all of them during completion will be executed under a PPP arrangement.
In his remarks at the occasion, the Director-General of the Kuwaiti Fund, Abdulwahab Al-Bader expressed delight; saying they have been waiting for the start of this relationship with Nigeria as the Kuwaiti Fund is ready to work with Nigeria. “ The country must identify its priority projects just as opportunities have been created and the willingness there ,” he said.
Abdulwahab Al-Bader advised Nigeria to draw the right track and present reasonable projects which they are willing to finance as well as the Minister of Finance to write to the Fund for them to act accordingly. Present at the occasion were Nigeria’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Viola Onwuliri; the Kuwaiti Fund Regional Manager for West Africa, Thamer Al-Foilackawi and his East African counterpart, Abdulrahaman Al-Hashem, among others.
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Press Release, November 29, 2013