The Vice
President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Tuesday praised the ECOWAS Bank for investment and
Development for being proactive in infrastructure funding and
development in
the sub-region.
He sated
this while declaring open the 15th Ordinary Session of the Board of Governors’
Meeting of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), in Abuja
According to
him, a strong, vibrant and creative EBID is a strong pillar in development of
the sub-region.
“So, without
question, the challenges today call for greater creativity and foresight in
supporting and making investments in our member countries.
“So, one of
the crucial issues today which will decisively impact the future is how the
bank can make a difference in the lives of our young people.
“And there
are opportunities for strategic investments in relevant education; especially
in the under-served disciplines such as science, education, engineering and
maths.
“Perhaps
also the rising scale of foreign investment influence in business start-ups by
our young people should be taken by our local finance institutions such as the
EBID as a challenge to be just as relevant and invested in the dreams and
visions of our local talents.
‘’Here in
Nigeria we like to see you become more active in supporting our investments and
infrastructure ambitions.”
According to
Mr. Osinbajo, the federal government is working hard to attract greater local
and foreign investments and has put in place the needed reforms required to
create an enabling environment for these investments.
He stated
that with the country’s robust economic plan and the ongoing business
environment reform it was confident that investing in Nigeria would continue to
be a smart business decision.
The vice
president stated that there was no doubt that the success of the Nigerian
economy with its population in the region and as the largest GDP in the
continent would positively influence the whole sub region.
Mr. Osinbajo
also underscored the importance of agriculture in the economic resurgence of
West Africa and stated that it was important to fund the sector focusing on
improved inputs, cutting-edge extension services and agro-processing.
He remarked
that an important initiative was the regions Agriculture Productivity Programme
aimed at achieving a six per cent agriculture growth and food production.
He stated
that although it was a World Bank food programme, those in the region and the
EBID could do more especially with mobilising resources for a major agriculture
fund with emphasis on promoting inclusion and jobs.
He said: “I
think that the emphasis of that fund must be agriculture for inclusion and for
jobs.
“Clearly the
fastest way of providing jobs today, especially for our teeming populations many
of which are still in rural areas, is the provision of smart agriculture that
aims at providing real jobs that can make real impacts in the lives and
livelihoods of our citizens.’’
The vice
president admitted that the country was aware of the numerous challenges
confronting the bank in recent times, arising from limited resources, which had
limited its capacity to function optimally as a true financial arm of the
community.
“So, clearly
it is in our interest as member states to do more to address the Bank’s funding
challenges, as the bank seeks to innovatively mobilise resources from across
the continent and beyond, in line with its corporate objectives.
“Clearly, a
well-resourced EBID could play a pivotal role in financing the achievement of
the objectives of Vision 2020.
“Which
envisages the transformation of the ECOWAS Space from an ECOWAS of States to an
ECOWAS of People, in which the people are prosperous, properly governed and
have the capacity to access and harness the enormous resources of the Community.”
(NAN)
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