Insists regional group’ll exhaust diplomatic instruments
… Accepts Biden’s invitation to meeting on UNGA’s sidelines
… Accepts Biden’s invitation to meeting on UNGA’s sidelines
FG denies news of expulsion of envoy from Niger Republic
President Bola Tinubu declared yesterday that he would be guided by Nigeria’s national interest in his approach toward ECOWAS‘ handling of the crisis in Niger Republic.
He also said he would take no queue from any foreign country on the matter.
Tinubu spoke in Abuja while receiving the U.S Presidential Envoy and Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ambassador Molly Phee, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The President said the current impasse in the neighbouring country would not in any way deter him from concluding his economic reform programme successfully for the benefit of Nigerians.
“We are deep in our attempts to peacefully settle the issue in Niger by leveraging our diplomatic tools,” his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale quoted him as saying.
He said: “I continue to hold ECOWAS back, despite its readiness for all options, in order to exhaust all other remedial mechanisms.
“War is not ideal for my economic reforms, nor for the region, but the defense of democracy is sacrosanct. The ECOWAS consensus is that we will not allow anyone to insincerely buy time,”
He asked Washington to ensure its policy is intentionally collaborative with independent African democracies at a time when they are under assault by anti-democratic forces within and outside of the continent.
The President noted that American-backed development finance and multilateral institutions, which were designed to support war-torn Europe after World War II, require swift and comprehensive reform to meet the developmental requirements of younger democracies in Africa, which operate in authoritarian-crowded environments, such that the legitimate yearnings of Africans would no longer be manipulated to serve the narrow aims of self-seeking demagogues through unconstitutional takeovers of power.
“Yes, the private sector will lead the way within an enabling environment we create for them, but the U.S. Government must be innovative in its thinking and systematically create incentives for U.S. industrial investment in Nigeria. Under my leadership, Nigeria stands ready to address their specific regulatory, tax and environmental concerns. I am determined to create prosperity for all Nigerian families,” the President declared.
The U.S. Special Presidential Envoy who is on a visit to Nigeria,Chad and Ghana partly because of the Niger crisis, expressed the high regard the U.S. administration has for the leadership of the Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Bola Tinubu, and extended an exclusive invitation from U.S. President, Joe Biden, to meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City to advance discussions further in late September.
“We know there is more we can do to incentivize large-scale American investment in Nigeria and we are committed to working closely with you to achieve that, as part of efforts to strengthen the Nigerian economy and the regional economy. We appreciate your willingness to create an enabling environment for that. President Joe Biden is asking to meet with you on the sidelines of UNGA, and you are the only African leader he has requested to meet. It is a mark of his high regard for your leadership,” the U.S. Special Envoy said.
The President accepted the invitation to meet the U.S. President, saying the work of perfecting democracy is never done, even in developed democracies, as seen recently in America, as well as other emerging democracies in the world.
FG denies news of expulsion of envoy from Niger Republic
Meanwhile, the Federal Government yesterday denied that Nigeria’s Ambassador to Niger, Mohammed Sani Usman, had been expelled.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement said the information “is false and as such should be disregarded.”
It warned against ” the circulation of unverified information capable of jeopardizing the ongoing mediation efforts by ECOWAS in the political impasse in Niger.”
President Bola Tinubu declared yesterday that he would be guided by Nigeria’s national interest in his approach toward ECOWAS‘ handling of the crisis in Niger Republic.
He also said he would take no queue from any foreign country on the matter.
Tinubu spoke in Abuja while receiving the U.S Presidential Envoy and Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ambassador Molly Phee, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The President said the current impasse in the neighbouring country would not in any way deter him from concluding his economic reform programme successfully for the benefit of Nigerians.
“We are deep in our attempts to peacefully settle the issue in Niger by leveraging our diplomatic tools,” his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale quoted him as saying.
He said: “I continue to hold ECOWAS back, despite its readiness for all options, in order to exhaust all other remedial mechanisms.
“War is not ideal for my economic reforms, nor for the region, but the defense of democracy is sacrosanct. The ECOWAS consensus is that we will not allow anyone to insincerely buy time,”
He asked Washington to ensure its policy is intentionally collaborative with independent African democracies at a time when they are under assault by anti-democratic forces within and outside of the continent.
The President noted that American-backed development finance and multilateral institutions, which were designed to support war-torn Europe after World War II, require swift and comprehensive reform to meet the developmental requirements of younger democracies in Africa, which operate in authoritarian-crowded environments, such that the legitimate yearnings of Africans would no longer be manipulated to serve the narrow aims of self-seeking demagogues through unconstitutional takeovers of power.
“Yes, the private sector will lead the way within an enabling environment we create for them, but the U.S. Government must be innovative in its thinking and systematically create incentives for U.S. industrial investment in Nigeria. Under my leadership, Nigeria stands ready to address their specific regulatory, tax and environmental concerns. I am determined to create prosperity for all Nigerian families,” the President declared.
The U.S. Special Presidential Envoy who is on a visit to Nigeria,Chad and Ghana partly because of the Niger crisis, expressed the high regard the U.S. administration has for the leadership of the Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Bola Tinubu, and extended an exclusive invitation from U.S. President, Joe Biden, to meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City to advance discussions further in late September.
“We know there is more we can do to incentivize large-scale American investment in Nigeria and we are committed to working closely with you to achieve that, as part of efforts to strengthen the Nigerian economy and the regional economy. We appreciate your willingness to create an enabling environment for that. President Joe Biden is asking to meet with you on the sidelines of UNGA, and you are the only African leader he has requested to meet. It is a mark of his high regard for your leadership,” the U.S. Special Envoy said.
The President accepted the invitation to meet the U.S. President, saying the work of perfecting democracy is never done, even in developed democracies, as seen recently in America, as well as other emerging democracies in the world.
FG denies news of expulsion of envoy from Niger Republic
Meanwhile, the Federal Government yesterday denied that Nigeria’s Ambassador to Niger, Mohammed Sani Usman, had been expelled.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement said the information “is false and as such should be disregarded.”
It warned against ” the circulation of unverified information capable of jeopardizing the ongoing mediation efforts by ECOWAS in the political impasse in Niger.”
