39th Session Of The NEPAD Heads Of State & Government Orientation Committee

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STATEMENT BY HIS EXCELLENCY, MUHAMMADU BUHARI, GCFR, PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, DELIVERED BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PROF. YEMI OSINBAJO, SAN, GCON, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AT THE 39^TH SESSION OF THE NEPAD HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT ORIENTATION COMMITTEE (HSGOC) AT THE MARGINS OF THE 35^TH ORDINARY SESSION OF THE AFRICAN UNION, HELD VIRTUALLY ON 2^ND OF FEBRUARY 2022, ADDIS-ABABA, ETHIOPIA

PROTOCOLS

I am delighted to be in your midst today at this very important meeting of the 39^th Session of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, NEPAD, Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee (HSGOC), at the margins of the 35^th Ordinary Session of the African Union. This meeting is yet another affirmation of our resolve, as a people, to work together for the transformation of Africa, and I hope we can take significant strides towards achieving our set objectives.

Let me take this moment to sincerely commend the outgoing Chairperson, His Excellency, Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda, for his exemplary leadership and the very key role he played in the transformation of NEPAD to African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), with responsibility for coordinating key regional and continental projects, which can promote further integration within the continent.

In the same vein, I wish to specially commend the CEO of the African Union Development Agency, Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, on his outstanding performance in leading the Agency through the years and implementing the Agency’s mandate.

Commitment to the ideals of the Agency by other Heads of State and Government also deserve our applause. In this regard, I must sincerely thank all my colleagues whose support has contributed in no small measure to all the achievements we have recorded in our collective march towards building “the Africa we want.”

As a member nation, Nigeria remains irrevocably committed to the domestication of the Agency’s framework for economic and sustainable development. To this end, Nigeria has been investing massively in infrastructure and energy. For instance, we are committing $1.96billion to the Kano – Maradi Rail Project to facilitate the import and export of goods for Niger Republic and other countries in the sub-region through Nigerian ports.

Independent and Renewable Power Projects are also receiving the attention of the Federal Government of Nigeria. Rural and off-grid communities are not being left out in the provision of electricity. This is of course a major focus in NEPAD’s Development Agenda. Likewise, the Ajaokuta – Kaduna – Kano (AKK) Pipeline Project ranks among the priority projects of the Federal Government of Nigeria, as it implements a potent strategy for rapid industrial development and economic diversification.

I am also happy to report that growth in the Nigerian ICT sector has been phenomenal. Indeed, ICT recorded the highest growth of all the sectors of the Nigerian economy in 2020. By intensifying agricultural development, NEPAD inspired Home Grown School Feeding and other Social Intervention Programmes, we are feeding over nine million children in public schools daily and significantly improving the lot of our people.

It is worthy of note that through regional partnership, Nigeria is currently implementing the “Innovative Strengthening of Smallholder Farmer’s Capabilities Towards Productive Land Restoration amid COVID-19 in Nigeria.” This is not only to cushion the effect of COVID-19 in the country but also to accelerate the implementation of Africa’s regional initiative to restore degraded lands (AFR100).

The Covid-19 pandemic has severely weakened our economies but it has also left important lessons. One is that Africa needs to prepare itself more for intra-African collaboration to fight public health challenges, especially those of pandemic scale. We must work together to promote vaccine production in Africa.

The second issue I would like to raise is Africa’s response to climate change and the zero-emissions targets set in Paris and at subsequent climate change meetings.

We must, of course, contribute our quota in protecting the environment and preventing climate change. But we must also continue to build sustainable power systems to accelerate development and create economic opportunities for our people.  Even though we are particularly vulnerable to the expected impacts of global warming, Africa as a whole contributes less than 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

We have a tragic lack of energy which hurts livelihoods, hampers development and destroys the dreams of our youths. The fact is that we need far more energy than the renewable sources can immediately provide. Therefore, we cannot but adopt gas as a transition fuel. We must together make clear to the developed world that the current trend of withholding funds for investment in gas development is the wrong thing to do at this time.

I am aware that, among other things, the focus of this meeting is on the election of a new Chairperson who will pilot the Affairs of Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee for a period of two (2) years, as well as the election of the members of its Bureau. Given the laudable achievements of the outgoing Chairperson within such a limited timeframe, we do need to carefully consider who is best qualified to step into his shoes.

As we make this important decision, Nigeria shall continue to support the lofty ideals of the developmental agency and to positively drive the continent’s developmental agenda while supporting the AUDA-NEPAD flagship projects and programmes in the country. In the words of the outgoing Chairperson, President Kagame, “NEPAD is about the development of our continent – delivering to African citizens. Let us look forward to working together in building a strong organisation for delivery of results on the continent.”

As I conclude, I wish to salute the foresight of the founding fathers of NEPAD Agency. After over two decades of its establishment, the Agency has continued to play a very important role in driving the developmental initiative of the continent.  Today, AUDA-NEPAD is a continental initiative for the effective implementation of Agenda 2063.

Your Excellencies and dear colleagues, I urge us all to remain steadfast in our support for this laudable initiative in the Continent to accomplish the mission and ensure the actualization of the vision and objective of our founding fathers for sustainable economic growth and development.

Thank you all for your kind attention.