German Government commends President GoodluckEbele Jonathan, GCFR on the declaration of Nigeria as Ebola Virusfree.

The German government has commended the President, His Excellency, Dr. GoodluckEbele Jonathan, GCFR on the declaration of Nigeria as being Ebola-free by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

This commendation came to fore during a joint press conference delivered by the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. AminuWali, mni, CON and his German counterpart, Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the end of the 2nd Nigeria-Germany Bi-National Commission, (BNC) held on 2st October, 2014 in Berlin Germany.

According to Amb. Wali, this was a confirmation of the personal commitment of the President to eradicate the disease and the aggressive efforts of the government and people of Nigeria who complied with the WHO instructions on preventive measures. He then called for an end to stigmatization and discrimination against Nigerians travelling abroad.

In the same vein, the Minister expressed regrets that the West African sub-region was not yet Ebola-free and therefore called on development partners to increase support at controlling and containing the Ebola virus in these sister nations.

On the Boko Haram insurgency, he disclosed that the joint efforts by the neigbhouring countries and development partners have paid off with the recent ceasefire deal with the sect. He expressed the optimism that this would facilitate the speedy release of the abductedChibok School girls.

Amb.Wali also called for the concerted efforts and cooperation of Nigeria's sub-regional neighbours and the International community, especially Germany, towards addressing the challenges posed by the Boko Haram insurgency.

The Nigerian Foreign Affairs Minister briefed the Media on sub-regional efforts towards addressing security challenges in the region. He informed of the meeting of Member States of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) and Benin Republic to send a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and African Union (AU) on a legal framework for military action against Boko Haram across the borders.

In the course of the bilateral discussions with his German counterpart, the Hon. Minister canvassed support for Nigeria's candidature into the Council of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU); and for candidature of Dr. Shola Taylor into office of the Vice President of the ITU. He equally solicited Germany's support for candidature of Dr. AkinwumiAyodejiAdesina for office of President of the African Development Bank (ADB).

As a fall-out of the BNC, the German Foreign Affairs Minister disclosed that the German government was giving Nigeria a green credit line to the tune of 300 million euros for small scale investors in the power sector.

Similarly, Dr. Steinmeier called for a new working group on urbanization for the development of urban infrastructure, waste management and development of mega cities.

It will be recalled that the inaugural session of the Bi-National Commission (BNC) was held during the official visit of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, H.E. Dr. GoodluckEbele Jonathan, GCFR to Germany in April, 2012.

Public Communication Division
Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Abuja.
21st October, 2014