NIGERIA, EBID SEAL $60M BUSINESS DEAL
Mr. Rotimi Oyekan
The ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development has entered into a $60m strategic business deal with Nigeria.
The deal is part of efforts aimed at fostering business relationship among member countries of the Economic Community of West African States and supporting infrastructural development.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Martins Uhumoibhi, disclosed this during a sensitisation programme for the Nigerian investment and business community on the benefits derivable from the EBID in Lagos on Tuesday.
Different stakeholders in the financial sector participated at the seminar.
Uhomoibhi said, 'As part of efforts aimed at awakening Nigeria to the integration of the West African economy, and also to ensure that Nigerian entrepreneurs are active in the world economy, the EBID has entered into a business relationship with the country worth over $60m.'
He said that the sensitisation programme was an integral part of the ministry's activities to reawaken Nigerians' interest in the integration programmes of ECOWAS.
According to him, 'We are working with stakeholders to achieve this and it is based on the conviction that a viable and strong economy is a boost to the foreign policy posture of any country.'
Uhomoibhi said that the EBID was an international finance institution that was committed to building economically strong, industrialised and prosperous West Africa.
The President, EBID, Mr. Christian Adovelande, said that bank's mission was to contribute to the creation of conditions to facilitate the emergence of an economically strong, industrialised and prosperous West Africa that was fully integrated into the global economic system in order to benefit from the opportunities offered by globalisation.
He said, 'EBID is strategically positioned for the financing of infrastructure in the areas of telecommunications, energy, industry, transport, the environment and natural resources.'
Adovelande said that EBID was also involved in the financing of intra-regional trade in order to enhance commerce among member states, while also supporting agriculture in order to enable member states to achieve food self sufficiency.
The Commissioner for Finance, Lagos State, Mr. Rotimi Oyekan, noted that EBID was capitalised to the tune of about $700m.
He said that the bank could use its capacity to create value for the development of West African economies.
According to him, 'EBID can be exploited by the West African governments to enhance investment and infrastructural development of their region.'