REMARKS BY H. E. DR. (MRS) N. N. AKANBI, AMBASSADOR OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF

NIGERIA TO THE NETHERLANDS ON THE OCCASION OF HER PRESENTATION OF DUTCH

INVESTORS TO DR. ABUBAKAR BUKOLA SARAKI, THE GOVERNOR OF KWARA STATE OF

NIGERIA DURING THE NETHERLANDS BUSINESS FORUM IN ABUJA,

FROM 11TH – 15TH AUGUST, 2008

Your Excellencies,

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am extremely delighted to be back home in Nigeria barely two (2) months after the Presentation of my Letters of Credence to Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the Royal Kingdom of the Netherlands. 

On this auspicious occasion of the presentation of Investors from the Netherlands, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, I wish to express my profound gratitude to my Governor, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki of Kwara State who had graciously given a laudable endorsement to my nomination to the highly exalted position of an Ambassador.  I also wish to thank through the esteemed Governor, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar A’dua, for appointing me as his envoy to the Court of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.

My indebtedness to my country, Nigeria and our President and Governor, can only be settled by an avowed diligence in facilitating and promoting the goals of the Seven (7) Points Agenda of this Administration and the aspiration of our people to make Nigeria one of the 20 strongest and the leading Industrial Nations of the world by the year, 2020.

It is in pursuant of this noble objectives of this Administration and the goals of our economic diplomacy that I have gathered together, a formidable team of highly reputable and reliable investors with tract records in their various  fields such as Construction and Infrastructure, Transportation, Power and Energy, Oil and Gas, Agro-Allied, Steel Development and ICT/Science Parks.  These Companies are represented by their Directors and Chief Executive Officers, in order to facilitate and encourage easier and binding decisions on joint venture arrangements and agreements.

Your Excellencies, Distinguished ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me to say that this is the first in a series of similar Economic Missions that I am prepared and committed to organize and facilitate.  I can assure you that my Mission will leave no stone unturned to ensure mutually beneficial missions to both countries.

To my fellow compatriots from the ‘state of harmony’, I call upon you to feel safe in negotiating and discussing areas of your business interests with this specially selected team of Investors.  We have a lot to benefit from their experience in such fields as Construction and Engineering works where the Dutch expertise has been highly acclaimed all over the world in road and building construction.  Their special skills in livestock and diary production, horticulture and agronomy have been acknowledged in the International community as the most advanced in the world.  Their ingenuity in the conversion of solar, wind, and carbon energy into electricity should also be very useful for us in our country where power and energy has become an emergency issue in our national economic development.  The package that I bring before you today is not only exciting but also economically rewarding.  I will, indeed, encourage all of you to ensure that this team does not leave Nigeria without you concluding a deal with them.

To my Dutch and English friends, who have come all the way from Europe to savour the beauty and opportunities of our country, I call upon you to feel safe with entering into joint venture agreements with the Nigerian entrepreneurs that have been invited to this Forum to meet with you.  They, I assure you, have been specially selected by the organized private sectors in our country, the Executive Members of the Federal and State Governments.

We have so much to offer you from the priorities of this Administration as encapsulated in the Seven (7) Points Agenda such as:

i.    Power and Energy

ii    Food Security and Agriculture

iii.  Wealth Creation and Employment

iv.  Mass Transportation

v.    Land Reform

vi    Security

vii.  Qualitative and Functional Education

Nigeria as you can see since your arrival is a country flowing with milk and honey.  Our population of 148 million people give you the guarantee of a formidable market for your products.  The Seven (7) Points Agenda of this Administration provides the assurance of a relevant sector of investment for your various companies as well as a guarantee of adequate return on your investment.  Our physical and natural resources in the petroleum, agriculture and solid mineral sectors, should provide inspiration and hope of a high yield on your foreign direct investments.

As you will also learn before your departure from this country, the present administration in Nigeria will continue to provide for all investors in Nigeria the best of our hospitality, security and the most favorable package of incentives which includes deregulation of foreign exchange transactions, and the repatriation of profits and capital gains.  Foreign exchange transactions have been totally liberalized.  Agro-allied companies now enjoy capital allowances of up to 5%.  Support for Public-Private Partnership (PPP), in key sectors like power generation, transmission and distribution, telecommunications, transportation and so on are now established.  Our privatization programme has been identified as one of the most comprehensive and largest in Africa.  This ambitious programme is contributing to the strengthening of private sector capacity, and is freeing up more resources for allocation to social sector. Mismanagement of resources, corruption and bureaucratic bottlenecks are now under control.

Finally, Your Excellencies, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, as a humble servant of our country and a worthy daughter of this great state, I welcome you all to ensure that you do not leave this place without securing an agreement or arrangement for Joint venture Partnership with our August visitors before they depart for the Netherlands, and on behalf of my friends from the Netherlands, the UK and India, I say very many thanks for the hospitality extended to our team by the Executive Governor of the great “state of harmony”, I thank you for your attention.

Embassy of Nigeria

The Hague

Netherlands