Our Reforms Will Lead To Economic Growth, Says Tinubu

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday said his administration remained committed to sustainable growth through the effective implementation of ongoing economic reforms.

The President made the remark at a meeting with Chinese President, Xi Jinping, in Beijing, China, said his spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, in a statement.

“We believe that President Xi has demonstrably reformed the Chinese economy, and our reform programme in Nigeria is on a similar course. I am a reformer with verifiable antecedents.

“We have recognised the need to reform our economy; we are doing so diligently across tax and tariff reviews, and to other segments of our nation’s economy.

“Trading and investment partners will have easy access to bring in their investments and seamlessly take their resources out,” the President stated.

Also yesterday, Memoranda of Understanding were signed between Nigeria and China to strengthen the partnership between them.

Presidents Tinubu and Jinping watched as Minister of Budget and National Planning Atiku Badugu signed on behalf of Nigeria while Chairman, China National Development and Reform Commission, Mr. Zhang Shanjie signed for his country.

Jinping noted the strong mutual understanding between Nigeria and China since the establishment of diplomatic ties over the past 50 years.

“We have found the path of seeking collective strength, through unity, and win-win cooperation.

“China and Nigeria, as major developing countries, strengthening strategic coordination, will inject fresh impetus to China-Africa relations in the new era and spearhead common progress among Global South countries,” Jinping said.

According to the Chinese leader, the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit, scheduled to hold between today and Friday, provides an opportunity to reflect on mutual friendships and advance the consolidation of China-Africa relations.

He pledged that China and Nigeria would continue to work closely within the FOCAC framework as a model of cooperation between nations.

President Tinubu will speak in his capacity as Chairman of Authority of Heads of States on behalf of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS).

Tinubu vows to complete Ibadan-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano railway project

President Tinubu yesterday gave assurances that the Ibadan-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano railway project would be completed to the satisfaction of Nigeria and West Africa at large.

Tinubu said this during a visit to the headquarters of China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) in Beijing, a statement by Ngelale, said.

“It is equally very important that we give assurances to the Nigerian people across our local communities that the Ibadan-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano railway segments will be completed and done to the satisfaction of Nigeria and West Africa at large.

“We will support your investment in solid minerals and other ventures in Nigeria. I am here to assure you that Nigeria is ready to do business with you,” the President assured Mr Dai Hegen, the Chairman of CRCC.

“The Abuja-Kaduna Railway and Lagos-Ibadan Railway have transported approximately nine million passengers and 180 tonnes of cargo. The Lagos blue line has transported over 1.6 million passengers,” Hegen said.

Similarly, President Tinubu visited Huawei Technologies’ Beijing Research Centre, where the company announced the launch of DigiTruck, a mobile ICT classroom aimed at enhancing digital literacy in underserved Nigerian communities.

During the President’s meeting with Huawei’s leadership, led by Mr Liang Hua, Chairman of the Board of Directors, the company said the initiative would operate in 10 states annually, training at least 3,000 students each year.

He acknowledged the ongoing efforts by Nigeria’s Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy to train three million technical talents (3MTT).

Hua said the 3MTT programme was targeted at equipping the country’s young population with the skills necessary for present and future economic opportunities.

Hua lauded President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for identifying digital technology as a critical driver of economic growth.

Tinubu approves establishment of youth house in Abuja
He said Huawei was prepared to offer its ICT expertise and partner the Nigerian government to support the country in achieving its policy objectives and further its digital, intelligent, and low-carbon development.

Mr Chris Lu, Chief Executive Officer of Huawei Nigeria, expressed support for Nigeria’s National Talent Export Programme (NATEP), an initiative that seeks to position Nigeria as a hub for talent outsourcing in Africa.

“We hope to continuously develop the NOC and expand its capacity so that it can meet the requirements of more African markets, thus facilitating more Nigerian technology talents in serving more overseas’ markets and helping to achieve the goal of NATEP,” Lu said.

FG signs MoU with Chinese firm to assembly electric tricycles, establish first renewable energy academy in Nigeria

The Federal Government also signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with a Chinese Company, Mutual Commitment Company (MCC) Limited.

The MoU was facilitated by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), an agency of the Federal Ministry of Power.

Representing Nigeria were the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, and the Managing Director of REA, Mr Abba Aliyu.

Adelabu said the signing of the MoU would go down as a memorable event for Nigeria.

He congratulated the REA and the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN), saying that the MOU would enable Nigeria to achieve it’s vision for the renewable energy sub-sector of the entire electricity sector value chain.

Adelabu said the MoU signing is important for several factors.

He stressed: “I know Nigeria and China have a lot of things in common, one of which is the fact that Nigeria and China are both high population countries and with a country with high population, you have so much pressure. The first pressure is that of energy access and the second being job creation.

“So, when you take steps to achieve both, it is a thing of joy. I am particularly happy that this is happening during the tenure of President Bola Tinubu, as it is in line with achieving the Renewed Hope Agenda of the administration.”

The minister said the President had prioritised the power sector as the driver for all other critical sectors of the economy and, “ he is giving us all the support to ensure we deliver on his electoral promises”.

He noted that energy access and expansion are government’s major priorities because nothing can be achieved without strong, stable, functional and reliable electricity sector.

Adelabu added: “ We have relied so much on centralization of our power sector for so long that it is not taking us anywhere”.

The Minister said MCC is presently engaged in Nigeria with the construction of 12megawatts and three megawatts power plants in Maiduguri and Kaduna respectively.

Vice Chairman of MCC, Yan Zhezhu, who spoke through an interpreter, lauded the power minister’s commitment to Nigeria’s energy growth.

He said: “We are not new to Nigeria, having started in Oyo State a long time ago. Presently, we have ongoing projects in Maiduguri and Kaduna and we appreciate the cooperation we have so far received. Our projects have seen us working with states and the Federal Government in Nigeria and we are committed to do more”.

The National grid on Monday hit a record high of 5,313 megawatts, a record high in the last three years.

On the heels of this, the minister called on the Distribution Companies to make use of the opportunity to take more energy to prevent grid collapse as frequency drops, when power is produced and not picked by the DISCOs.

He said efforts would be made to encourage industries to purchase bulk energy.

However, a top official of one of the DISCOs in the country said the companies are finding it difficult to pick the extra energy being produced because, “ we are not happy with the tariff on other bands apart from Band A.”

He added: “As it is now, we are basically operating at a loss. Yes, they supply more power, but this problem could be solved with improved tariff for the other bands and more meter penetration to recover cost.”