Shettima: Tinubu’s policies put Nigeria on new growth path

Vice-President Kashim Shettima says Nigeria is on a new growth path and ready for investments across various sectors due to President Bola Tinubu’s policies.

According to a statement by Stanley Nkwocha, senior special assistant to the president on media and communications, Shettima spoke during a meeting with ministers and heads of agencies at the presidential villa on Tuesday.

Shettima said Tinubu has shown dexterity and the audacity to hope for a better future.

His statement comes four days after the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that Nigeria recorded N3.42 trillion trade surplus in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024.

Also, Nkwocha said Geraldo Alckmin, Brazil’s vice-president, will lead a delegation to Nigeria.

Nkwocha said the delegation’s visit is for the second session of the Brazil-Nigeria mechanism for strategic dialogue, which is resuming after a decade-long break.

While commenting on the upcoming dialogue, Shettima expressed confidence in the ministers’ understanding of key issues for discussion during the Nigeria-Brazil dialogue scheduled to hold this year.

“I want to urge all ministers involved in this Nigeria-Brazil strategic dialogue to take charge of the initiative of the discussions so that we can take it to the next level, let’s walk the talk,” the vice-president said.

“Please, drive the process, engage with the different strategic focus groups to give you weekly updates to prepare us for the visit of the Brazilian vice-president and his delegation.

“The most important thing at this moment is for us to actualise the dreams of our nation’s development.

“We have the resources and institutional knowledge to make this work for our country.”

Shettima said Nigeria should take advantage of its partnership with Brazil to drive growth in agriculture, culture and tourism, livestock production, and military technology.

Also speaking at the meeting, Abubakar Kyari, minister of agriculture and food security, said the dialogue offers a renewed opportunity for Nigeria to revitalise its agricultural sector and achieve the government’s food security goals.

“On behalf of the agriculture sector, it is time for us to walk the talk,” Kyari said.

“It is a good day for Nigeria because agriculture will play a major role in the partnership.

“We have an opportunity to catch up with the rest of the world and be on our way to food sovereignty.”

‘BRAZILIANS INTERESTED IN NIGERIA’

Hannatu Musawa, minister of arts, culture, and creative economy, said a significant number of people in Brazil are of Nigerian descent and have strong ties to the country.

“What we have done in the ministry is to engage Brazil actively in working together,” she said.

“Already, we have an MoU, but we want to expand that beyond cultural diplomacy. Brazilians have a lot of interest in tapping into our creative industry.”

Musawa also said plans are in place to rebuild the Nigerian house in Brazil and host an annual Orisha festival.

Muhammed Badaru, minister of defence, said Nigeria is set to sign a defence agreement with Brazil, with plans to establish defence industry development and production centres in the country.

Ali Pate, minister of health and social welfare, said Nigeria will collaborate with Brazil to manufacture vaccines, diagnostics, and pharmaceuticals, learning from Brazil’s success in the mentioned areas.

Pate said the initiative is part of Tinubu’s plan to strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare sector.

On her part, Marion Moon, technical assistant to the president on agriculture, said Brazil’s agricultural expertise, particularly in cropland expansion and global commodity leadership, offers valuable insights for Nigeria.

“The upcoming $1.1 billion Green Imperative Project exemplifies the depth of our relationship and its potential to revolutionise Nigerian agriculture through modernisation and technology transfer,” she said.

Moon added that the strategic dialogue will be preceded by a trade and investment forum, coinciding with the visit of Brazil’s vice-president, minister of development, industry, trade, and services.