President Bola Tinubu has charged the United States with working with African countries to defend their democracies against undemocratic forces inside and outside the continent to improve the standard of living for their people.
The president’s special adviser on media and publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, revealed in a statement that the president said this when he received US Under Secretary for African Affairs Molly Phee in Abuja on Saturday. Phee, as part of her message, told the Nigerian leader that US President Joe Biden wants to meet with Tinubu.
“President Joe Biden is requesting to meet with you on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, and you are the only African leader he has requested to meet with,” he was quoted as saying to the Nigerian president.
Tinubu said the US-backed multilateral and development finance institutions required comprehensive reforms to meet the development needs of Africa’s youngest democracies, which operate in overcrowded and authoritarian environments.
He said this must be done vigorously as the institutions crafted policies to support a war-torn Europe after World War II, adding that this would satisfy the legitimate yearnings of Africans to use local solutions to their challenges.
“Yes, the private sector will lead the way within an enabling environment that we create for them, but the US government must be innovative in its thinking and systematically create incentives for US industrial investment in Nigeria.
”Under my leadership, Nigeria stands ready to address its specific regulatory, fiscal and environmental concerns. I am determined to create prosperity for all Nigerian families,” said the president.
Tinubu said that the crisis in the Republic of Niger would not deter him from concluding his economic reform program for the benefit of Nigerians, adding that he would only advance Nigeria’s interests in its approach towards ECOWAS’ handling of the regional confrontation.
“We are immersed in our attempts to peacefully resolve the issue in Niger by leveraging our diplomatic tools. I continue to hold back ECOWAS, despite the fact that it is willing to accept all options, in order to exhaust all other corrective mechanisms.
”War is not ideal for my economic reforms, nor for the region, but the defense of democracy is sacrosanct. The ECOWAS consensus is that we will not allow anyone to stall for time in an insincere way,” said Tinubu, ECOWAS President.
Pledged his support for the ECOWAS position, the US Special Presidential Envoy expressed the great respect the US Administration has for Mr. Tinubu’s leadership as Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government.
He extended an exclusive invitation to US President Joe Biden to meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City to advance discussions in late September.
“We know we can do more to encourage large-scale US investment in Nigeria and we are committed to working closely with you to achieve this, as part of efforts to strengthen the Nigerian and regional economy.
”We appreciate your willingness to create an enabling environment for this. President Joe Biden requests to meet with you on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, and you are the only African leader he has requested to meet. It is a sign of their great respect for his leadership,” he said.
(YAYA)
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