Vice President Kashim Shettima has implored development partners to provide more support for the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration to deliver on the Renewed Hope Agenda, especially in priority areas of job creation, agriculture, food security and the power sector.
He said delivering on the priority areas will help in addressing some of the challenges bedeviling the country, particularly the security situation occasioned by terrorism, kidnapping and banditry.
According to a statement by his spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha, the vice president stated this yesterday when he received the global managing director of the Tony Blair Institute, Mr Michael McNair, who was on a courtesy visit to the Presidential Villa.
Shettima who spoke on the commitment of the Tinubu administration to delivering on the Renewed Hope Agenda said, “It is easy to talk but how to walk the talk is the most important component of leadership”.
On more support to the Tinubu administration’s drive to deepen the deployment and use of e-vehicles for public transportation, the vice president urged the TBI to make available its expertise in enhancing the adoption of the technology in Nigeria.
“I crave your indulgence to support us in e-mobility. We want your perspective and your input on the deployment and use of e-mobility, we want to adopt and adhere to global best practices,” he noted.
The VP applauded TBI’s partnership with Nigeria, especially in the nation’s “effort to deepen the quality of governance and leadership in priority areas of job creation, agriculture and food security, support for the power sector through the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) and the delivery unit that will track our efforts.”
According to him, given the burden of Nigeria’s growing population with all of its implications, government must improve on the quality of governance.
“There is no magic wand beyond delivering the dividends of democracy to the people. Once we create jobs and engage the youths, the challenges of terrorism, kidnappings and banditry will be drastically curtailed,” he added.
On his part, the global managing director of the Tony Blair Institute, Mr Michael McNair, commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima’s leadership, noting that the VP’s impressive outing at the World Economic Forum, particularly his commitment to Africa’s future, was indicative of the country’s direction.
McNair said he was in Nigeria to appraise the work started by the TBI team in the country, particularly in supporting the new administration to deliver on set goals, stressing that “TBI’s success is in helping the administration to achieve its mandate across different sectors”.
He said the Institute is committed to supporting growth and development in Africa and Nigeria in particular in key areas identified by the administration, noting that the organisation is prepared to deploy additional resources to achieve target objectives in the country.
Also present at the meeting with the VP were TBI regional director, Anglophone West & Central Africa, Ope-Oluwa Adejoro; TBI country director for Nigeria, Joy Dariye, and senior executives at the Institute, Ahmed Ibrahim and Victor Adamu.
