From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu has has told German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, who is on a state visit to Nigeria, that though the country is still crawling, his administration is determined to change the narrative and bring about a transformative government in the country.
He spoke during Bilateral Political Talks with the German Chancellor and his Delegation.
The visit aims to strengthen bilateral relations between Germany and Nigeria.
He said: “Nigeria is still crawling, but we are determined to change the narrative and bring about a transformative government in the country.
“You are very welcome with your delegation to partner with us in terms of education, power, mineral resources and all the other opportunities.”
Tinubu said his administration has done alot to tackle the issue of insecurity in the country but that Nigeria still needs support in order to be able to sustain democracy.
The President said: “We have gone a long way to bring about security of our people.
We’re fighting terrorism and that is improving. We still need support very much in that area. And for us to be able to sustain democracy, rule of law and freedom for our people, we need to fight for democracy. And democracy must win at all times for us to meet the expectation of an African dream.
“That is why your visit this time around is more than necessary and welcome. I hope you will enjoy yourself.
“You would have noticed, I don’t need to go about the various problems happening in the Sahel region of Africa. You’ve seen and noticed the coup in Guinea and recently in Niger republic.
“We have people diplomatically managing the situation. The need for you to help in that of security will be empahsised and we will continue to require your knowledge.
“We thank you for the past contributions, particularly police, law enforcement training. We need more help.”
Speaking on last Thursday’s Supreme Court’s verdict confirming him as the winner of the February 25th presidential election, President said the distraction was over which gives his administration more time to focus on governance for the people and moving Nigeria forward for economic opportunities and prosperity.
“It is a profound pleasure for me to welcome my friend Olaf Scholz to Nigeria. It is a joy to see you here. At this particular period of time. It is just about a few days ago that the Supreme Court of Federal Republic of Nigeria had a final say on our electoral exercise. The distraction is over.
“This gives us more time to focus on governance for the people and moving Nigeria forward for economic opportunities and prosperity that will defend democracy.”
He commended Scholz for keeping his promise of visiting Nigeria.
He assured that the country’s economic team were ready to partner “with Germany as the largest economy in Europe and the largest economy in Africa is Nigeria, you know that.
“We are blessed with good environment, weather and mineral resources. Our hydrocarbon industry is still fledging environmentally while we are moving towards the transition energy source.
“I know Germany has advanced a lot in protecting the environment and modernising energy to meet the 21st century needs both of the world and Europe in particular.”
German Chancellor Scholz, assured President Tinubu that his country was committed to democracy and the rule of law.
He said: “We are all committed to democracy and the rule of law. And it is important for us to make this a lifestyle for countries. It is good for a better future for our people. And so I’m very happy that we can work on this discussion.”
He further assured that Germany will continue to support Nigeria in addressing the issue of insecurity, saying, “I can assure you that we will continue our support and our cooperation also in this field.”
Scholz hinted on Germany continued support and economic cooperation, and leveraging on Nigeria’s economic opportunities for Germany.
“One of the main aspects for cooperation will be developing the economy and using the economic opportunities of your country. As you already said, there are a lot of chances not just from gas and oil, which is traditionally linked to your country, but there’s a lot of room for improvement and for better using the capacities of your country, but also for going into investments for the future, which is about hydrogen and all the things that are important for an economy that is able to produce all the necessary goods for the people without harming the environment.
“It is also important that we use the way of developing your economy in the fields of the minerals you have. I think that the investments into this structure must be easy, but also benefitting for your country.”