“Contribute positively to the development of your country”- VP Sambo charges Nigerian community in Brussel.

[FMINigeria]

                        Vice President, Arc Mohammed Namadi Sambo has charged members of  the Nigerian community in Belgium to contribute positively to the development of their country and to at all times be good ambassadors of Nigeria by projecting a positive image of their country in all their dealings.

The Vice President made this call yesterday at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Brussels where he met and interacted with members of the Nigerian community and their friends in Belgium.

Arc Sambo used the opportunity to inform the gathering of the progress made by the country in the socio-economic and political spheres since their assumption of office.

He stated that the country has reached a GDP Growth rate average of about 7% with the non-oil sector continuing to be a major driver of the economy and that power generation has steadily improved while more emphasis was being placed on exploring alternative sources of power generation, distribution and unbundling of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) for participation of the private sector.

The vice president added that the federal government has completed 10 new power plants which would add up to 4700mw of electricity to the national grid and that the process of their privatization has since commenced for optimal efficiency.

He further stated that contract has been awarded for hydropower projects in Zungeru and Mambila which, on completion, would generate 700mw and 3050mw respectively.  Also, the Gurara Dam project which was to provide about 800 hectares of land for irrigation in addition to providing 3600mw power was in progress.

Similarly, the vice president maintained that the transport and education sectors were receiving government's prompt attention with the rehabilitation of rail tracks, airports, sea ports and the introduction of fast train lines.

In the education sector, he stated that already 12 new federal universities have taken off to complement the existing ones.

In the agricultural sector, which contributes 40% of GDP and employs about 70% workforce, Arc Sambo stated that the federal government, through the agricultural transformation agenda would create 3.5 million more jobs in the sector which would add about 20million metric tonnes to domestic food supply.

In the political sphere, the vice president reiterated government's determination to continue to ensure the independence and impartiality of the electoral body from any form of interference.

The Vice President also noted government's efforts to ensuring freedom of the press as enshrined of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act, which was a cardinal point in the Transformation Agenda.

Arc Sambo also informed the meeting of federal government's intervention programmes which were aimed at generating mass employment for the citizenry which included the Subsidy Reinvestment and Re-Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), which employs 5,000 women and youths annually; the Youth Enterprise With Innovation In Nigeria (YOUWIN) which aims at generating self employment and imparting entrepreneur skills among our youths and many other youth and women empowerment schemes.

Arc Sambo however, called for foreign direct investments into the country as Nigeria was the highest attractive investment destination in Africa.

While speaking earlier, the Nigerian Ambassador to Belgium, Amb. Felix Awanbor, while welcoming the vice president noted the significant strides the country was making in several sectors due to the combined efforts of President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice President Namadi Sambo. He expressed hope that the transformation agenda when concluded would be the turning point of Nigeria's socio-economic prosperity.

Highlights of the event were interaction session which included questions, opinions and remarks by Nigerians living in Belgium.

Via: Federal Ministry of Information (FMI) Nigeria