From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has declared that there can be no development without peace as the two are complementary to each other.
He spoke, yesterday, at the State House, Abuja, when he granted audience to the Director General of Arab Bank for Economic Development, Dr. Sid Ould Tah.
A statement by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, quoted Buhari, who on Tuesday in Nouakchott, Mauritania, received an award for strengthening of the peace in Africa from the Abu Dhabi Peace Forum, said the work of the Arab Bank for Economic Development “is very critical, and, indeed, a major catalyst and tool for achieving our overall objective as leaders on the continent.”
The president praised the bank for its investment in Nigeria and highlighted improvements in the agricultural sector with regard to mechanisms for ensuring food security, capacity development, and integrated infrastructure projects.
He said the key focus of the current administration had been security, economy, and anti-corruption, noting that the three were critical “towards achieving our overall development objective not just as a country, but more importantly as a continent.”
He observed that the issues that affect one nation also affect others, and “this has been clearly demonstrated in our fight against the tyranny of terrorists that have spread across the entire West African sub-region, and beginning to emerge in our sister countries in some parts of East and Central Africa.”
Noting that focus on agriculture and infrastructure allowed Nigeria to be resilient during the last two global economic and public health crises, the president urged the Arab Bank for Economic Development to review the amount of capital it can inject into various economies, “as this would lead to greater impact as we stare at the various issues that would confront our economies.”
Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, who had interfaced with the bank at its headquarters, thanked the president for ensuring improvement of security in the North East, “as we now get grants for livestock farming, gum Arabic production, infrastructure, and I believe Nigeria will still have more opportunities from the Arab Bank for Economic Development.”
Tah congratulated President Buhari for his award on peace strengthening, saying it was a testimony to his efforts in promoting amity in Nigeria and Africa.
He said the bank has a strong relationship with Nigeria, and would love to do more in the areas of wheat cultivation, gum Arabic, veterinary support services, women and youth development, among others.
Meanwhile, President Buhari has met with the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
The meeting was the second between the president and the CBN governor, as Emefiele was part of the earlier audience granted the Arab Bank for Economic Development team.
This was the first meeting between the president and CBN governor at the seat of power this year.
Emefiele, who got to the Presidential Villa at about 14: 30 GMT, met with the president for about 25 minutes. When approached by State House Correspondents, the apex bank’s governor declined comments.
After spending his annual holiday overseas, Emefiele returned to the country on January 12. He had been the target of several attempts by security personnel to arrest him over allegations of corruption and complicity in the financing of terrorism.
The Federal High Court in Abuja had rejected the Department of State Service’s (DSS) request for a court order to arrest him weeks earlier.
The DSS asked the court to order the arrest over alleged “acts of financing terrorism, fraudulent activities and economic crimes of national security dimension.”
On October 20, 2022, Justice Inyang Ekwo sitting in the Federal High Court in Abuja had summoned Emefiele over the $53 million judgment debt arising from the Paris Club refund.
The court ordered him to appear on Wednesday, January 18, 2023, as the hearing date.
Emefiele, however, appealed the FHC decision, claiming that Justice Ekwo’s order requiring his appearance in court for the $53 million debt was illegal and caused a miscarriage of justice.
The court had to postpone the case until March 20, 2023 because the scheduled sessions on Wednesday could not go as expected.