The outgoing country Director of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Ousmane Dore has said Nigeria’s leadership role in Africa is unquestionable.
He commended the country’s exemplary leadership role in Africa through the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa (DTCA), a window for assisting poor and fragile African countries.
He who spoke during a brief farewell visit to the Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Hajia Khadija Bukar A. Ibrahim in Abuja, however urged Nigeria government to replenish its Technical Cooperation Fund which is domiciled in the AfDB.
He said Nigeria’s leadership role in Africa is unquestionable especially in setting up the Nigeria Technical Cooperation Fund (NTCF) as a window for assisting poor and fragile African countries.
Dore who came to bid goodbye to the minister, said he has been promoted to the position of Director-General of the Central African Regional Office of AfDB.
“The AfDB is proud of Nigeria’s exemplary role in championing the development of Africa and has decided to follow Nigeria’s lead with a Hi-five programme which will tackle Power generation, Food Shortage, Industrialisation, Integration and Poverty as its focal goals across Africa in the next couple of years,” he said.
‘’The Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari, though presently going through its share of the global economic shock, should replenish the Technical Cooperation Fund,’’ he noted.
In 2004, the Federal Government set up a Nigeria Technical Cooperation Fund worth $25 million which was domiciled in the AfDB under the supervision of DTCA. The Fund has been used for various development projects and programmes in all the countries in Africa
‘’The AfDB is proud of Nigeria’s exemplary role in championing development of Africa and has decided to follow Nigeria’s lead with a Hi-five programme which will tackle Power generation, Food Shortage, Industrialisation, Integration and Poverty as its focal goals across Africa in the next couple of years.”
Responding, Hajia. Khadija thanked Dr Dore for the cooperation the AfDB enjoyed with the DTCA and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and noted that the current global economic trend affected all economies adversely but that President Buhari is positioning the country to continue to offer its traditional leadership role on behalf of the continent.
She also welcomed Dr Dore’s determination to showcase Nigeria’s exemplary role in Africa and invited him to continue to use his influence to encourage other African countries to cooperate with country in moving the continent forward.
The Acting Director General of the DTCA, Mr Mohammed Kachallah, commended the minister for sparing time from her very busy schedule to host the departing AfDB chief.