“So we’re excited for the initial direction of the government. We operate on such a global basis…”
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday expressed confidence that his administration is on the pathway to success in spite of the enormous challenges facing the country.
He stressed that Nigeria has no reason to fail the rest of Africa.
The President spoke when Bank of America officials visited him at the State House, Abuja.
According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communication and Strategy, Mr Dele Alake, President Tinubu said his administration was committed to instituting reforms that would engender sustainable growth and development.
“We believe we are on the right track so far, but we need all the help we can get,” he said.
The President asked the bank’s management for support and partnership that would advance mutual benefits for Nigeria and the financial institution.
President Tinubu said governance and development challenges facing the country cannot be addressed without fiscal and institutional reforms.
“Twenty-first-century actions on climate change, finance and innovation are intertwined.
“Having a good platform and believing in innovation will help in undertaking reforms and tackling the issues.
“This is the largest economy and democracy in Africa and if we cannot do it, nobody will do it for us,” he said.
Affirming that no one can do it alone, President Tinubu made a case for Bank of America and other willing financial institutions to help the country.
This, he said, they can do by partnering to ensure Nigerian gas competes favourably in the global market as a viable source of alternative revenue.
President of International for Bank of America, Mr. Bernard Mensah, expressed excitement about the initial steps taken by the new administration, which, he said, is taking Nigeria back to its rightful place on the global stage.
He said the bank was willing to assist the country to address its immediate and longer-term challenges not only in the area of financing but also contributing with ideas.
“We’re looking to see how we can help, how we can partner and we have a lot of global resources that we think we can help with the Nigerian economy.
“So we’re excited for the initial direction of the government. We operate on such a global basis. We’re a huge international firm; we touch so many things.
“We think we can help think through the markets; we can help think through the financial architecture and structure.
“We can also help think through things like new technology applications. We can think about the whole global debates around climate and how we can bring resources to bear so that Nigeria can also really take a seat on the global stage on these issues,” Mensah said.
In company with Mr. Mensah were the Head of Sub-Saharan Africa, Mrs. Yvonne Ike Fasinro, and the Head of Investment Banking, Sub-Saharan Africa, Mr. Chuba Ezenwa.
