NKRUMAH BANKONG-OBI/Lafia
The European Union has said its interests in Nasarawa State are geared towards improving livelihood and strengthening the partnership that exists between Nigeria and the bloc. To this end, the union has general and specific interests in key areas that target certain needs in the State.
The EU ambassador to Nigeria, Samuela Isopi stated this on Wednesday when she led a delegation to visit Governor Abdullahi Sule at the Government House, Lafia. She noted that EU and Nigeria play important roles in global affairs and continue to work together for the good of both entities.
“EU is a long-standing partner of Nigeria. You don’t change history, you don’t change geography. Our relations, our ties are not only historical, but this is something that we have joint common interest to continue to work on. We have so many challenges that we face together. Starting from the internal challenges that Nigeria is facing. We see Nigeria as our neighbour and so internal challenges of Nigeria are also our challenges. And that is why we are also deeply committed here in Nigeria in a multi-dimensional partnership s which includes cooperation on democratic governance, peace and security, economic relations, climate change are all those issues,” Isopi who doubles as the EU Ambassador to the ECOWAS, said.
She informed her host that the EU has unflinching interest in good governance, peace and security and migration in the Sahel region, as these also impact European Union. To this end, she noted that efforts are exerted to tackle these challenges collectively.
She said the cooperation between Nigeria and the Union benefits Nasarawa State, as the EU is working with partners in areas of climate change, security- especially farmer-herder clashes, education, health and interfaith, all of which in one way or another check conflicts in the State. “The purpose of our visit today is to see how to deepen our relations with Nasarawa state. The EU has been active and remains active in some areas in particular, climate matters, agriculture. We will be visiting later today, the site of rice production which is funding through EU programme to increase food production in the state and to improve food security in the state and to improve nutrition in the state. We are also active in renewable energy through the project, Electrify, to which we support rural electrification. And we work in particular with a few partners in the state. We are also running a programme to support interfaith dialogue in the state, we are working in a few communities. This is the way we really want to support the state in keeping its social cohesion and also helping to face tensions especially arising from farmers-herder tensions.”
In his response, Governor Sule noted that Nasarawa and indeed Nigeria place premium value on peace, security, interfaith dialogue and the democratic process in the same way the EU does. He assured the delegation that Nasarawa continue to be open for investments in the areas of agriculture, clean energy, oil and gas and mineral resources, especially lithium. He expressed his determination to prioritize education, vocational skills learning which will promote self-reliance.
The governor informed the delegation of the agricultural potential abundant in the State, which might interest the Eu. Chief of which he said, is sesame, which is to begin processing next year. “By early next year, we are going to have the first sesame seed processing company in the State,” adding that Nasarawa State will explore total value chain in yam production as well as rice, which the state has an added advantage in addition to cassava. He assured them of the safety of any investments in the State, as the guidance of the Nasarawa State Investment Development Agency will provide the necessary incentives and guidance to enhance success.