Vice-President Kashim Shettima has said Nigeria is embarking on a new growth trajectory, making the country an attractive destination for investments across various sectors, due to the policies implemented by President Bola Tinubu.
Gatekeepers News reports that this statement was made during a meeting with ministers and agency heads at the presidential villa on Tuesday, as reported by Stanley Nkwocha, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications.
Shettima emphasised Tinubu’s capability and vision for a more promising future. His remarks follow a recent report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which revealed that Nigeria achieved a trade surplus of N3.42 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2024.
In addition, Nkwocha announced that Brazil’s Vice-President, Geraldo Alckmin, will lead a delegation to Nigeria for the second session of the Brazil-Nigeria strategic dialogue, marking its resumption after a decade.
Shettima expressed optimism about the ministers’ preparedness to address key issues during the upcoming dialogue scheduled for this year.
“I want to urge all ministers involved in this Nigeria-Brazil strategic dialogue to take charge of the initiative of the discussions so that we can take it to the next level, let’s walk the talk,” the vice-president said.
“Please, drive the process, engage with the different strategic focus groups to give you weekly updates to prepare us for the visit of the Brazilian vice-president and his delegation.
“The most important thing at this moment is for us to actualise the dreams of our nation’s development.
“We have the resources and institutional knowledge to make this work for our country.”
Shettima said Nigeria should take advantage of its partnership with Brazil to drive growth in agriculture, culture and tourism, livestock production, and military technology.
Also speaking at the meeting, Abubakar Kyari, minister of agriculture and food security, said the dialogue offers a renewed opportunity for Nigeria to revitalise its agricultural sector and achieve the government’s food security goals.
“On behalf of the agriculture sector, it is time for us to walk the talk,” Kyari said.
“It is a good day for Nigeria because agriculture will play a major role in the partnership.
“We have an opportunity to catch up with the rest of the world and be on our way to food sovereignty.”
Hannatu Musawa, minister of arts, culture, and creative economy, said a significant number of people in Brazil are of Nigerian descent and have strong ties to the country.
“What we have done in the ministry is to engage Brazil actively in working together,” she said.
“Already, we have an MoU, but we want to expand that beyond cultural diplomacy. Brazilians have a lot of interest in tapping into our creative industry.”
Musawa also said plans are in place to rebuild the Nigerian house in Brazil and host an annual Orisha festival.
Muhammed Badaru, minister of defence, said Nigeria is set to sign a defence agreement with Brazil, with plans to establish defence industry development and production centres in the country.
Ali Pate, minister of health and social welfare, said Nigeria will collaborate with Brazil to manufacture vaccines, diagnostics, and pharmaceuticals, learning from Brazil’s success in the mentioned areas.
Pate said the initiative is part of Tinubu’s plan to strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare sector.
On her part, Marion Moon, technical assistant to the president on agriculture, said Brazil’s agricultural expertise, particularly in cropland expansion and global commodity leadership, offers valuable insights for Nigeria.
“The upcoming $1.1 billion Green Imperative Project exemplifies the depth of our relationship and its potential to revolutionise Nigerian agriculture through modernisation and technology transfer,” she said.
Moon added that the strategic dialogue will be preceded by a trade and investment forum, coinciding with the visit of Brazil’s vice-president, minister of development, industry, trade, and services.
