Although I personally disagree with President Buhari.
Many companies set up assembly plants between 2014 and 2016. These include Toyota Nigeria Limited and Coscharis Motors, but they have recently been reporting poor sales.
The exceptions are Innoson and Stallion group (VON), but these two companies are heavily benefitting from government patronage.
I think they need to take another look at our auto policy and see how to make it work in such a way that the local auto plants will be able to make good money and still provide good value for money to the customer.
So I think that the medical facility is a better idea at the moment than the second assembly plant.
fergie001: President Buhari urged the group to also consider setting up a car assembly plant, noting that Nigeria had the capacity to absorb the investment for positive returns.
Then look at this wtite up, what is he woo-ing them for again?
Simple: The Toyota guys came with a proposal to set up a medical diagnostic centre in Nigeria, so that Nigerians do not need to go abroad for healthcare and President Buhari told them that they can also set up an additional plant in Nigeria because Nigeria has the population to absorb the investment.
Are you saying that Toyota does not already have an assembly plant in Nigeria?
References: They want to build an advanced medical diagnostics centre to prevent those leaders who have a permanent bed outside the country to bed-rest here. But will Ajala agree? Your guess is as good as mine....
They signed a deal for life with regards to an Assembly plant in Ghana, that Toyota, i mean that same Toyota coy...is this now a case of copycat?
joseph1832: many Nigerians don't even know this, heck they don't even know there's a barrack for them at Ikeja.
Exactly! They have a barracks at Ikeja and another one on Ribadu Road in Ikoyi. The mounted troop in Ikoyi usually escorted the president on Independence Day and other such occasions.
The picture below caused controversy on Nairaland and many people insulted the police, despite the fact that "Mounted Police Unit Ikoyi" is written on the side of the truck.
President Buhari welcomes investments from Japan Bank and Toyota
By DAVID IORJA, Abuja August 30, 2019
President Muhammadu Buhari Friday held investment talks with top officials of Japan Bank for International Cooperation, and Toyota Group, at the margins of the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 7), holding in Yokohama, Japan.
Led by its Deputy Governor, Mr Nobumitsu Hayashi, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation indicated its interest in supporting projects in which Japanese companies are involved in Nigeria.
Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity, Femi Adesina, who made this known in a statement, quoted the bank as saying that it had lots of resources dedicated for that purpose, and would be interested in oil and gas, and investments in infrastructure.
According to the statement, President Buhari welcomed the bank, informing the team that Nigeria had introduced the Ease of Doing Business, and bureaucratic bottlenecks were being cleared off the way.
At a bilateral meeting with Toyota Tsusho, a part of the Toyota conglomerate, President/CEO of the group, Ichiro Kashitani, indicated interest in sectors like energy, healthcare and automobiles, saying Toyota would be delighted to have presence all over Nigeria.
Kashitani said Toyota Tsusho wishes to also build an advanced medical diagnostics centre, which would foreclose need for foreign travel to obtain cutting edge medical diagnosis.
President Buhari urged the group to also consider setting up a car assembly plant, noting that Nigeria had the capacity to absorb the investment for positive returns.
At another meeting with the Prime Minister of Algeria, Noureddine Bedoui, President Buhari counseled that the political programme in the country be faithfully executed, which would lead to general elections as soon as possible.
“Algeria is a good pan-Africanist nation, with a lot of influence over the continent,” the President said.
Prime Minister Bedoui said dialogue was in progress with all stakeholders leading to elections, hopefully by end of the year.
President Muhammadu Buhari meeting with Mr Nobumitsu Nayashi Director and Cooperation Division Energy and Natural Resources Finance Group, and Chief Representatives of Japan bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) Takahiro Hosojima.... AUG 30 2019. PHOTO; Sunday Aghaeze https://mobile.twitter.com/AhmadBeello/status/1167336491229622273
Going by what happened the last time, it is necessary to state that there is an arm of the police force called the Nigerian Police Force Mounted Troop. These are policemen who operate on horseback.
They are involved in crowd control, patrolling difficult terrain like beaches, etc. The police also use horses for ceremonies like parades.
TSRC: On a normal day, NOI.should be a critical asset of the FG lobbying high level investors to Nigeria even in her current position. The fact that they haven't taken pictures together speaks volume given the fact they are always at any Major economic events and they are both from the same country.
Yes it is a side event, but a very important side event. A event so important that it drew the rest of west Africa. Are you telling me those ones too were not there for TICAD?
O don't be ridiculous!
You are making it sound as if Buhari and Okonjo-Iweala have never met or taken pictures together before. Below is a picture of Buhari and Okonjo-Iweala on the sidelines of the AU summit in Mauritania.
The three most important countries in West Africa are Nigeria, Ghana and the Ivory Coast. Of these three only Ghana was at this event, yet you say that the entire West Africa was at the event.
The Prime Minister of The Ivory Coast is at TICAD, yet he is not here. Where are the presidents of the Gambia, Benin and Sierra Leone?? Please get real.
Nigeria has made remarkable progress with vaccines to the extent that it has just become polio free. It did all that without being at the Gavi event. Even Bill Gates that you mentioned is not at this event.
Please, let's be serious.
Like I said, there are hundreds of meetings taking place at Yokohama at the moment and Buhari can not be at all of them.
(I am aware of several meetings that are being held at the same time, I have created threads about 4 of them this morning and I am aware of even more. No one person can be at all of them).
TSRC: I am yet to see a picture of NOI and buhari at any event. GAVI is very relevant when you evaluate the efforts of bill gates in the North.
If other west African presidents could come, sorry I don't think there was anything more important going on at that moment
So what if you haven't seen a picture of NOI and Buhari??
Like I said, this is a side event. Heads of state and governments are in Yokohama for the TICAD7 plenary sessions. That is their primary purpose of being there.
Now, governments and non-governmental organisations take advantage of the fact that there are many leaders in one place to organise side events. These are not the primary purpose for being there.
There are hundreds of meetings going on in Yokohama at the moment. Should he be at all of them??
You mentioned Bill Gates' effort in the north, was Bill Gates at this event??
Buhari's primary purpose for being at Yokohama was to attend the TICAD7 plenary sessions, which he did attend
TSRC: BTW, where was buhari when she was taking this picture with his fellow west African Presidents.
Inferiority complex things
This GAVI event is a side event. Not all presidents attended the event. There are over 20 presidents/prime ministers at TICAD7, yet only about 4 or 5 are at this event.
Buhari was at the 3 plenary sessions, where he should be.
bigtt76: He had to travel to Japan to meet another Nigerian official to discuss governance in Nigeria? SMH
Not really.
There are a lot of Nigerians at TICAD7.
1) Some of them are there as part of the official Nigerian delegation (Buhari and his crew).
2) Some are there as part of delegations of pan-African organisations (eg. Adesina is the head of the African Development Bank).
3) Some are there as part of United Nations delegations.
4) Some are there as part of NGO delegations (e.g. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala).
5) Some are there in their capacity as African businessmen (e.g. Tony Elumelu)
6) And some are there to explore investment opportunities for their states (e.g. Samuel Ortom).
I'm quite curious about the first picture because the overseas manager of Japan's Open Sesame Project is in it and Benue is one of the biggest producers of sesame seed (beniseed) in Nigeria.
Now, since all these people are in Japan, there's absolutely nothing wrong if they take a few minutes to meet and discuss things that are important to them.
Pictures of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at the 3rd GAVI replenishment launch today at TICAD7
GAVI (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization) is a public–private global health partnership committed to increasing access to immunisation in poor countries. Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala became the chairman of the alliance in 2016.
Prevent, Protect and Prosper: Gavi replenishment launch meeting, 30 August 2019
Japan will host the launch meeting for Gavi’s third replenishment on 30 August 2019 on the occasion of the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Yokohama. During the meeting, Gavi will unveil its Investment Opportunity for the 2021-2025 period highlighting the Alliance’s ambition to build on its success by providing the most comprehensive package of protection yet.
The event will set out how Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, now in its 20th year, will continue its work supporting the vaccination of millions of children around the world. Since Gavi’s inception in 2000, protection against vaccine-preventable diseases has risen dramatically, thanks to our successful model to increase access to this life-saving intervention.
More children have been immunised with a wider range of vaccines than at any time in history, and the Alliance is now on the cusp of even greater impact in the coming strategic period. With bold commitments from donors, implementing countries and the private sector, Gavi is poised to expand on its notable achievements. Through its innovative approach to development, including innovative finance, the Alliance will help countries prevent disease with vaccines in order to protect the next generation and ensure countries can prosper.
GAVI AND JAPAN
The Japanese government has supported Gavi since 2011, providing nearly US$ 150 million in the years since for Gavi programmes around the world. Vaccines are among the most successful health interventions in history and are a critical component in reaching much of the world’s population with primary health care. In the 20 years since its inception, and with an innovative approach to supporting countries around the world, Gavi has helped grow a healthy generation by immunising more than 700 million of the world’s poorest children.
In addition to support for Gavi programmes, the Government of Japan also recently announced that it will fund placements for talented young professionals at the Gavi secretariat as Junior Professional Officers. A recent Memorandum of Cooperation between Gavi and the Japan International Cooperation Agency will also strengthen links between the two organisations.
ABOUT THE GAVI REPLENISHMENT LAUNCH MEETING AT TICAD
We are immensely proud of the results Gavi has achieved with Japan’s support and we are committed to help Gavi to further its mission going into its next period.
Masahiko Kiya, Ambassador for TICAD and Deputy Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
The TICAD 7 meeting in Yokohama, Japan is an important opportunity to discuss the vision and level of funding necessary for Gavi’s ambition in the next strategic period 2021-2025. This is the first time Gavi will convene such an event in Asia. Given the strong engagement of African leaders attending the meeting, as well as the close alignment between Gavi’s mission and Japan’s global health priorities, the event is poised to be an important milestone in Gavi’s third replenishment process.
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue is currently attending the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7).
Picture 1) Governor Samuel Ortom with the Executive Chairman, Nigeria Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Japan, Mr Ochade Osekwe and The Overseas Manager, Open Sesame Project, Mr Fujii Yasutora at the ongoing Tokyo International Conference on Africa's Development. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2390770511030634&id=100002931241559
Pictures 2 and 3) Governor Samuel Ortom with the director general of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, Professor Abubakar O. Sulaiman
Invest 5% Of $50bn Pledge To Africa On Entrepreneurship, Elumelu Urges Japan
Kingsley Ighomwenghian August 29, 2019 10:01 pm
Afro-centric investor and philanthropist, Tony Elumelu, on Thursday challenged the Government of Japan to invest 5% of its $50bn commitment to the African continent on empowering entrepreneurs.
Addressing global leaders at the ongoing 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Yokohama, Japan, Elumelu, chairman of the United Bank for Africa Plc and Heirs Holdings, appreciated the generosity of the Japanese government in raising its commitment to Africa from $30bn in 2016 in Kenya, to $50bn.
“If we invested just 5% in Africa’s new generation of entrepreneurs, following my Foundation’s robust, proven model of getting capital directly to those best placed to catalyse growth and create real impact, we could touch 500,000 lives, across the 54 African countries, broadening markets, facilitating job creation, improving income per capita, and laying the key foundation for political and economic stability,” Elumelu said.
He outlined the three key pillars of a bold and transformative structure to include: investment in infrastructure, partnership with the African private sector, and investment in Africa’s youth.
He urged Japan to learn from the example of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, which champions empowering African entrepreneurs, as the most sustainable means of accelerating the development of Africa. The Tony Elumelu Foundation, in just five years has assisted over 7,500 African entrepreneurs across every African country, with seed capital, capacity building, mentorship and networking opportunities through its $100 million Entrepreneurship Programme.
Continuing, he assured the gathering that “Africa is one of the world’s viable destinations for investment. Our huge population, of nearly 1.3 billion people, creates one of the most attractive markets anywhere in the world.”
For him, the question to ask at this time is, with the world “paying close attention to Africa …is Japan at the centre of this conversation or is it on the sidelines?”
President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, who is Co-Chair of TICAD, while corroborating Elumelu’s stance, told the Japanese government: “If you want really good returns, as Mr. Tony Elumelu said, come to Africa. Africa presents risk-adjusted returns and is a market in which investments are flowing at a hundred billion dollars – that is the new profile of Africa that is being presented to the world.”
Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator praised Tony Elumelu’s Private-Sector led approach to development in Africa.
He described Elumelu as a dear friend and colleague, “because he alluded to the vital role that business can also play in investing in the future of the youth. These are the kinds of partnership that will drive business and development agenda to very different heights in the future”.
Speaking on the potential of the African continent, Prime Minister Shinzō Abe of Japan said: “In Africa, some countries have joined top nations in the ranking on the ease of doing business. The scale of the market continues to expand. We can envision a day when the entire continent of Africa becomes an enormous economic zone.”
Commenting on the conference, Prime Minister Abe promised: “to elevate the partnership between Japan and Africa, a partnership which has carved out close to 30 years of history, to a new level, drawing also on the power of the private sector.”
Also, in a tweet via his personal handle, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, who is on President Muhammadu Buhari’s entourage, expressed enthusiasm that “Japan is investing in Nigeria to support our defence industry and our public health sector. Businesses are looking at investing in Nigeria and Lagos will be a destination of choice. We will continue to provide the right environment for investors.”
Organised by the Japanese Government, TICAD is a three-yearly forum for advancing Africa’s development through people, technology, and innovation, bringing together government, business leaders, companies and other stakeholders.
The event hosted Presidents and private sector leaders including Prime Minister Shinzō Abe of Japan; President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria; his Egyptian counterpart and Chair of the African Union (AU), Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi; President Ramaphosa; as well as Paul Kagame of Rwanda.
Nigeria Offers Attractive Investment Opportunities, Says president Buhari at TICAD7
August 29, 2019 in Latest News, Press Releases
“Nigeria has very attractive investment opportunities with some of the highest Returns-on-Investment,” President Muhammadu Buhari declared in Yokohama, Japan on Thursday.
Presenting the country’s Statement at Plenary Session Three on “Public-Private Business Dialogue” at the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7), the President said he looked forward to prospective investors making inroads “in the following priority sectors in Nigeria, namely, power and renewable energy, petrochemical and gas, maritime (shipping and ports), automobiles, mining, agribusiness, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, ICT and railway.”
Assuring potential investors of good returns as a result of ongoing reform measures taken by his administration, he added:
“I have also established a Presidential Committee on Enabling Business Environment, which is made up of key Ministries and prominent businessmen to promote the Ease of Doing Business and make Nigeria more attractive and competitive for investment.”
Similarly, President Buhari said that his administration was “committed to removing all impediments to private sector participation in these sectors by creating policies that will ensure consistency, predictability and a level playing field for all.”
Having identified power, transportation, infrastructure, maritime/shipping, agro-processing, mining, manufacturing, petro-chemicals, food processing and textiles among others, as “key drivers to the diversification” of the Nigerian economy as well as “priority areas that will drive our Economic Agenda,” the President said he looked forward to “welcoming prospective investors to Nigeria.”
Reviewing Nigeria-Japan relations, President Buhari commended existing bonds of friendship and economic cooperation between both countries, describing the Asian country as “a strategic partner for our socio-economic development.” He disclosed Nigeria’s intention to “further encourage relationships with key public and private sector stakeholders” in both nations.
The Nigerian leader expressed particular delight with the level of “discussions on the establishment of the Japan-Nigeria Business Facilitation Council, an initiative of the Japanese government, which would be launched on our return to Nigeria,” adding that, “I look forward to positive reports of increased trade and investment between Nigeria and Japan from these initiatives.”
Describing the TICAD Forum as important to Nigeria in many respects, President Buhari said it “coincides with the period when the country is faced with a number of challenges that affect our economy.”
Noting that his administration “has put in place measures seeking to diversify the economy by developing agriculture, emphasising on manufacturing and addressing the energy and infrastructure deficit,” he expressed confidence that, “With these we shall be placing Nigeria on the path of rapid growth and sustainable development.”
According to the Nigerian President, TICAD is also “coming at a time when our government is implementing home-grown and private sector-driven economic measures that are predicated on good governance, infrastructure and human capital development as well as, business climate reform.” The above domestic measures, he explained, informed his invitation to “the private sector to come and invest in Nigeria.”
According to him, “Nigeria and indeed Africa, expect much from this Forum in terms of investment, considering the role of Foreign Direct Investment in all economies – developed and developing.”
President Buhari also expressed Nigeria’s gratitude to the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, “for his unwavering commitment to strengthen trade and investment between Japan and Africa through various initiatives, partnership and support of the Japanese Government.”
He also wished TICAD7 “fruitful deliberations and hope that the conclusions reached will enhance access by African countries to international capital investment as well as boost Japan-Africa exchanges by developing new and strategic public and private sector alliances.”
Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity)
President Buhari delivered his address during the third plenary session of TICAD7 earlier today.
He invited Japanese investors to invest in critical sector in Nigeria like electricity, petrochemicals and gas, shipping and port facilities, railways, etc.
Fountainofyouth: Meaning based on roles they have in the continent which their countries are succeeding in, or did you not see where I quoted "multilateral cooperations"? Did you not see " and discussions on other pressing issues and preparatory meetings? Why was Nigeria sidelined for that? And how am I comparing S.A? My ish is Nigeria not invited, don't you understand that?
Oh my God! What do you think the African Union is about??
Do you know the meaning of the word multilateral??
When two nations cooperate it's called bilateral cooperation. When there are more than two it's called multilateral coiperation. These countries were invited because they chair multinational organisations, that is, the African Union, the Sahel6, etc.
It is multilateral cooperation because it is cooperation between those organisations and the G7!! How can this be hard to understand.
How was Nigeria sidelined?? Nigeria has been invited to two of these summits in the past 4 years! Is Nigeria the only country in Africa?? Won't they invite other countries ni??
Fountainofyouth: Pls don't compare MAJOR roles to POSITIONS, pretty sure G7 wouldn't mistake one for the other. I am waiting for whereal I compared SA with naija, pls tell me, cos my issue naija not among the countries invited.
GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY!!!
So you don't have roles based on positions??
So the president of Nigeria does not have certain roles that he is expected to play based on the position he holds??
You just compared Nigeria to SA again in this post that I have just quoted.
You say that those countries were invited based on the roles they play. That means South Africa was invited based on the role it plays, which means it was not playing that role when it was not invited??
Fountainofyouth: An overflogged issue, of course na Mynd44 go push am to front page with no comments at all, awon zombies them,
Don't bring up past summit to justify the fact that Buhari was not invited, it is a shame to the largest country in Africa with supposedly the largest economy, the theme of this year's summit as stated in G-7 official Web page said “In addition to South Africa, four countries playing a leading role on the continent and which are players in multilateral cooperation, committed to preserving biodiversity and ambitious implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change, are also invited to the Biarritz Summit and to several preparatory meetings.”
Key word to note is "playing major roles in the continent" meaning naija still dey among the small leagues, as in we nor reach for economy, scientific, multilateral or intercountry development, nothing nothing, we just dey there for Africa like that, y'all defending bullshit should hide in shame for real.
O come on! "Playing major roles on the continent" because of the positions they hold, which are
1) Past chair of the AU
2) Current chair of the AU
3) Incoming chair of the AU
4) Chair of NEPAD
5) Chair of Sahel 6.
Use your brain!
You say that we shouldn't compare Nigeria with SA, yet you are comparing the fact that SA was invited to the 2019 summit with the fact that Nigeria was not invited. You are very funny o!
Politics › Re: Details of President Buhari's investment meeting with Japan Bank, Toyota emerges by naptu2: 5:30pm On Aug 30, 2019
