Vice president Shettima calls for creation of Nigeria-UK Bi-National Commission

Vice President Kashim Shettima has advocated for the creation of the Nigeria-UK Bi-National Commission to strengthen bilateral relations between the two nations.

This is contained in a statement signed by Mr. Olusola Abiola, Director, Information, Office of the Vice President, and made available to newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday.

Shettima made this known when he received the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, on a courtesy call at the presidential villa.

The Vice President said that Nigeria and the UK had long-standing historical relationships, business activities, and shared common interests, which led to the exceptional cordial relationship between the two nations.

Helauded the British government for its regular support and assistanceto Nigeria while expressinghope for more robust business relations ahead.

“I will urge you to facilitate the setting up of the Nigeria-UK Binational Commission. TheBi-National Commission can be the driver for accelerating enhanced business relationships between our two countries.

“We need to ramp up the trade between our two nations, taking into cognizance our proximity and our long-lasting relationship.

“There is no nation that we are closer to than the UK, and our trade represents less than five percent of the volume of our imports and exports,” Shettima said.

Hesaid that the Federal Government was committedto creating an enabling environment for business activitiesto flourish in the country.

The VPunderscored the need for economic reforms in order to position the country’s economy for growth in light of the recent removal of fuel subsidies.

“This is just the beginning because it was a fait accompli to withdraw the fuel subsidy.

“We either get rid of the fuel subsidy or the fuel subsidy gets rid of the Nigerian nation.

“In 2012, we spent 10 billion dollars on fuel subsidies alone.

“Last month, we were purportedly consuming 67 million liters per day, but after the removal of the subsidy, it drops to 41 million liters per day, nearly four percent off.

”So the whole subsidy regime was opaque and ridden with a lot of inconsistencies.”

He said that the previous multiple exchange rate regime with a lot of corruption brought about the proliferation of many schemes.

He said that the government had no other option but to collapse the exchange rate regimes into one.

“In the coming weeks and months, we are going to make more pronouncements on how to reposition the Nigerian economy and make it vibrant for business,” he said.

He spoke about the role of the private sector in driving economic growth.

According to him, Lagos is booming fundamentally because of the private sector but not because of the government, as the government has created the avenue for businesses to thrive.

On efforts to find a lasting solution to the security challenges in the country, Shettima stated that there was a need for both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches toward addressing the problems.

In his remarks, Montgomery commended the new administration’s proactive economic policies, especially the reforms.

He lauded the long-standing relationship and cooperation with Nigeria, especially in areas of trade and investment, security and defense, digital technology, and education.

He assured the UK government of itspartnering closely with Nigeria towards achieving the overall development of the nation.