AS part of efforts to resolve the present economic crisis in Nigeria and assist with credible projects that could potentially elevate Nigeria from its current status as a third world country, the United Nation Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, has pledged to send a special envoy to the Nigerian Young Professionals Forum (NYPF) Summit scheduled to take place in New York on September 24, 2016.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Director of Communications, NYPF, Owomilere Obe.
The statement noted that the summit with the theme “X-raying the current Nigeria’s Economic Challenges and our Foreign Policy, Prospect and Solution” will hold concurrently with the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and will feature discussions that border on inclusive growth, food security, economy diversification, foreign direct investment (FDI) and several other topics.
The US Co-ordinator of NYPF, Mr Okenfe Liberty, said that the summit, which is the second of its kind by NYPF, was geared toward proffering lasting solutions to the current economic challenges in Nigeria.
“We can no longer pretend that Nigeria is not in a recession. This is evident by the dip in government revenues, drop in consumer spending, decline in economic activities, job losses and most importantly, Inflation rate. It is our hope that the resolutions from the summit, which will be submitted to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, will be properly reviewed and recommendation made for possible adoption,” he said.
Notable key speakers at the summit, which will be broadcast live in Nigeria, include the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof Charles Soludo; Prof Pat Utomi; former deputy governor of CBN, Prof Kingsley Moghalu and Prof Soji Adelaja of the Michigan State University (MSU).
Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Dr Kemi Adeosun, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama and Minister of State Agriculture, Senator Dr Heneken Lokpobiri, are the invited special guests.
State governors from Nigeria that are expected to attend include Abubakar Bello of Niger State, Darius Ishaku of Taraba State, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State, Chief Willie Obiano of Anambra State and Prof Ben Ayade of Cross River State.
Representatives of International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank Group (WBG), African Development Bank (AfDB), Bill Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation and a delegation from the European Union are also expected to feature prominently during the panel discussion.
and then