Nigeria Has 76% Of ECOWAS Economy — Okonjo-iweala

AS the World Economic Forum, WEF, for Africa kicks off tomorrow in Abuja, the Minister of Finance and Co-ordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said yesterday, that Nigeria’s economy constituted 76 per cent of the economy of Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS.

Okonjo-Iweala who made the assertion at a news conference on the WEF, said that aside from the ECOWAS economy, Nigeria also held 30 per cent of the economy in sub-Saharan Africa and 21 per cent of Africa’s economy. The minister said that it was, therefore, meaningful that the economic forum on Africa was being held in Nigeria.

According to her, the meeting was in line with efforts to ensure that we have inclusive growth in the country. Okonjo-Iweala explained that the sessions at the forum would dwell on issues that would enunciate the best ways to ensure that jobs were created in Africa to help reduce inequality. Other issues that the forum would focus on, she said, included skills creation and better service by public workers.

She added that civil society groups and the private sector would participate in all activities at the forum, adding that many initiatives which would be highly beneficial to Nigeria would be floated at the sessions of the forum.

She said, “there are specific things that will be of benefit to us as Nigeria for the forum being held here. The first is that there are several initiatives; we have the Grow Africa Initiative which is for funding of agriculture in the continent. They have been able to raise about N7 billion investments and about half of it will be coming to Nigeria and also the healthcare initiative designed to strengthen access to health care which many of it will be coming to Nigeria.

“A skills initiative is being launched by WEF and within that, we are going to see a new initiative of Safe Schools being launched by the private sector in Nigeria. Aliko Dangote, Nduka Obaigbena together with Mr. Gordon Brown, former British Prime Minister and UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Education, would take charge of the session.”


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