U.S. assistant secretary for African affairs, Molly Phee, when hosted by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Saturday, said that Tinubu is the only African leader President Joe Biden wants to meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September.
Ajuri Ngelale, the presidential spokesperson, quoted her as saying, “President Joe Biden is asking to meet with you on the sidelines of UNGA, and you are the only African leader he has requested to meet,”.
On his part, Tinubu said he is working to create prosperity for Nigerians.
“Yes, the private sector will lead the way within an enabling environment we create for them, but the US Government must be innovative in its thinking and systematically create incentives for US industrial investment in Nigeria,” he said.
“Under my leadership, Nigeria stands ready to address their specific regulatory, tax and environmental concerns.
“I am determined to create prosperity for all Nigerian families.”
Tinubu said although all options are on the table to resolve the crisis in Niger Republic, war is not ideal for his economic reforms in the region as chair of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
“We are deep in our attempts to peacefully settle the issue in Niger by leveraging on our diplomatic tools,” he said.
“I continue to hold ECOWAS back, despite its readiness for all options, to exhaust all other remedial mechanisms.
“War is not ideal for my economic reforms, nor the region, but the defence of democracy is sacrosanct. The ECOWAS consensus is that we will not allow anyone to buy time insincerely.”