Buhari meets Macron, gets assurances of support; Seeks debt relief for African nations

President Muhammadu Buhari and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron have committed their two nations to working together to fight insecurity bedeviling the Lake Chad basin area and the entire stretch of the Sahel region.

Speaking at a bilateral meeting, at which he hosted the Nigerian leader on the sidelines of the Financing Africa Summit in Paris on Tuesday, President Macron pledged his steadfast support for Nigeria and its people as they confront the security challenges facing the country.

President Macron said the French government will absolutely be there on the side of Nigeria and it is willing to support with everything to assist the country to overcome the security threats.

He also pledged to support Nigeria in confronting the challenges faced with COVID-19 vaccines.

President Buhari, at the meeting, outlined the challenges all round facing the country as well as its neighbours and spoke about the steps he has taken to reignite response to the situation, which he said included the appointment of the new Service Chiefs.

The President expressed the willingness of Nigeria to work with France and all international partners to reign in the security challenges and thanked President Macron for agreeing to intensify the existing partnership with Nigeria.

Meanwhile, speaking at the Financing Africa Summit held at Grande Palais Ephemere with the theme: “External Financing and debt Treatment,” President Buhari Tuesday in Paris, France, called on European countries and global financial institutions to consider reducing the devastating effect of the Coronavirus pandemic on African economies by restructuring debt portfolios, opting for complete reliefs, and releasing vaccines to the continent, which is still behind in protecting majority of its citizens.

President Buhari said the fall in commodity prices as Covid-19 took a toll on the global economy further slowed growth in some countries and strained health facilities.

“It is in this vein that we solicit the support of the French government with its influence in the European Union to lend its voice to the efforts being made to mobilize additional resources for developing economies most especially Africa in order to strengthen the quantum of investments to our economies. This financial support should also be extended to the private sector,” he said.

The President said the European Union should encourage fair and equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines in less developed countries, and promote the establishment of manufacturing facilities.

According to him, many African countries were already experiencing debt distress and the Debt Service Suspension by France and G-20 does not go far enough, adding that there was need for more sustainable and affordable financing solutions, including debt relief and further debt restructuring.

On the Paris Agreement for Climate Change, President Buhari noted that African countries would need financial support for green energy investment and COP-26.

He said Nigeria will refocus on gas, while adopting a Strategic Revenue Growth Initiative.

On the theme of “Africa Private Sector — Reforms – Infrastructure,” the President said Public Private Partnership (PPP) will be fully explored to ensure more precision in development, cutting down waste and reducing chances of corruption.

“The government intends to leverage on Public Private Partnership to bolster its job creation, and anti-corruption drive. In terms of job creation, Nigeria has an abundant labour force since 30.5 percent of its population is between the ages of 25 and 54.’’