Nigeria, France in $475m deal
News & Trends •
addressing newsmen after the signing of the agreements buhari and macron who addressed a joint press conference at the forecourt of the presidential villa expressed the readiness of their countries to continue to promote socio-economic interests for the general good of both countries1 nigeria and france on tuesday in abuja signed three agreements worth us475 million on social amenities and reforestation1 president muhammadu buhari and the visiting french president emmanuel macron witnessed the signing of the agreements during their bilateral talks held at the presidential villa abuja1 the lagos agreement involved a letter of intent for the financing of urban mobility improvement project through a loan of 200 million dollars1 the urban mobility project will involve development of eight priority bus corridors connected to the lagos mass transit network1 in ogun a french firm in conjunction with the nigeria sovereign investment authority is to mobilise from investors about 200 million dollars for land reclamation to correct the massive degradation of arable land being witnessed in the state1 gov. ibikunle amosun who spoke on the signed agreement said the project aimed to reforest 108000 hectares of depleting forest in ogun1 amosun therefore hailed the signing of the agreement describing it as very vital to not only addressing climate change challenges and recreating the forest but also providing employment to the people of the state among other benefits1 france through its foreign development agency whence francaise de development afd will also extend a credit facility of 75 million dollars towards improving water supply in kano city1 the concessional loan is expected to help kano state government ensure more residents of the city have access to drinking water while improving the financial viability of the state water board to increase its revenues1 the agreements cover urban mobility improvement programme of lagos state sustainable water supply in kano city and reforestation in ogun1 the two presidents pledged to increase the cooperation between nigeria and france in tackling security challenges occasioned by boko haram and isis jihadists in nigeria and the sahel region of africa1 macron said he was more concerned about how african governments organised themselves to effectively tackle the challenges posed by terrorists on the continent1 he said the main plan is an african plan and france is not the one to solve or fix african situations1 so what we want to do is that we will intervene and maintain our presence in africa and sahel to fight against terrorism especially in mali and in the region1 what is important to me is how the different african governments organise themselves to fight against terrorism and get rid of these people and especially jihadism. that is why i do promote the g5sahel initiatives1 as far as we are organised nigeria niger chad and cameroon is also very important it is boko haram. i think first we have to increase the operations and the pressure against these jihadists1 we can fix the situation in the coming months and obviously france will remain present in africa for as long as they want it1 on his part buhari thanked french government for its support and assistance to nigerias efforts in combating insurgency and violent extremism in the country and the sahel region1 he said already nigeria had cultivated the culture of friendship with all its neighbours with a view to ensuring security and political stability in the region1