Zamfara, Afrexim bank Sign $1bn Pact For Infrastructure Funding
The Zamfara State Government and African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank) at the weekend in Abuja signed a $1bn Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for mining, agriculture, water resources and other infrastructural development in the state. Zamfara Zamfara State Governor, Dr. Bello Muhammad Mutawalle, said that the discussion on the signing started barely two weeks ago in Dubai, United Arab Emirate (UAE).
“We started this discussion just about two weeks ago when we met with some AFREXIM BANK people in Dubai with the Managing Director of Heritage Bank for which he promised to deliver our message to the bank. Within that week, he contacted him and the AFREXIM BANK President decided to come to Nigeria.
“Zamfara State, as you are all aware, had so many issues before my emergence as the governor, for which reason and to limited time, just a month, God helped us to tackle some of these issues. Today, we can call Zamfara State as a peaceful state in Nigeria.
For your information, for the first time in four weeks, there has been no report of any incident like kidnapping, killing or killing of citizens,” Mutawalle said. He assured that Zamfara State is safe for investors, urging investors to come to the state, as the state government is committed to ensuring that everything is in place to guarantee their security. “We thank you for the investment of about $1bn which can cover manufacturing, power, infrastructure, mining and Agriculture.
We assure you that we have all the potentials to utilize the said funds in order to move Zamfara State forward,” he said. Signing the MoU with Zamfara State Government on the $1bn investments, President of the Cairo-based bank, Prof. Benedict Okey Oramah, said the investments will cut across manufacturing, power, mining and agricultural sectors in the state for the purposes of opening it up for the required development as against poverty-driven violence.
“We are proud to be in a very serious discussion with Zamfara State in various areas. We have discussed partnership covering solid minerals where Zamfara State has significant strength. We are looking forward to work with Zamfara State and our partners to further map the resources and monetize them as quickly as possible.
