Yar’Adua to address West Africa Investment Forum
From Left, Mr. Foluso Aminu, CEO,
First Call
Consultant Limited, Chief
Adeola Ayoola,
President, Cooperative
Federation of Nigeria
(CFN), Chief
Ade Oluwatuyi, President
Cooperative
Federation of Nigeria, Ekiti State
chapter, Mr. Folu Oguntoyinbo,
Coordinator,
Cooperative Unit, Skye
Bank, Lagos, at an
event held in
Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, recently.
President of
Umaru Yar'Adua
will address government ministers and global business leaders who will be convening in Abuja, to attend the Commonwealth Business Council’s West Africa Investment Forum (WAIF) on 26 - 27thFebruary.
He will speak about the business opportunities in the country and highlight the challenges being faced in attracting investment. Delegates will exchange ideas and find ways to increase investment into the ECOWAS region.
Recent changes in West Africa have made the region increasingly attractive to foreign investors.
Debt relief and high commodity prices, coupled with sound economic reforms, have helped to curb inflation and stimulate widespread development in infrastructure and communications.
Speaking about the Forum, Dr. Mohan Kaul, CBC Director-General said, “This forum forms part of the continuing Africa Investment Series – a unique private-public programme on business and investment, which CBC launched in 2002, and has since helped mobilize investment in 11 African countries.”
“The 2008 forum will capitalise on this momentum and build upon the foundations of the 2007 West Africa Investment Forum, to examine the continuing theme of global partnerships and economic growth in Nigeria and in its neighbouring countries. As the government of Umaru Musa Yar'Adua looks forward to its first full year in power, this forum will provide a unique platform to interact with the new Federal Government, as well as unravel networking opportunities in the region,” he added.
Key areas of focus will be fiscal stability, financial liberalisation and foreign capital. Experts will also discuss the merits of Economic Regional Integration: risks and opportunities, investing in power, infrastructure and enterprise development.
The Forum will also discuss the power crisis in the ECOWAS region and look for possible solutions by various means including strengthening investment in the power sector, prospects for independent power producers and renewable energy.
Confirmed speakers include Edward Marlow, Managing Director, Principal Investments, Emerging Markets, HSBC UK, Nkosana Moyo, Managing Partner, Actis, UK, Hamdi Osman, Vice President Fedex– India Subcontinent, Middle East and Subsaharan Africa, India, Hon. David Carew, Minister of Finance, Sierra Leone, Abdoulaye Diop, Minister of the Economy and Finance, Senegal, Modupe Adelaja, Director-General, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency, SMEDAN, Deziani Allison-Maduekwe, Federal Minister of Transportation, ,Nigeria, O’ Neil Rane, Director-Senegal, Export-Import Bank of India, Colin Coleman, Managing Director, Goldman Sachs, SA, Magnus Awo-Osagie, Executive Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Bruce Gau, Senior Advisor, Business Finance, Ericsson, South Africa and Edgar Hall, Chairman, FairFund Foundation UK Limited.
A special workshop will be held to address the issue of corruption by the Business Action Against Corruption (BAAC) Nigeria and CBC.
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Cooperators endorse Skye Bank’s offer
By Adetunji Adeleye
THE Ekiti State
cooperators have
reiterated their determination and commitment to the relationship between them and the Skye Bank Plc by overwhelmingly endorsing the on-going offer of the bank during an interactive forum in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, recently.
Chief Ade Oluwatuyi, President Cooperative Federation, Ekiti State, said that the relationship between the cooperators and the bank dated back to pre-consolidation era and it is like a family one.
He enjoined the cooperators to patronise the bank’s offer in order to strengthen the existing relationship so that the cooperators can continue to enjoy the support of the bank in the future.
Chief Oluwatuyi praised the effort of the present management team of the bank for all they are doing to address the plight of the cooperators which led to the formation of the cooperative unit of the bank. The formation of the cooperative unit in the bank is an evidence that cooperators are critical members of the bank whom are seen as strategic customers.
While speaking on behalf of the bank, Mr. Folu Oguntoyinbo, Coordinator of Cooperative Unit, Skye Bank Plc, said that the bank appreciates the patronage and support of all the cooperators over the years and that is why the bank will not relent in helping cooperators achieve their dreams.
He added that the endorsement of the bank’s offer by the cooperators show the confidence they have in the offer.
The interactive forum was anchored by the First Call Consultancy Limited headed by Mr. Foluso Aminu, a management consultant based in Ibadan, Oyo State.
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