From: Bashir Aliyu Meyere, Abuja
The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio has called for a stronger partnership between Nigeria and the Federal Republic of Germany.
Akpabio made the call in Abuja on Thursday while receiving a delegation of a Parliamentary Committee from Germany in his office
The Committee on Economic Cooperation and Development of the German Bundestag (Parliament) was led by Professor Wolfgang Stefinger.
Addressing the deligation the senate president Godswil Akpabio said Nigeria and Germany had spent more than six decades building friendship and mutual trust stressing that the challenge was to turn that friendship into factories, that trust into investment, and that cooperation into jobs.
He said that the visit affirmed a shared conviction that friendship between Nigeria and Germany should continue to deliver practical benefits to the people of both countries.
Akpabio further said their responsibility is to translate that foundation into greater opportunities, stronger institutions and shared prosperity for our peoples.
“As we meet and share experience, let us have a stronger partnership in the areas of electricity that powers businesses, the skills that secure our livelihoods, and the jobs that sustain families.”
“As parliamentarians, we have a special responsibility. The government negotiates partnerships; parliaments help give them continuity, accountability and lasting value. Through legislation, oversight and budgetary decisions, we help turn commitments into results.”
The Senate President proposed a structured Nigeria–Germany Parliamentary Dialogue, supported by committee exchanges and designated contacts to sustain engagement beyond this visit.
Akpabio remarked further that “our economic ambition is clear. We seek to expand production, strengthen industry and create productive employment for our people.”
The Senate President said Nigeria welcomed greater German investment in manufacturing, agro-processing, pharmaceuticals, technology and infrastructure and sought partnerships that build local capacity, transfer technology and connect Nigerian enterprises to wider markets.
Akpabio said Nigeria sought not merely to trade more with Germany, but to produce more with Germany.
To achieve this, he said, “we must address the obstacles that keep willing investors apart: costly financing, export-credit premiums and avoidable regulatory barriers.
Akpabio suggested that the visit should have as its outcome five practical priorities including a sustained parliamentary dialogue, accelerated electricity and renewable-energy cooperation, a skills and innovation partnership, improved access to investment and development finance, and designated parliamentary contacts to follow through on agreed actions.
