• Swedish firm commits $100m for digital economy training
• Ericsson to build $19m tech hub in Nigeria

Despite the presidency’s ardent explanation that there is no vacuum in the leadership of Africa’s most populous country, the absence of President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima at the same time have continued to draw criticisms.

Former presidential spokesman, Laolu Akande, yesterday noted that the clarification from the presidency notwithstanding, it is not ideal for President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima to leave governance for foreign trips simultaneously.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme, Akande, who was spokesman to former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, said: “It is important for one of them to be on the ground because the work of governance requires a lot of hand-holding.

“In my view, we still have a very serious problem of sustained trust in the relationship between the President and the Vice President over time,” Akande added.

While Tinubu departed Nigeria on October 2, for a two-week work leave in the United Kingdom, Shettima left Abuja on Wednesday for Sweden on a two-day visit to represent Nigeria in bilateral engagements with the Scandinavian nation.

In a statement on Wednesday, presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, said the two leaders “are fully engaged with the nation’s affairs, even while they are away” and there is no vacuum in governance.

However, Akande said: “The ideal thing is for us not to have a situation where both the president and the vice president are not in town, that’s the ideal situation.

“I remember that during the eight years I served, that happened only once during the burial of the Queen of England, which also fell at the same time as the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and I knew how the president and the vice president were checking on each other to ensure that somebody gets back.

“So, in eight years, they managed to ensure that for the most part, one person is always on the ground. I know quite a few times when the vice president had to just wrap up foreign trips because something happened and the president would have to travel.”

Also, Phrank Shaibu, an aide to former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, reacting to the development, said Nigeria is governing itself.

Posting on X, Shaibu wrote: “The Presidency is absolutely right! The President and his Vice can be totally missing in action, after all Tinubu is busy savouring wine in France and Shettima is off sightseeing in Sweden. Why would we worry? Nigeria has been practically running itself since they came to power.”

This view was reinforced by activist-cum-politician, Aisha Yesufu, who said nobody feels the absence of President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima.
She said: “There cannot be a vacuum in something that was never there. Nobody feels the absence of seat warmers.”

UNPETURBED by the criticisms, the presidency yesterday said the foreign investment drive of the Federal Government got another boost, as several Swedish investors committed to partnerships worth millions of dollars in Nigeria’s digital economy, health and other critical sectors.

This followed Shettima’s assurance to global investors at a business meeting with Swedish businesses in Stockholm that they can now take unfettered advantage of Nigeria’s ever-growing investment climate currently providing limitless opportunities for all.

According to him, the Nigerian government, under President Tinubu, has undertaken bold reforms that are restructuring the nation’s economy for sustainable growth, just as the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda is focused on a competitive business environment that attracts both foreign and domestic investments.

Speaking at Epicenter, Stockholm, Sweden, where he is currently on a two-day working visit aimed at boosting trade and bilateral relations between both nations, Shettima noted that Nigeria and Sweden have a time-honored history of cooperation, particularly in trade, technology, and sustainable development.

He cited opportunities that abound in Nigeria, including the digital economy, agriculture, renewable energy, and MSMEs, among many others, pointing out that the nation is now “an ambitious nation, bound by the limitless potential of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

Employing every negotiation skill at his disposal to woo investors at the business forum with the theme, “Trade and Investments with a Focus on the Digital Economy, Agriculture, and Renewable Energy,” the Vice President assured that the Tinubu administration has done much within the last year to brighten Nigeria’s investment climate, creating vast investment opportunities.

Identifying digital economy, agriculture, and renewable energy as global priorities and the direction in which Nigeria is headed; the Vice President said these sectors are crucial to addressing pressing global challenges such as food security, climate change, and economic growth.

Imploring Swedish investors to avail themselves of the business opportunities that abound in Nigeria, he said, “there is tremendous potential for collaboration between Nigeria and Sweden across multiple sectors.

“Whether in finance, renewable energy, digital innovation, agriculture, or education, our partnership holds the promise of immense benefits for both nations. I urge Swedish investors to seize the opportunities in Nigeria and work with us to build a prosperous and sustainable future.”

Shettima recalled that trade between Nigeria and Sweden grew by 30 per cent in 2022, informing a greater need for deeper collaboration between both nations.

“This momentum calls us to come together and create a favourable business environment for the expansion of goods and services, from digitalization to access to specialists,” he said, pointing out that “Nigeria’s financial sector is one of the most sophisticated in Africa, showing remarkable resilience in recent years.”

The Vice President urged the Swedish investors to deploy their expertise in technology and innovation to collaborate with Nigerian start-ups, driving growth and creating jobs, even as he stressed that the partnership between both countries can accelerate this transition.

Welcoming the Vice President earlier, Edgar Luczak, Chairman, Partner and Head of Advisory, Epicenter, Sweden, noted that the future is digital and sustainable, assuring that the Epicenter was ready to engage not just in words but in action.

According to him, through collaboration, both countries can build a stronger economy, create jobs, and most importantly, ensure a future for the generations to come.

“We hope we can take this opportunity to launch an accelerated programme that will not only follow in the footsteps of our other excellent programmes that we do with the likes of Google, Microsoft, Singapore, and other countries but create our own path to support Nigeria in its unique growth,” he added.

Mr Akinola Jones, Director of Gluwa, a digital wallet service, said as part of its contribution to the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Tinubu administration, the company would train over 30,000 people in digital skills. Jones said they had already started training about 1,000 people in Jigawa state, adding that they were committing $100 million across Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the Managing Director of Ericsson Nigeria, Mr Peter Olusoji Ogundele, has revealed the company’s plan to build a technology hub worth about $19 million in Nigeria.

“Nigeria has enough youths that can come into that field. We can train them, Ericsson will also take part in it, and some of them we can export to the world, and we will be like another India.

“Ericsson was the first to have over 1,000 sites in Nigeria and continues to invest in the country. We have been here since 1978, and for us, our partnership is an enduring one.”

On her part, Anthonia Huard, Regional Director, North & West Africa, Energy & Transport Lead, said Nigeria has become the country’s focal point in Africa for optimal engagement.

“In order to be efficient in Africa, the organisation focused on prioritising markets of which Nigeria is one and matched the areas of focus of Sweden to the needs and focus of the countries for optimal engagement,” she stated.

Also, the Director, Project Accelerator, of Swedfund, Mr Hakan Danhltor, expressed the organisation’s commitment to reducing poverty and supporting sustainable development through investments in the private sector and in local private companies.

For her part, Mikaela Edstrom of the Swedish Export Credit Agency said the agency is closely watching the ongoing economic reforms taking place in Nigeria and views them as positive for the future.

“We can, together with our sister organization, provide a world-class export credit system for Nigeria,” Edstrom pledged.

Vice President Shettima held bilateral talks with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maria Malmer Stenergard and Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden, Ebba Busch. These discussions focused on strengthening ties and exploring new areas of cooperation between Nigeria and Sweden.

Others who joined the Vice President at the meetings included Plateau State Governor, Barr. Caleb Mutfwang; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar; Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, Khalil Suleiman Halilu; Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Abdullahi; Executive Vice-Chairman (EVC), Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Aminu Maida, and some members of the Nigerian Swedish Embassy in Stockholm.