Osinbajo assures Sao Tome & Principe of improved ties

Nigeria’s ties with the twin-island Central African nation of Sao Tome and Principe are to be strengthened, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has pledged.

He gave the assurance yesterday at the inauguration of the country’s new President, Carlos Manuel Vila Nova, in Sao Tome city. 

The event, which was held at the nation’s Parliament Building, was attended by leaders from Africa and Europe.

Besides Osinbajo, who represented President Muhammadu Buhari, other leaders, who graced the occasion, included Portuguese President Marcelo Rebeto, President of Guinea-Bissau, Sissolo Embalo and Vice President of Angola, Bonito De Sousa. 

He said: “We think that Sao Tome and Principe is an important partner and we have a very strategic relationship, which is why we are here not just to felicitate with the new President, but to re-establish a relationship, a relationship which by the way has been growing from strength to strength over the years.”

Osinbajo observed that both nations are now “looking at strengthening bilateral relations because of the strategic partnership between the two countries.”

According to the Vice President, “the two countries have a joint development arrangement, especially with respect to the oil and gas sector, where both share a common interest.  

“We are also looking at strengthening relationships in other respects such as hospitality and agriculture,” he said.

Osinbajo was accompanied by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Zubairu Dada and joined by some members of the House of Representatives. 

Later, President Nova held his first bilateral meeting with Vice President Osinbajo at the Presidential Office in Sao Tome city, where both leaders exchanged pleasantries and expressed readiness to deepen diplomatic and economic relations.