By Cross Udo, Abuja
Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the new Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, yesterday said she was fully committed to the foreign po Tinubu’s administration’s foreign policy the late Ikemba Nnewi, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu was among the seven new ministers that were administered with the oath of office by President Tinubu at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Speaking to State House correspondents after the swearing-in ceremony, Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, who once won the “Most Beautiful Girl” pageant in Nigeria, said the country will leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area to encourage and harness its economic potential.
When asked what she would bring to the table, based on her previous service on foreign missions, she promised to strengthen democratic institutions all over Africa.
She said, “In this respect, I am fully committed to keying into this government’s foreign policy thrust. The President has made things much easier by building his administration’s foreign policy thrust. The 4Ds comprise democracy, development, demographic engagement, and diaspora collaboration.”
She said, “We must leverage the African Continental Free Trade Area to harness our economic potential.”
The Minister also said she would examine demography, a demographic with a substantial Weouth population in Nigeria. Seventy percent of the population is under 43, so that’s a huge demographic.
“We intend in this administration to leverage the creative potential, the skills, the vast capital these young people have to bring to the country, and, of course, the diaspora.
“We have a diaspora that remits annually $22bn, we have a Diaspora that is doing so well all over the world, and if we can partner with them and ensure that we bring them into the administration’s initiatives and use them also to forge strategic partnerships with financial institutions all over the world, that will in no small way enhance the workings on the service delivery for the Foreign Minister.
“And, of course, ensuring that consular services abroad are much more effective and that our citizens abroad are much happier with what they are receiving and get that sense that their government truly cares for their welfare. Thank you very much.”
Also speaking to journalists, the Minister of Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, echoed similar sentiments regarding Nigeria’s economic potential.
She said, “For the last nine years, I have been working on business climate reforms.”
Oduwole stressed the need to optimize the AfCFTA for Nigerian businesses and ensure the retention of both domestic and foreign investments.
“We need productive jobs that deliver value for Nigerians,” she emphasised.
She also highlighted the importance of aligning the trade agenda with monetary and fiscal policies, saying, “This is significant and imperative; we will prioritize these in the short term.”
