By Ben Adoga, Abuja
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has charged foreign missions to always follow through bilateral agreements to logical conclusions.
The Minister said this when he received the Irish Ambassador to Nigeria, His Excellency, Peter Ryan, in his office in Abuja yesterday.
He regretted that several bilateral agreements ended up at the discussion levels.
The Minister also urged the visiting Ambassador to take advantage of the very vast arable land in Nigeria’s capital territory to strengthen the partnership between both countries.
According to the Minister, “Relationships should be beneficial. I won’t be in a hurry to enter into arrangements that end immediately after discussions.
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“Nigeria has strong ties with the Republic of Ireland and so we would like to leverage on that, especially in the area of agriculture which Ireland is known for.”
Earlier, the Irish Ambassador to Nigeria, Peter Ryan, said his country was willing to partner with the FCT Administration, especially in the areas of education, agriculture, and information and communications technology.
He said the Republic of Ireland has a very large Nigerian population, with many of them making remarkable contributions to the economy of Ireland, especially in the area of sports and ICT.
The Ambassador who noted that the Republic of Ireland has a lot of partnerships with several capitals in the world, said he sees the potential in Abuja and promised to connect the FCTA to the vibrant cultural ecosystem in his country.
He also promised to facilitate practical collaborations with key investment experts and other stakeholders in the Irish private sector.
“Education is very important to us and has helped us achieve the success we have in the area of technology.
“In Ireland, we intend to be very practical as we know that we can’t do everything, so in things we do, we try to do the best we can.
“From the first week of December, we are bringing to Abuja, the head of the largest vocational education provider in the land of Ireland. He will be here and has no agenda, so he is at your disposal.
“In the area of agriculture, we had a visit earlier in September by our Minister of Agriculture to Nigeria. And as a follow-up to the visit, we can share the lessons and experience by connecting His Excellency (the FCT Minister) directly to the experts that run an organisation called Sustainable Food System.”
