The Vice President, Arc Mohammed Namadi Sambo has said that the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), is a veritable development partner as the administration strides towards realising the goals of the Transformation Agenda.
The Vice President stated this Wednesday, when he received on courtesy call the President of the IDB Group, Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali Al-Mandani and his team, at his official residence, Aguda House, Abuja.
“I am happy that Almighty Allah has shown us the day that you have come with your team to finally introduce your Bank fully to Nigeria, and the good offers that you have that will support Nigerians and particularly this administration in achieving our objective in transforming our country.
Arc Sambo expressed the appreciation of President Jonathan with the funding support that the Bank had been given Nigeria particularly, the Zungeru Hydro Power Plant, the Zaria Water project and the Bilingual Project aimed at addressing the Almajiri education system among others.
VP Sambo noted that the Bank was in the league of international financial institutions, like the World Bank and the African Development Bank, expressing optimism that Nigeria would fully subscribe to the numerous products and services in the Bank had to offer, especially as it had set aside about $2 billion to support both the public and private sector in the country. Arc Sambo assured the delegation of government’s continued support, enjoining them to factor into the funding of the Mambilla Hydro Power project.
Earlier, the President of IDB, Dr. Al-Mandani disclosed that they were in the country to further strengthen the existing relations between Nigeria, the Bank and other member countries, and to also avail the Nigerian public and private sector the numerous benefits abound in the Bank.
Dr. Al-Madani stated that the Bank was organising a two-day forum where such potentialities would be showcased to the Nigerian public. He further disclosed that the visit would also witness the signing of cooperation agreement between Nigeria and the IDB on Bilingual Education. He used the opportunity to thank the Vice President for facilitating the Forum.
The IDB was established in 1975, with its headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Nigeria became a member in 2005 and is number five in the ranking of the Bank with representation of an Executive Director. The Bank has 56 members. The major shareholders of the Bank are Saudi Arabia, Libya, Iran, Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait, Turkey and Nigeria.
