A 10-man delegation of American businessmen and women on Tuesday paid a visit to President Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The delegation, which was led by United States Secretary of Commerce, Ms Penny Pritzker, told Buhari that they were in Nigeria at the instance of US President Barrack Obama.
The delegation comprised US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle and three others.
Pritzker said they were in Nigeria to better understand the opportunities and challenges of doing business in the country.
According to her, the delegation held very high hopes for the Buhari administration’s commitment to “security, good governance, fighting corruption, having reliable and regular regulatory policies”.
“All these make us optimistic about working together. We are not here to sell policies, but to partner with you”, Pritzker stated.
In his response, President Buhari said his government would continue to welcome the support and understanding of the United States as it strives to achieve greater internal security and socio-economic progress in Nigeria.
He also applauded ongoing American collaboration with his administration on security and developmental issues.
“I remain grateful for the reception accorded me and my team when we visited the United States at the invitation of President Obama. We discussed security, corruption, infrastructure, and many other issues.
“We thank America for sending experts to train our troops and providing hardware for our military because we must first stabilise the country before we can move it forward”, Buhari said.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who was also at the meeting, noted that though Nigeria currently faced serious challenges, it was also a time of great opportunities for the nation.
“It’s time to diversify our economy from oil. We’ve always talked about it, but never got round to doing it. The opportunity has come now. We have all it takes to be an agricultural nation. We also have solid minerals and we must develop our infrastructure in order to aid business”, Osinbajo said.
