Nigerians living in Toronto, Canada’s largest city, and its environs, were yesterday December 30th, treated to a glamorous welcome reception dinner party and awards night in honour of His excellency, Ambassador Adeyinka Asekun, the new High Commissioner to Canada. The highly anticipated event, which was organised by the Leadership and Governance Inc. (LGC) in collaboration with the Nigerian Canadian Association (NCA), was attended by Nigerian professionals and entrepreneurs from various segments of the Canadian economy. The event was also graced by Nigerian traditional chiefs, a Canadian cabinet minister and a member of the Canadian parliament.
The event was MC’ed by George Chukwu and Barrister Kemi Ibitoye and the opening address featured LGC president and CEO, Sam Adewale and NCA president – Dr. Chidi Cadet Nwanyanwu.
During his keynote address titled “Nigeria – The New Frontier For Foreign Direct Investment”, Ambassador Asekun elaborated on the gains Nigeria has made in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency.
Ambassador Asekun also talked about Nigeria’s recovery from its economic recession and the efforts being put in place to revamp the non-oil sector of the economy notably Mining (24% of GDP) and Agriculture (3%).
He also emphasized the fact that Nigeria still account for the largest GDP in Africa and is currently at number 21 in global GDP rankings. Critics, on the other hand, will continue to question the relevance of these data in the face of high level corruption among politicians, lack of a sincere wealth distribution strategy, inequality and a sustained poverty among the populace.
In his closing remarks, Ambassador Asekun wasted no time in utilizing the event to elaborate on the efforts of the federal government in encouraging an enabling environment for both local business and foreign direct investment in Nigeria.
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