Nigeria Advocates Joint Commission with Portugal

By Michael Olugbode

Nigeria has advocated the establishment of a joint commission with Portugal to boost bilateral relations between the two countries.

The call was made by the new Nigeria’s Ambassador to Portugal, Alex Kefas, while presenting his Letters of Credence to President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa of the Republic of Portugal at the Presidential Palace in Lisbon on Tuesday.

According to a press statement issued by the Nigerian mission in Lisbon, the Ambassador during the occasion, congratulated the Portuguese company, Mota Ingil, for winning the contract for the construction of Kano-Maradi railway, and advocated the establishment of a joint commission which will serve as the major umbrella of all aspects of bilateral relations between both countries.

The Nigerian principal envoy also commended the Portuguese Government, especially its Navy for attending the yearly Nigerian Naval military exercises and hosting its ships for stopovers in Portugal.

He also called on the government of President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa to expand the defence cooperation between the two friendly countries to include training of the Nigerian military and other security agencies to tackle the rising security challenges, as well as collaborating with Nigeria in fighting pirates in the Gulf of Guinea.

Kefas equally used his meeting with the Portuguese president to highlight investment opportunities that are abound in Nigeria and called on Portuguese investors to take advantage of the incentives provided by the Government of Nigeria to invest in various sectors.

He used the occasion to covey the greetings of President Muhammadu Buhari and highlighted his achievements since assumption of office in 2015 to include economic development, fighting corruption and security, as well as massive infrastructural development across the country.

The President of Portugal congratulated the Nigerian Ambassador on his appointment and wished him a successful tour of duty.