Osinbajo identifies diaspora investment as key to Nigeria’s economic recovery post-COVID-19 

Osinbajo identifies diaspora investment as key to Nigeria’s economic recovery post-COVID-19 

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says investment by Nigerians living abroad is key to the country’s economic recovery in post-COVID-19 era.

He spoke yesterday in Abuja at the 2021 Nigeria Diaspora Investment Summit (NDIS), organised by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) in collaboration with the Nigeria Diaspora Summit Initiative.

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Represented by Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, the Vice President observed that overseas remittances have continued to surpass oil revenue, translating to sometimes as high as six per cent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

He regretted that about 70 per cent of the remittances from the Diaspora go to family support, while investments get the rest 30 per cent.

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Describing the theme of the event as apt, Osinbajo said the Federal Government was keen on repositioning the economy after the disruptive impact of the pandemic.

BESIDES, the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) and Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN) have commended the Federal Government for including some pharmacies as COVID-19 vaccination centres.

The pharmacists, in a joint statement signed by PSN President, Prof. Cyril Usifoh and ACPN National Chairman, Wale Oladigbolu, submitted: “This pronouncement is, indeed, a step in the right direction for the Federal Government and its agencies if the target for vaccination of eligible members of the population by December 2021 is to be attained.”

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Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, had last week, announced the inclusion of some pharmacies as vaccination centres.

The pharmacists said: “The PSN, its technical arm and interest groups – the ACPN and the Clinical Pharmacists Association of Nigeria (CPAN) – have variously advocated for this move.

“In readiness of this noble pronouncement, the ACPN had, at its 39th and 40th annual scientific conferences in 2020 and 2021 in Abuja and Abeokuta, highlighted the gains of incorporating community pharmacies as public health centres for COVID-19 vaccination.”

The group said Nigerian pharmacists have availed themselves of different training opportunities from corporate industry-led to International Federation Pharmaceutical (FIP) Vaccination Masterclass, and only recently, certified some of its members on related programmes in an ACPN training, organised in collaboration with Mercer University, United States.

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It said though the cost of the capacity-building programmes was individually borne, the expertise would be deployed to improve public health.

The pharmacists urged the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to ensure that the inclusion is truly felt by the people.

 

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