Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, has been appointed the Chairperson, Board of Governors of ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, EBID.
She succeeds Hassoumi Massoudou from Republic of Niger.
The announcement was made on Tuesday in Abuja at the end of the 15th Ordinary Session of the board of governors of the bank.
Adeosun had earlier urged other finance ministers to speak about radical economic transformation, which would no doubt, take the sub-region to improved living standard for all citizens.
She advised them to prioritise industrialisation, especially through labour intensive manufacturing to promote job creation.
“In addition, conscious emphasis should be placed on agriculture to improve food security and deriving more value from the sea by boosting the ocean economy.
“Potentially, these areas also provide investors with profitable investment opportunities in our community,” she stated.
Adeosun said that critical work was being done to promote regional integration in the sub-region.
She said efforts were underway to radically transform Nigeria’s economy in a manner that would shift the age-old emphasis away from oil as the main source of revenue.
Adeosun noted that diversification and domestic resource mobilisation through improved tax revenue were ongoing in Nigeria.
“The signalling effect coupled with positive externalities that would be generated will have significant impact on the regional economy.
“Infrastructure development remains top of the agenda to ease movement of goods, people and services across our community.
“Furthermore, power to light up Africa is an essential imperative for industrialisation and for us to succeed, we need to mobilise appropriate financing.
“Accordingly, we must support our Bank, EBID, to mobilise domestic and external resources to strengthen developmental partnerships and collaboration,” the Chairperson explained.
According to her, the meeting was a key instrument in this regard as it brought the drivers of the economy in the sub-region together to discuss important matters.
“Our people yearn for prosperity and we must be determined not to fail them and that is why we have ECOWAS Vision 2020 as a clear roadmap towards a better life for all,” she said.
EBID was established by the 15 member states for economic development of West Africa through the financing of ECOWAS projects and programmes.
