Ambode, Ban Ki-moon, others to address Nigerian Young Professionals Summit in New York
Press Release
It’s part of efforts to resolve the present economic crisis in Nigeria and assist with credible projects that could potentially elevate Nigeria from its current status as a third world country.
The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has pledged to send a special envoy to the Nigerian Young Professionals Forum (NYPF) Summit scheduled to take place in New York on the 24th of September, 2016.
This Summit with THEME: “X-raying the current Nigeria’s Economic Challenges and our Foreign Policy, Prospect & Solution”; will hold concurrently with the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and will feature discussions that border on inclusive growth, food security, economy diversification, foreign direct investment (FDI) and several other topics.
Those invited from the Federal Government as Special Guests are Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Dr Kemi Adeosun; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama; Minister of State Agriculture, Senator Dr. Heneken Lokpobiri; and the Special Adviser to the President on Social Protection Plan.
Other notable key speakers at the summit which will be broadcast live in Nigeria include Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo, Former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof Pat Utomi, (Economist), Founder/CEO at Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL) and Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, Former Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof Soji Adelaja of the Michigan State University MSU.
State Governors from Nigeria that are expected to attend include Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State, Arc. Darius Dickson Ishaku of Taraba State, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State, Chief Willie Obiano of Anambra State and Prof Senator Ben Ayade, Governor of Cross River State.
Representatives of International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank Group (WBG), African Development Bank (AfDB), Bill Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation and a delegation from the European Union are also expected to feature prominently during the panel discussion.
Speaking about the upcoming event, the US Co-ordinator of NYPF, Mr. Okenfe Liberty while noting that the summit was the second of its kind by NYPF said the event was geared toward proffering lasting solutions to the current economic challenges in Nigeria.
We can no longer pretend that Nigeria is not in a recession. This is evident by the dip in government revenues, drop in consumer spending, decline in economic activities, job losses and most importantly Inflation rate. Which is why we have come together as young professionals to address these issues on the way forward for Nigeria.
It is our hope that the resolutions from the summit which will be submitted to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, will be properly reviewed and recommendation made for possible adoption,” he said.
The Nigerian Young Professionals Forum (NYPF) is a Non Governmental Organization composed of over 3 million young Nigerian professionals from diverse professions and perspectives to learn from each other and to build comprehensive solutions on the local and international levels.
In March 2016, NYPF made headlines when it launched a N500 million Naira special seed fund (Young Entrepreneurs & Student Grant Scheme) (YESGrant) for young Nigerians as part of efforts to grow more indigenous entrepreneurs, encourage the culture of self-reliance and deepen the Nigeria economy.
