NIGERIA: Nigeria is emphasizing that it will keep safe foreign dignitaries due to arrive in the country for its first hosting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa

Record ID: 236674

  • Title: NIGERIA: Nigeria is emphasizing that it will keep safe foreign dignitaries due to arrive in the country for its first hosting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa
  • Date: 5th May 2014
  • Summary: ABUJA, NIGERIA (MAY 05, 2014) (REUTERS) NIGERIA'S FINANCE MINISTER NGOZI OKONJO IWEALA AND HEAD OF AFRICA WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM, ELSIE KANZA SEATED JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) NIGERIA'S FINANCE MINISTER, NGOZI OKONJO IWEALA, SAYING: "We are going to do the maximum necessary to make sure that our guests are safe and protected whilst we, the president also announced that Abuja will, that civil servants and other working people, will be asked to stay home for the, starting from Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, those are the main days of the meeting mainly due to traffic. To avoid incessant traffic problems since we have so many visiting dignitaries." JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF AFRICA WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM, ELSIE KANZA, SAYING: "Well the cancellations are for different reasons so you know some people for example said that they have new commitments etc so it's difficult to tell. Clearly, there are some that are also concerned about the security situation and equally so we are seeing more and more people who still want to participate in the meeting as well." JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) HEAD OF AFRICA WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM, ELSIE KANZA, SAYING: "So we look forward to discussions around growth that leaves no one behind, growth that strengthens societies not weakens them, growth that delivers quality public services and this is why we gave our meeting this year the theme of forging economic growth and creating jobs." PANEL SEATED
  • Embargoed: 20th May 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Nigeria
  • Country: Nigeria
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVADSHSV8MNJ477OFWHG79DLFRZO
  • Story Text: Nigeria on Monday (May 5) urged delegates due for the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa in Abjua this week "not to let terror win" by staying away after a second bombing in the capital in less than three weeks.
    A suspected car bomb killed 19 people and wounded 34 on Thursday (May 1) night in the suburb of Nyanya, about 8 km (five miles) from Abuja city centre and next to the bus station where a rush hour bomb attack killed 75 people on April 14.
    The bombs, along with the abduction of 200 girls from a secondary school in the north-eastern village of Chibok near the Cameroon border, threaten to overshadow the WEF conference's emphasis on Africa's positive growth story.
    Policymakers, entrepreneurs and philanthropists attending the 24th World Economic Forum on Africa, a replica of the flagship annual WEF held in Davos, Switzerland, will be ensconced in the concrete fortress of the Abuja Hilton, protected by 6,000 police and soldiers - the largest security operation Nigeria has ever mounted for a summit.
    The meeting will run from May 7-9.
    Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said participants will not have a problem with security during the summit.

    "We are going to do the maximum necessary to make sure that our guests are safe and protected whilst we, the president also announced that Abuja will, that civil servants and other working people, will be asked to stay home for the, starting from Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, those are the main days of the meeting mainly due to traffic. To avoid incessant traffic problems since we have so many visiting dignitaries," she said during a news briefing.
    Despite the repeated assurances on security, there were some cancellations.

    "Well the cancellations are for different reasons so you know some people for example said that they have new commitments etc so it's difficult to tell. Clearly, there are some that are also concerned about the security situation and equally so we are seeing more and more people who still want to participate in the meeting as well", said Elsie Kanza, director, Head of Africa, World Economic Forum.
    Nigerian officials had hoped the event would highlight their country's potential as an investment destination since it became Africa's biggest economy after a GDP recalculation in March.
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