The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has debunked claims credited to the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Sanusi that the minister refused to attend the U.S-Nigeria investors summit.
Kachikwu noted that he was at another investment meeting in the UK. According to the spokesman for the petroleum minister, Mr. Idang Alibi
”It is important to note that Kachikwu was not in the United States of America as reported and was not billed to attend the summit. He was in the United Kingdom where he had just concluded the facilitation of a key investment meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and the Royal Dutch Shell Plc. led by the CEO, Bernardus Van Beurden, in London.”
Emir Sanusi had recently accused some ministers of skipping the U.S-Nigeria Investors’ Forum despite being in the United States.
The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun and the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele had also debunked the report with an explanation that they were not scheduled to attend the Nigeria-US Investment Summit because they had other engagement at the IMF which coincided with their official engagement.
The event which was scheduled to be an interactive meeting between the Nigerian government and the US business community had in attendance Wilbur Ross, United State Secretary of Commerce; Sergio Pimenta, IFC Regional Vice President ( Middle East and Africa); C.D Glin, President and CEO, U.S African Development Foundation ((USADF).
