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Distinguished lsdies and Gentlemen,

Let me thank you all for your gracious presence on this occasion,

marking Nigeria's 5l"t lndependence celebration as a sovereign

country. lndeed, our great country has recorded significant milestonesin building a united, virile, stable, progressive and responsive nation, as

well as on other fecets of socio-economic life, having travelled a long

and winding road of pains and gains.

2. United in diversity, with over 25O ethnic groups and a population

of over 152 million people, Nigeria is the 8th rnost populous country in

the world. lt is Africa's second biggest econorny with a GDP of over

slsl.z billion and an economic growth rate that aggregates over 696 in

the past flve years. lt is the 8th biggest producer of oil in the world and

holds the 8th largest ges reserves in the world of 186 trillion cubit feet.

3. The Government of President Jonathan has embarked on a

Transformational Agenda for the comprehensive development of thecountry, within the conte)ft of the Vision 2020, aimed at making Nigeria

one of the biggest economies by year 2020. Emphasis is placed on

priority ereas of the economy including; electricity generation,

infrastructural development, agriculture, oil and gas, transportation,employment creation, education and health.

4. Nigeria is a liberal multi-party democracy, with a Presidential

system of government. lt held one of its most successful presidential

elections in April this yeer. The Government is committed todemocracy, rule of law and good governance, and stands ready to

continue to address the country's socio-economic problems. To thisend, the contributions of our development partners includinggovernments and the Private Sector are welcome.

5. ln particular, the Private Sector has a special role to play in thisregard as the engine of economic growth and development. ln thewords of President Jonathan: 'We intend to build a better Nigeria

through human capital and infrastructural development and increasedpartnership with the Private Sector, creating a level playing fieldnecessary for foreign investors to come to Nigeria to do business'.

5. Bilaterally, the United States rernains a dependable ally and astrategic partner of Nigeria. The U. S. is Nigeria's largest trading partner

after the United Kingdom; and its largest expoft market. On the otherhand, Nigeria is the sth largest supplier of crude oil to the United States;

its largest recipient of Foreign Direct lnvestment from the Private

Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa; as well as a reliable collaborator on issues

of global peace and security.

7. lndeed, Nigeria is one of the biggest contributors to global peace

and security and the 4th largest troops contributing country for peace

operations of the United Nations. Nigeria would sustain its position es a

responsible rnember of the international community, specially

committed to the security and other concerns of its neighbouring

countries.

8. We express our gratitude to all of those who, one wey or another,sympathized with us on the national tragedy of the recent terroristattack on the United Nations building in Abuja on August 26, this year.Terrorisrn, an emergent scourge and threat to our civilization as well asto universal values is evil, deserving total condemnation from all men of

conscience and goodwill. Nigeria would continue to welcome allinternational assiEtance in its counterterrorism efforts, and collaboratewith the international cornmunity to fight this common threat tointernational security and peace.

g. To the Nigerien Diaspora community, we say a big thank you foryour invaluable contributions to national development in suchimportant areas as fund remittances, education, health, skillacguisitions, etc.

L0. Nevertheless, there is still a great deal to be done and I furtherurge you to continue to put your hands to the plough and stand up tothe challenges of our common nationat destiny.

11. For those of you that supported and contributed to ouroperations as a Consulate, please accept our sincere gratitude" lt is ourdetermination to improve our services for the good of our people aswell as for our friends and partners we serve.

L2. Thank you for your kind attention and God bless you,