Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima and members of the Nigerian Governors Forum, today, June 22, met with the co-Chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, together with the chairman of Dangote Foundation, Aliko Dangote, behind closed doors at the State House, Abuja.
Politics Nigeria gathered that the meeting began around 11:43 a.m. and was part of Gates’ engagements in Nigeria and the Niger Republic.
As of this report’s time, the meeting’s agenda has yet to be made public.
But, the attendees would consider areas of collaboration between foundations and the Nigerian government in areas such as the health and education sectors.
Bill Gates’ visit to Nigeria is meant to meet leaders and partners in tackling health and development challenges.
A media advisory issued by the Foundation on Monday, June 19, disclosed that the visit is part of the Gates Foundation’s commitment to work closely with communities and leaders to support innovation that can help accelerate progress and improve lives across Africa.
Gates engaged students and young leaders in interactive conversations to gather insights and share perspectives on how science and innovation can accelerate positive change and contribute to a brighter outlook for Africa.
Present at the meeting were the Chairman of the NGF, Governor Abdulrahman Adbulrazaq of Kwara State, Bala Mohammed of Bauchi; Dr. Umar Radda of Katsina, Dauda Lawal of Zamfara; Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa, Ahmad Aliyu of Sokoto, and Umar Namadi of Jigawa State.
The Deputy Governors of Kaduna, Delta, Kano, Plateau, Ebonyi, and Benue states, amongst others, were also at the meeting.
The governors of Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Ekiti, Edo, Kebbi, Imo, Niger, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Ogun, Rivers, Kogi, Taraba, Yobe and Gombe were also expected to attend the meeting.
