Edun Meets World Bank Chief over Power Sector Reforms
Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, Friday met with the Vice-President for Infrastructure at the World Bank, Guangzhe Chen, to discuss bold reforms aimed at improving electricity access across the country with the objective of accelerating infrastructure development and economic growth.
During the meeting, which focused on addressing ongoing challenges in Nigeria’s power sector, Edun underscored President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to the Mission 300 project, a joint initiative by the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB), aimed at providing access to electricity for 300 million people across Africa by 2030.
A statement issued by the Director, Information and Public Relations, Ministry of Finance, Mohammed Manga, noted that
both parties highlighted the need for reforms that would improve efficiency, expand access, and ensure sustainable energy solutions for Nigeria’s growing population.
Present at the meeting were World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Ndiame Diop;
Director of Infrastructure for West Africa,
Franz Drees-Gross; Operations Manager at the World Bank, Taimur Samad, and representatives from the Office of the Special Adviser on Energy to the President, among others.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has called on public servants in the country to embrace digitisation and innovation in their workplaces as key drivers in the promotion of service delivery, as well as effective implementation of government policies and programmes.
Speaking at a town hall meeting with the staff of the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Lydia Shehu Jafiya, emphasised the importance of leveraging technology and adopting modern work ethics to enhance productivity, efficiency and transparency.
She stated that the world has gone digital, and as such, civil servants must not be left behind in the global transformation.
“Digitisation and innovation are critical to improving our service delivery, and we must all be on board so as to ensure full implementation of the policies and programmes of the Federal Government aimed at boosting socio-economic development of our nation,”Jafiya said.
She assured the staff that the ministry was determined to provide the necessary training and support, as well as conducive work environment within the limited resources to ensure a seamless transition to digital processes and innovative work practices for effective realisation of the policy objectives of government.
According to her, the finance minister
was committed to creating a digital economy that works for all Nigerians, adding that: “Our workers are key to achieving this vision, and we urge them to embrace digitisation and innovation with enthusiasm.”
The permanent secretary commended the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Head of Service, Mrs Esther Walson-Jack, in particular, for the unwavering commitment in driving the digitization of the Federal Public Service for improved service delivery, as well as the economic growth and development of Nigeria.
