Ambassador Aminu Meets Nigerian Professionals on Training Course to U.S.A.

Nigerian Ambassador to the United States, Professor Jibril Aminu today met a group of Nigerian professionals visiting the United States for a training programme.

The group numbering thirty participants drawn mainly from the Central Bank of Nigeria, Bureau of Public Enterprises, Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation, Nigerian Reinsurance Corporation and Securities and Exchange Commission were in Washington to attend the International Law Institute training seminars in "bank restructuring and governance"; Capital Markets: development and regulation; and "procurement of consulting and professional services".

The International Law Institute established in 1965 has for the past thirty years been providing training and technical assistance in finance management, law and governance to professionals in both public and private sectors in developing countries.

More Nigerians than any other nationals have benefited from the ILI Institute training programmes in the past two decades.

Receiving the seminar participants and their lecturers, Ambassador Aminu briefed them on Nigeria-US relations which is described as very cordial. According to him Nigeria is highly regarded by the United States which together with South Africa are considered the engine of growth and development for Africa.

Informing the visitors of the Embassy's activities especially in the area of harnessing the abundant human resources Nigerians in the diaspora have to offer their country, His Excellency regretted that Nigeria has had to contend with negative image as a result of the activities of few Nigerians involved in the 419 scam.

To amehorate the situation the Federal Government recently organized a presidential seminar on 419 scam in New York.

The recent American interest in oil from the Gulf of Guinea as well as the planned African-African-American Sullivan Summit scheduled for Abuja next year according to Ambassador Aminu are positive indicators of the confidence reposed on Nigeria by America.

Briefing the Ambassador earlier the leader of the delegation expressed happiness that the International Law Institute with support from the OPEC Fund intend to open an office in Nigeria before the end of the year. ILI according to him is involved in promoting cross-fertilisation of ideas among people of different nations.