Photos: Osinbajo meets with Bill Gates Group

Press statement from the office of the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo...

The Buhari administration is interested in using technology to fast track the country’s growth and development, according to Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN Speaking yesterday while signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Federal Government and Global Good Fund co-founded by US billionaire, Bill Gates, the Vice President said the administration “is interested in the idea of using technology because it is the way forward for those interested in rapid growth in the next decade”.

He noted that the President has said that this administration is committed to a bottom-up approach and technology is a tool that can help make the difference.

According to him, “I am interested in this whole idea of using technology to address some of our challenges”, especially in agriculture and health, adding that there is no alternative to the use of technology.

Present at the signing ceremony were the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Audu Ogeh; Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole and that of Budget and National Planning, Mr. Udoma Udo Udoma.

Flanked at the sides by the Ministers at the MoU signing, the Vice President emphasized the importance of technology as a means of adding value and improving the lives of millions of people.

He said “we are at a point where technology is important for making a difference in the lives of the people”.

For instance, he said there is the need to develop specific technology solutions that can target low level subsistence farmers, small, micro and medium enterprises with the resultant effect of impacting lives. However, he further noted that “the challenge is how to ensure that these initiatives and innovations will benefit the majority of the people”.

While commending the initiative to engage with the Global Good in the effort, the Vice President charged the partners to ensure that measurable targets are set in order that tangible results can be achieved.

“I think we should be able to set targets, to have useful interaction in terms of how much we are able to achieve; this target should be on a scale, for instance, in the next one or two years. It should be based on measurable targets to keep our focus”, Prof. Osinbajo explained stressing that “at the end of the day, it will mean we’ve impacted so many millions of people”.

Earlier, Mr. David Keogh, the Director of Global Good Fund, who signed the MoU on behalf of his organisation and led the Fund’s delegation, said the Fund is on a social mission to deploy technology in the area of agriculture and healthcare that will impact many people in Nigeria. He stated that the company working in collaboration with multi-lateral agencies, non-profit organisations and governments, engages in identifying challenges in different value chains and provide technological solutions to these value chains.

The MoU signed between Nigeria and Global Good will provide the framework for identifying the specific challenges in identified sectors such as in agriculture and healthcare and provide the necessary technological solutions to impact the lives of the people. Global Good is funded by Bill Gates.

Laolu Akande
Senior Special Assistant (Media & Publicity)
In the Vice President's Office