UNGA: For US First Lady, it was an emotional farewell to visiting First Ladies

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The First Lady of the United States, Jill Biden has bid other First Ladies farewell, including Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, at the 79th United Nations General Assembly.

Jill Biden spoke when she hosted the First Ladies to a lunch at Pier 57, New York, as one of the events marking the end of her engagements and participation at the 79th session of UNGA.

She described her interactions with the First Ladies as impactful, saying it was the last time she was hosting as the First Lady of the US.

Mrs Biden recalled that the bond they had forged over the years in their struggle to promote peace in the world and attract development to their respective countries will continue beyond next year January when she is expected to vacate as the First Lady of the United States.

According to her, “ I appreciate you all for always coming for this gathering, I have a great feeling that I will be seeing more of you in my next chapter of life. I wish you all the best as you all return to your various countries it has come to my notice that many of you have a long way back home.”

Indeed, lunch events are common on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, serving as platforms for world leaders and their delegations to hold bilateral talks, forge partnerships and strengthen diplomatic ties.

ExxonMobil’s $10bn investment in Nigeria, testament of Tinubu’s reforms – Shettima

Vice President Kashim Shettima has described ExxonMobil’s proposed $10 billion dollar investment in Nigeria’s deep-water oil operations as a clear testament to President Bola Tinubu administration’s economic reforms and investment-friendly policies.

In the same vein, global maritime giant, DP World, has also announced plans to develop a multibillion-dollar port project in Nigeria.

The Vice President disclosed these developments during a high-level meeting with ExxonMobil executives and officials of DP World on the sidelines of the ongoing 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, United States.

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Communications, Stanley Nkwocha, quoted the vice president as saying the centrepiece of ExxonMobil’s new strategy is the Owo project, a substantial subsea tie-back that could represent a $10 billion investment.

According to him, the oil giant aims to inject $1 billion annually into maintenance operations and an additional $1.5 billion to boost production by 50,000 barrels per day over the next few years.

Also, the Nigerian government secured a $600,000 relief fund and commitments from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for relief efforts for victims of floods, as well as for health and agricultural sectors’ reforms.

The foundation pledged the $600,000 for flood relief in Borno State and other health sector initiatives, with an additional $5 million grant approved for Lagos Business School and partners to develop the agricultural economics of industrial cassava.

The donation was announced when Vice President Shettima held a meeting with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation led by its head of global development programme, Dr Christopher Elias, on the sidelines of the 79th UNGA.