Mayor of
Brent, London, Micheal Adeyeye, has disclosed that the population of Nigerian
immigrants in London has hit over 1 million people.
Meantime, Governor Babtunde Fashola of Lagos and
Mayor of London, Mr. Alderman Gifford stressed the need to strengthen bilateral
ties between Lagos and London.
The duo who spoke during a courtesy visit by the
Mayor at the State House, Alausa, Ikeja, said that the population of Nigerian
and United Kingdom immigrants in both cities have showed that the bilateral
ties between both countries was age-long.
Speaking in an interview with Saturday Vanguard,
Adeyeye, one of the three councillors in London, said that “Lagos is like
London because it is full of people with diverse ethnic background.
“That is why
we all need to work together so that we can all gain effectively from each
another. We have a large community of Nigerians in London, and the population
of Nigerians living in the city is over 1 million. This was what we got from
the high commission.”
He noted that “this was the reason why there was
need to foster business relation between the two nations particularly Lagos and
London. And all our efforts would be geared towards ensuring that the
partnership grows from strength to strength.”
He expressed joy over the ties, saying “I am
happy that this is happening between Nigeria and UK. We all know that there is
an age long relation between the two countries.”
Fashola, in his speech said that London and
Lagos have made tremendous progress in various sectors of their economy,
saying,“I believe that with this, we can learn from each other’s success.”
The governor said; “Today, Lagos is now dealing
with challenges of becoming a global city state in the sense that there are
several opportunities in the state. And it has become an attractive destination
for the world.
“And as we move towards improving our economy in
Lagos, there is need for us to strengthened our bilateral ties especially with
United Kingdom,” he said.
Speaking earlier, Mr. Gifford said “London is a
very great city but we realised that London must strengthen its relation with
other countries especially Nigeria because there are many Nigerians living in
the city. “And this could be further explained by the five commercial banks out
of the 250 commercial banks in the city owned by Nigerians,” he said.
According to him, “We have a lot to explore but
we believe that to achieve this, it must be done by allowing equal partnership.
We believe that the economy that would grow in the next 50 years will be coming
from an economy that has great base with a better financial market. If we are
going to survive, we must work with these economies. And Lagos is among these
economies that have been identified.”
Source: vanguard
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