ABUJA – South Africa’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Amb. Mguni Lulu said Thursday that through the conduct of peaceful and transparent general elections Nigeria had demonstrated that its democracy has come to stay.
Lulu said during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that Nigeria had set example worthy of emulation by other developing countries.
Lulu said that the conduct of the just concluded elections in the country indicated that “Nigeria has come of age and is a leading country in the continent.
He commended President Goodluck Jonathan for congratulating the president-elect, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, saying that action would inspire democracy in Africa.
“The leadership shown by President Goodluck Jonathan when he congratulated the president-elect goes a long way to show that Africa is a continent of the future.
“The introduction of the card readers, in spite of the teething problems, minimised tension, created confidence in the people and strengthened their belief in democracy”, he said.
Speaking on the bilateral relations between Nigeria and South Africa, the envoy said the trade volume stands at 43 billion rand, approximately N7.06 billion annually.
“The trade relations favour Nigeria more because we buy a lot of oil from your country.
“Nigeria imports from South Africa are cars, car parts, food produce just to mention a few while we have a lot in terms of technology.[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”10″]
“The relations between our two countries have a chance to grow to levels higher than before because Nigeria is a strategic partner.”
Lulu also expressed the readiness of his government to share South Africa’s technological expertise with Nigeria to develop Nigeria’s automobile industry contribute more to the growth of the economies of both nations. (NAN)
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