Yesterday, Thursday 21 November, 2013, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, was said to have taken ill while presiding over the Nigeria’s Honorary International Investors meeting in London, United Kingdom.

This was revealed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati.

Abati, has however, taken to Twitter to put out the fears of Nigerians concerning the health status of the president. According to him, Jonathan is currently presiding over the HIIC meeting in London.

Below is the president’s full speech at the meeting:

In building a truly competitive environment for business, we are addressing the fundamental issues such as internal security and power supply head-on. For the first time in Nigeria’s 53 year history, we have successfully privatized the electric power industry. We are bringing capital, technology, and operational excellence into the sector. As a result, 11 distribution companies, and four (4) generation companies have been privatized, realising over US$3 billion for Government.  For Council’s information the assets were finally handed over on 1st November, 2013. I am delighted to inform you that investors are responding positively to the opportunities in the sector and we expect to see significant investments in the sector and across the value chain going forward. Ladies and Gentlemen, resolving the power sector alone, completely changes the paradigm on doing business in Nigeria, and we are satisfied with the progress made.Equally, although challenges remain, we are investing in the requisite security infrastructure and intelligence network that will enable us deal more effectively with the new threats we face which can and do hamper investor confidence in our economy. In ensuring that the environment is suitable for investment, we will also continue to intensify the fight against corruption. We are indeed happy that the private sector has begun complementing our strong desire to tackle all forms of rent seeking tendencies. The “Clean Business Nigeria Today” initiative coming from the meetings of the Council is a very good
example. I urge the Council Members and key functionaries of Government to meaningfully participate in the discussions towards our desire to transform the Nigerian economy to one of the world’s largest economies by the year 2020.

I also use this opportunity to inform Council that Nigeria will be hosting the World Economic Forum on Africa, between the 7th and 9th of May 2014. Our hosting this event is yet again a strong sign of Nigeria’s central economic and political role on the continent. The forthcoming World Economic Forum will be used to shape matters of inclusive growth on the continent, and I invite all members of Council to join us in Abuja in May 2014. Dear Council members, in the year 2013, I can sincerely say that Nigeria has attained significant momentum on the drive to attract new investors into the country, and also to encourage existing investors within the country to expand. In 2014, we must not lose this momentum, but rather broaden our interventions to address other difficult issues like the high cost of financing in the country, and the dearth of adequate skills.

The HIIC’s core mandate of providing advice to attract investments into the country, and making Nigeria more competitive in the global economy is therefore as critical today, as it was almost 10 years ago when it was initially formed. Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you once again for your contributions to the growth and development of our great nation, and I very much look forward to sharing ideas with you all during this event.