U.S. Govt Pledges Commitment To Partnership With Lagos

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Wednesday, received in audience Ms. Claire Pierangelo, the new Consul-General of the United States (U.S.) Consulate in Lagos, with both pledging to collaborate on areas of mutual interest.

The objective of the courtesy visit, the U.S. diplomat said, was to strengthen the Consulate’s working relationship with the State government, pointing out that the embassy of the U.S. in Lagos had been a “great partner” of the government.

The courtesy visit was Ms. Pierangelo’s first official call on any Nigerian public officer since she arrived in Nigeria.

The new envoy succeeded Mr. John F. Bray as Consul-General; and assumed duty on May 29 – the day Sanwo-Olu was sworn in.

She said: “I am here today on a visit to a friend of the U.S. government and our strategic development partner in Africa. We have had good working relationship and we believe this could be further strengthened for greater impacts on areas of collaborations.

“I am delighted to meet the Lagos State Governor with whom I started work on the same day. Maintaining a cordial relationship with Lagos government is critical to the success of the U.S. Mission in Nigeria. In the coming days, we will be sharing our plans on how to strengthen our shared partnership for the future.”

Ms. Pierangelo mulled avenue for cooperation with Lagos government in the areas of education, health, and security, reiterating American government’s commitment to deepen bilateral relationship with Nigeria through “active collaborations”.

Ms. Pierangelo also said the Consulate sought the support of the Lagos Government in enabling ease of moving its office to a new site on Victoria Island. She noted that the Consulate decided to move its office to a new site to allow space for more bilateral engagements.

Responding, Gov. Sanwo-Olu said Lagos and the U.S. Consulate shared a long history of collaboration that were beneficial to both parties. He said his administration would not hesitate to welcome any plan that would further improve the partnership the State has had with the American government.

He said: “We have a long history of partnership with the American government, which has resulted in positive growth for the State. I believe there is a lot of collaboration we can work on together for the benefit of the people.”

Ms. Pierangelo was accompanied on the visit by the Consulate’s Political Chief, Mr. Osman Tat, and Protocol Aide, Mary-Anne Onwuchekwa.