Vice President Kashim Shettima flanked by Ericsson team, including Efosa Aigbe (2nd right) the company’s Senior Solution Architect
By Deborah Nnamdi
Vice President Kashim Shettima on Monday pledged Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening ties with Swedish tech giant Ericsson by promptly operationalizing the Memorandum Of Understanding (MoU) signed between the country and the company in 2024.
The Vice President stated this when he received a delegation from the tech giant led by its Senior Vice President and Head of Market Area, Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Mr Patrick Johansson, on a courtesy visit to the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Shettima, in a statement by Stanley Nkwocha,
Senior Special Assistant to The President on Media and Communications
(Office of The Vice President) on Monday said Ericsson is a part of the Nigerian experiment, recalling that the firm laid the foundation for other tech giants at the time.
Noting that the company has kept faith with the nation as a partner in progress and a collaborator in her shared story of transformation.
“We cherish our relationship with Sweden and your company and I must urge you to harness our manifest destiny. We are a large nation with a tech-savvy population. We are making efforts across different fields. A good number of the Unicorns that we have in Africa are Nigerian-based. The future is Nigeria,” the VP noted.
The Senior Vice President and Head of Market Area, Europe, Middle East, and Africa of the company, Mr Patrick Johansson, emphasized the need to strengthen the relationship between Nigeria and Ericsson through the promotion of grassroots innovation and entrepreneurship, among other projects of Ericsson.
In the same vein, the company’s Vice President and Head of Customer Units, West and South Africa at Ericsson Middle East & Africa, Majda Lahlou Kassi, said Nigeria occupied an important place in the company’s history.
He said Ericsson believes in Nigeria’s potential and is proud of the existing relationship, especially the possibilities for growth in the local market and entrenchment of a digital culture among the citizenry.
Also present at the meeting with the VP were Ericsson’s Director of Public Affairs, Government and Industry Relations, and the company’s Senior Solutions Architect, Mr Efosa Aigbe..
