The joint wrap-up meeting of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and the World Bank has been held, to conclude the 8th Implementation Support Mission of the Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) Project in Abuja.

The Meeting which was hosted by the International Economic Relations Department (IERD) of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and Planning; was an avenue to present and discuss the mission Aide Memoire which summarizes the mission’s findings, flags implementation issues that require government attention and provides an overview of the status of project implementation and progress towards achieving Project Development Objective (PDO). 

The summary of the Aide-Memoire was presented on behalf of the World Bank by Co-TTL, Dr. Adetunji Oredipe, at the wrap-up meeting chaired by the Director, International Economic Relations Department, Hajiya A’isha Omar on behalf of the Honourable Minister of Finance.

In her remarks, Hajia A’isha Omar thanked all the Project teams for the good job done in the effective implementation of the project so far, and expressed hope that the lessons learned would be of immense benefit to other Projects in the country.

The Task Team Leader of the Project, Dr. Manievel Emmanuel Sene pledged to consolidate the achievements and successes recorded so far in the implementation of the project across the six participating states, noting that the report of the Aide Memoire showed most of the Key Performance Indicators of the APPEALS project already achieved and exceeded. Dr. Sene added that the task ahead of the project team is to ensure that all pending sub-projects are implemented before the end of the project next year.

In his remarks, Dr. Oredipe advocated early preparation of the activities necessary for the successful closure of the project, especially conducting surveys on the impacts and achievements of the Project.

The National Project Coordinator, Alhaji Mohammed Sani Jobdi appreciated the cooperation and supports of the Federal Ministry of Finance and the out-going TLL in the smooth implementation of the project. In attendance at the Meeting were some of the World Bank-Nigeria officials, Staff of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and Planning; Management and Staff of the APPEALS Project and other stakeholders. #APPEALSng