President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua yesterday pledged his administration’s cooperation with the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM)’s Country Review Team (CRT) to Nigeria.

President Yar’adua spoke at the launch of the Nigeria Country Review Mission at the State House, Abuja. He said Nigeria was ready to "adjust in areas the review may find us lacking, while we would continue to do those things that are right for our citizens.

"You are welcome to interact with all stakeholders, after going through our self-assessment report. We are fully committed to the APRM because it will enable us to serve our people better, ens-ure democratisation, good governance and optimum utilisation of national resources. We want to see Nigeria and Africa transform from under-development to a modern economy that will provide the basic needs for a civilised life for everybody", he added.

President Yar’Adua said the APRM is "one of the most important instruments to help Africa fast-track the development of the continent into industrialisation", and commended the African Union for this initiative.

Also speaking at the occasion, the leader of the team, Ambassador Bethuel Kiplagat, commended President Yar’Adua for the "political commitment and full support" which the APRM has received in Nigeria, adding that Nigeria’s Review programme has unleashed the energy of other African nations to expedite their own programmes.

Ambassador Kiplagat said no fewer than 29 African countries have joined the APRM, while seven of them have so far been reviewed. Countries that have been reviewed include Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa and Algeria. "We expect that by the end of this year, we would have reviewed Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Tanzania and Lesotho", he said. The Country Review Team will be in Nigeria for one month.