While Nigeria is suffering and dying at the hands of bad tools for tough jobs called bureaucratic corruption, It is obvious that Nigerians in the diaspora have really excelled in diverse capacities and professional callings.

Kemi Badenoch was appointed Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade on 6 September 2022. Previously she was Minister of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities between 16 September 2021 and 6 July 2022.

In a video shared on the 9News Nigeria WhatsApp platform, our own girl from Nigeria, Kemi Badenoch is seen being welcomed to her new office by the staff who gathered in their hundreds.

Kemi was overwhelmed by the fantastic welcome she received from this mammoth crowd of enthusiastically cheerful staff of her department waiting for her.

In her appreciation speech before the staff, she said:

“Wow! Thank you! Thank you!
What a fantastic welcome! Thank you so much, everyone.

I’m absolutely delighted to be your new Secretary of State. And, just seeing so many people here looking really enthusiastic, it looks like I am going to be very well served.

I’ve heard really fantastic things about so many of you. And our Prime Minister is a former Secretary of State. So I know that she has left, as has Anne Marie, a very, very dynamic department, in really good shape for me to take over. And I’m looking forward to working with you all, doing very exciting things.

I’ve just come from Cabinet and the focus was economic growth, economic growth and economic growth. And we’re going to be really critical in helping to deliver that.

And I am a free market conservative, very similar to Prime Minister Truss. And I’m looking forward to hearing lots of ideas from the officials about the things that we can do to help spread the mantra of free trade, free markets, freedom generally across the world and I look forward to working with all of you.

Thank you so much for this fantastic welcome.

I feel really really touched, and I know it’s going to be a special time.

Thank you.
“

She was Minister of State (Minister for Equalities) in the Government Equalities Office between 14 February 2020 and July 2022.

She was previously Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury from 13 February 2020 to 15 September 2021 and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education from 27 July 2019 to 13 February 2020.

The principal responsibility of the Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade are:

Securing world-class free trade agreements and reducing market access barriers, ensuring that consumers and businesses can benefit from both.
Encouraging economic growth and a green industrial revolution across all parts of the UK through attracting and retaining inward investment.
Supporting UK businesses to take full advantage of trade opportunities, including those arising from delivering free trade agreements (FTAs), and facilitating UK exports.
Championing the rules-based international trading system and operating the UK’s new trading system, including protecting UK businesses from unfair trade practices.

Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/people/kemi-badenoch