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Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Pledges Support for Nigeria’s Economic Reforms
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has pledged support to Nigeria’s economic reform efforts during a meeting with President Bola Tinubu in Riyadh on Monday.
The meeting, held on the sidelines of the Arab-Islamic Summit, focused on enhancing cooperation between the two countries, particularly in areas such as oil and gas, agriculture, infrastructure, and the establishment of the Saudi-Nigeria Business Council.
A key topic discussed was Nigeria’s proposal for a $5 billion bilateral trade agreement with Saudi Arabia.
In 2022, the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) made a significant move by investing $1.24 billion to acquire a 35.43% stake in Olam Agri, one of Nigeria’s top agricultural firms.
Talks are now underway to increase SALIC’s stake in the company, with the hope that this investment will help Olam become one of the world’s largest agro-allied businesses.
Crown Prince Mohammed praised President Tinubu’s economic reforms, noting that they mirrored his own steps to stabilize and develop Saudi Arabia when he first became Prime Minister.
He assured Nigeria of his continued support and vowed to motivate his team to push forward the various collaborative projects discussed.
Present at the meeting were several key Saudi officials, including the Minister of National Guard, Prince Abdullah bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, and the Minister of Defense, Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz.
Meanwhile, the Joint Arab-Islamic Summit, which took place in Riyadh on November 11, 2024, reinforced Nigeria’s commitment, along with other member states, to the Ministerial Committee tasked with engaging global leaders to bring an end to the ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.
The committee, led by Saudi Arabia, also includes foreign ministers from Nigeria, Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, Indonesia, Palestine, and Jordan.
The summit’s final resolution called for intensifying efforts to end the violence in Gaza and Lebanon.
It emphasized the importance of international cooperation to support the Palestinian cause and protect the sovereignty of Palestine, particularly East Jerusalem, which was reaffirmed as the eternal capital of Palestine.
Leaders also condemned Israel’s military actions in Gaza, describing them as crimes against humanity, and expressed unwavering support for Lebanon’s stability and security.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has reportedly declared a strike at Taraba State University over outstanding salary-related demands and delays in payments.
The strike is scheduled to begin today, October 12, 2026. According to the union’s chairman, the union had been engaging the Taraba State Government over its outstanding demands since February 2026.
“The union had exercised considerable patience and demonstrated its commitment to dialogue since February 2026, when it began engaging the Taraba State Government over the outstanding issues,” Mbave said.
“The union had earlier suspended its planned industrial action following an appeal by the government for additional time through the Office of the Head of Civil Service, in the interest of maintaining industrial harmony,” the chairman added.
The Chairman of Gboko Local Government Area of Benue State, Torseer Yina, has imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the ancient town.
The curfew takes effect from Thursday, October 8, 2026, following unrest and violent protests in the area.
According to reports, the action was taken to contain the unrest and violent protests by members of BEMOA following the death of one of its members by unknown gunmen.
The protest, which was reportedly hijacked by hoodlums, turned violent after an angry mob burnt two vehicles belonging to the Benue State Civil Protection Guards.
The Gboko council chairman said the curfew takes effect immediately and warned that anyone caught flouting the order or breaching public peace would be decisively dealt with.
Nine people have died in a fatal road crash along the Ijebu-Ode-Benin Expressway in Ogun State.
The crash occurred on Monday at about 4:55pm around the Bethel area along the Ijebu-Ode/Ore axis of the expressway. It involved a white Toyota Hiace commercial bus belonging to Delta Line and a white Sino truck operated by Bill Gas Solution Ltd.
According to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), all nine people involved in the crash, comprising three males and six females, died in the incident.
The FRSC said the crash occurred while it was raining and the road was wet, with preliminary investigations identifying speed violation as the probable cause.
The FRSC rescue team arrived at the scene shortly after receiving the report, while the bodies of the victims were taken to the General Hospital Morgue in Ijebu-Ode.
The Ogun State Sector Commander, Oludare Ogunjobi, urged motorists, especially commercial drivers, to obey speed limits and exercise extra caution when driving in the rain.
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