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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.
TV anchor Rufai Oseni makes headlines as he speaks on fuel subsidy in Nigeria. He shared that Nigeria can have fuel subsidy without the long queues at filling stations.
“When we were still paying subsidies, there were no long queues. We were subsidising. So you can still have a subsidy regime going on, and there will be no long queues because production was close by. Dangote had it. That’s just it. That argument also falls flat.
“The biggest beneficiaries of subsidy are not Nigerians. They are crony capitalists that have big infrastructure, and they do contracts. They have been the biggest beneficiaries of the subsidy,” he said.
Lagos State Governor, Sanwo-Olu, speaks to those in the electricity sector about the usual blackouts in the state.
He speaks on ways things can change in the state and how electricity can be provided.
“We need to drop corporate egos, abandon long-standing excuses, and confront the harsh realities obstructing progress in the power sector.”
“We, state governments, used to give excuses that everything is centralised, so the Federal Government has unbundled it now. What have we done in a year and a half?” Sanwo-Olu asked.
“We take two steps forward, we go five steps backward,” he said.
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has declared Thursday, August 20, a work-free day for public servants in the state to mark the Isese Festival.
Speaking on the celebration, he said “Ìṣẹ̀ṣe is not a relic. It is a living expression of our traditions and a celebration of Yoruba spirituality as an important part of Nigeria’s cultural and religious landscape,” he said.
He added “When the drums sound in Lagos on Thursday, they answer drums in Havana, in Salvador, in Port of Spain. Fifty-five million people and counting. Lagos is not observing a local holiday. Lagos is standing at the centre of a global heritage,” Aregbe said.
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