Saudi Arabian authorities are definitely not comfortable with the alarming rate of Nigerians serving jail terms in various prisons in that country.
Consequently, the Saudi Government is seeking ways to reach an understanding with the Nigerian Government so that about 189 Nigerians serving various jail terms in that country could be returned home to complete their jail terms.
The Saudi Arabian ambassador to Nigeria, Foaud Abdulaziz RaJeh, disclosed during a courtesy call on Vice President Namadi Sambo at the State House on Friday, that upon resumption, he had met with quite a number of stakeholders who raised the issue of security.
However, he said that he would be looking forward to a move towards information sharing, training and exchange of prisoners as they currently have one hundred and eighty nine (189) Nigerian prisoners in Saudi Arabia.
He conveyed the gratitude of the Crown Prince Salman ibn Abdulaziz and the Government of Saudi Arabia. He said he was at the Vice President’s office to introduce himself and to seek guidance to enable him work diligently.
According to the envoy, it was a new horizon to lift the relationship of Nigeria and Saudi Arabia to the next level.
The ambassador noted that there were over 1.7million Nigerians in Saudi Arabia and that 95% of them were Saudi Arabian citizens whom Saudi Arabians are proud of as their brothers and sisters who live there.
He added that, on his assumption of office, he noticed the Saudi Arabian Government has offered 220 scholarships for Higher Education and Bachelors’ degrees to Nigerians on Islamic studies and Arabic knowledge.
The ambassador said he ensured that it was increased to 750 for both genders and the courses were Medicine, Engineering and Agriculture amongst others. And that the NOURA University had recently admitted eighteen Nigerian females.
Foaud A. Rajeh added that businessmen from Kogi and Sokoto states amongst other states had attracted Saudi Investors to engage in a business relationship of up to $USD3billion in areas related to sugar and agriculture.
Responding, Vice President Namadi Sambo, called for increased bilateral ties between Nigerian and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Sambo noted that both countries have had long-standing diplomatic ties. He therefore saw the need for the establishment of a bi-national commission by the two countries. He also reminded the Saudi ambassador of the desire of President Goodluck Jonathan to visit the Kingdom early next year.
The Vice President expressed his support to the Saudi authority’s request for greater cooperation in socio-economic and security situations and appreciated the support of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to Nigeria. He also informed the envoy that President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the opening of a branch of the IDB in Nigeria.
Sambo used the occasion to explain to the envoy the administration’s Transformation Agenda, which, he said, was fashioned in a manner as to allow both the public and private sectors drive the economy and called for increased Public Private Partnership between Saudi businessmen and their Nigerian counterparts.
He noted that terrorism was a global phenomenon and that countries needed to put their acts together to cooperate in order to arrest it. On the prisons exchange programme request he noted the existence of the framework and that Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government would be followed up to ensure its actualization while expressing Nigeria’s concern over the deportation of some of her citizens.
