Atiku Bagudu,
who was also part of the President’s team during the visit to Saudi Arabia,
said the president should rather be commended for his untiring efforts to boost
the nation’s economy by courting influx of foreign capital.
President
Muhammadu Buhari should be commended, rather being condemned for his
globetrotting, in search of investors.
This is the
view of Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State. He spoke to the Ismaila Chafe,
the State House correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria in Makkah, at the
end of the president’s visit and performance of his second Umrah this year.
Bagudu, who
reacted to the recent trips of the president to Japan, Russia and Saudi Arabia,
frowned at critics of the trips, saying they were being unfair to the president
and Nigerians who would eventually be the direct beneficiaries of such economic
diplomacy.
He,
particularly, described the president’s trip to Saudi Arabia, where he
participated in the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, as a very
successful outing for Nigeria.
“It is an
excellent outing for Mr President, President Muhammadu Buhari and us are honoured
to be part of his entourage to the conference which is tagged; Future
Investment Initiative (FII) organized by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi
Arabia, which is their Sovereign Wealth Fund equivalent to Nigeria’s Sovereign
Fund, only that whereas ours is under three billion dollars theirs is in excess
of 400 billion dollars.
“Mr President
was invited by King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Custodian of the two whole Mosques,
and that shows the respect with which Mr President is treated around the world
and the honours he brings to Nigeria.
“Mr President in addition
to participating in the summit, was also hosted by King Salman ibn Abdulaziz
and he was visited by the Crown Prince, Muhammed ibn Salman, who showed
unprecedented respect for Mr President, because rather than Mr President
visiting him he decided to visit Mr President and agreed to invest in Nigeria.
“So, this is a very, very
successful outing for Nigeria and it is consistent with our call for Mr
President to be more active in economic diplomacy.
“It is noteworthy that Mr
President has visited Russia, Japan, all in a bid to secure investments for
Nigeria.
“This is the kind of
activism – Mr President is not travelling to enjoy himself or on holiday but to
bring investments for Nigeria.
“He (Buhari) just took a
day off to come to Makkah and perform the Umrah and we are quite honoured that we
participated with him in the Umrah.
“He was very, very
energetic, very healthy as he displayed during the movement between the Safa
and Marwah.’’
The governor expressed the
hope that Kebbi would benefit immensely from the Saudi and other trips.
“Any benefit to Nigeria is
a benefit to Kebbi State government; two, the promise of more investments by
Saudi Arabia, the promise of more support to our security issues will also have
direct benefit to Kebbi state.
“The fields of cooperation
will include many things that Kebbi state has ability to compete in, like
mining, agriculture and even futuristic investments like Information Technology
where our abled youths will be able to participate and compete,’’ he added.
President Buhari’s four-day
visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia came to an end on Saturday.
During the visit, the
President participated in the Future Investment Initiative, which was
christened “Davos in the Desert”.
“Apart from attending the
summit, which had a debating format for global leaders, investors and
innovators to compare notes and share
ideas, President Buhari held extensive talks with the Kingdom’s rulers, King
Salman bin Abdulaziz and his son, the powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman.
“The Presidents meetings
with the two prominent rulers marked an important upswing in relations between
Nigeria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,’’ Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s
spokesman said in a special write up in Abuja on Sunday.
On the sidelines of the
conference, President Buhari also held strategic meetings with the leadership
of Saudi Oil and Gas group, the country’s Sovereign Wealth Fund and Public
Investment Fund.
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