Nigeria and Saudi Arabia have formalised a significant five-year defence agreement, signalling a major expansion of military and strategic cooperation between the two nations.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on Tuesday, with Nigeriaโs Minister of State for Defence, Mohammed Matawalle, and Dr Khaleed H. Al-Biyari, representing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, appending their signatures.
According to a statement issued by the Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of State for Defence, Ahmed Dan Wudil, the pact establishes a framework for โstrategic collaboration across security, military training, intelligence sharing, defence production, and joint operations for sustainable security development.โ
The Defence Ministry hailed the agreement as โa significant step in boosting bilateral relations, cooperation and enhancing collaborative efforts in tackling emerging security challenges in the country.โ It expressed optimism that the current security challenges in some parts of Nigeria โwill soon be over.โ
The signing occurred against a backdrop of renewed scrutiny of Minister Matawalle, following the resurfacing of an old video featuring his past remarks on terrorism. In response, former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode launched a robust defence of the minister, dismissing the criticism as a โvicious media campaignโ that was โshameless and nauseating.โ
Fani-Kayode praised Matawalleโs โunwavering loyaltyโ to President Bola Tinubu and credited him with playing a pivotal role in national security efforts. He asserted that the partnership between Matawalle and National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu โhas resulted in the killing of more terrorists in the last two years than in the previous eight put together.โ
While criticising the governmentโs tendency to under-publicise security successes, Fani-Kayode urged the minister to โremain focused,โ describing him as โa ruthless and courageous fighter,โ and adding, โWe are with you, my brother, and more importantly, God is behind you.โ
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