RIPPLES NIGERIA

“Nigeria is rich in petroleum resources, but the challenges confronting the country are so enormous as to render the oil earnings insignificant”, President Muhammadu Buhari said on Thursday.

A statement by his spokesman, Femi Adesina, said Buhari stated this at State House, Abuja, while receiving in farewell audience, the Cuban Ambassador to Nigeria, Carlos Trejo Sosa.

President Buhari said he was pleased with relations between Cuba and Nigeria, particularly the hand of fellowship extended in the area of health care and transfer of knowledge, among others.

He said, “We have deficit in infrastructure, in education, health care, and many other areas, but Cuba has always been helpful. What we earn from oil does not meet our needs, and we can use any assistance we get. Cuba has always been friendly and helpful.”

President Buhari said whether in uniform or out of it, he had always been glad to collaborate with Cuba, and hoped relations between the two countries will wax stronger.

In his remarks, Ambassador Sosa said his five years and nine days in Nigeria were filled with “warmth, love and friendship,” adding that he would never forget the country.

“I am not just being polite, I mean every word. We appreciate Nigeria a great deal,” he said.