23rd December, 2019
Gov. Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, says his administration will collaborate with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) in the areas of Agriculture, industrialisation and corporate social responsibility.
Sule, who disclosed this while chatting with journalists at the Government House, Lafia, shortly after his return from Saudi Arabia on Monday, said the collaboration was to move the state forward.
Sule, who was in has Saudi Arabia for the lesser Hajj, said he visited the headquarters of the IDB in Jedda, Saudi Arabia, in a bid to further strengthen the existing ties between the Bank and Nasarawa State.
According to the Governor, he met with the IDB officials in order to explore areas of opportunities and strengthen collaboration with the IDB for its continuous support to Nasarawa State.
He said the discussions centred on the need for the bank to explore opportunities in Agriculture and Industrialisation in the state.
He expressed gratitude at having met with the Bank’s Vice President for African Affairs, Dr Mansur Mukhtar, Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance.
“We are looking at other areas where they can support us some more. We have so many areas where we strongly believe in the corporate social responsibility that the bank provides.
“We are also interested in the facilities that the bank provides at very reasonable and accommodating rates that we can afford to even use the opportunity to take off if there are any other facilities that we have that are accruing interest.
“We looked at all those areas, and then there are areas of social support that they give in the areas of teaching, training, as well as Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the rest of that,” the governor explained.
He said that he also used the opportunity of his holy visit to Saudi Arabia to inspect various sites for the accommodation of Nasarawa State pilgrims ahead of next year’s Hajj.
Sule expressed the desire to improve on the standard of accommodation and feeding for the pilgrims beyond what was provided in previous years.