That is what Leadership newspaper is claiming. According
to the report, the Nigerian embassy in Saudi Arabia this
week side-stepped protocol by giving preference to former
Vice President Namadi Sambo and his entourage of 15
family members over that of President Buhari when both
arrived for the lesser Hajj (Umrah) in Saudi Arabia.
The Umrah is performed by Muslims from all over
the world who converge on the holy city of Mecca to
observe the ritual, which can be undertaken at any
time of the year but mostly observed during
Ramadan.
The pilgrims perform a series of worship activities
symbolising the lives of Prophet Ibrahim (AS) and
his second wife, Hajara.
Leadership gathered that both families arrived in Saudi
Arabia this week for Umrah and while Aisha Buhari and her
five children were allotted two-bedroom accommodation,
the former vice president was allotted an eight-room
apartment.
Leadership also learnt that while not a single protocol
officer and vehicles were posted by the embassy to attend
to the president’s family, a protocol officer and vehicles
from the embassy were attached to the former vice
president and his family.
An embassy source revealed that Buhari’s wife had
travelled to Saudi Arabia via Emirate Airline instead of the
presidential jet, as was the practice in the previous
administrations, and had decided to seek alternative
accommodation by herself at her own expense, to
accommodate her and her children.
However, it was gathered that the government of the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia provided an official vehicle to
convey the Nigerian president’s family around as it is done
for the families of all visiting heads of state.
The source further revealed that the consular-general,
Ahmed Umar, still sees himself as being more beholden to
the former vice president than anyone else because Sambo
it was that was instrumental to his elevation and posting to
Saudi Arabia. He still sees himself basically as Sambo’s
protege, a staff member of the embassy told Leadership.
The source added that even the two-bedroom apartment
allotted to the president’s family was a result of the efforts
of the ambassador, Alhaji Abubakar Bunu, and not the
consular-general.
While the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was in power,
Buhari and his family were denied any privileges by the
Nigerian embassy in Saudi Arabia, even those due to a
former head of state because he was in the opposition.
Sambo and his family had last year embarked on a widely
publicized Umrah.
-Leadership
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