The Nigerian Ambassador to Ukraine, Shina Alege, has presented his Letters of Credence to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Speaking during the event at Kiev on Saturday, the envoy said no fewer than 6,000 Nigerians are studying in the former Soviet country, noting that the relations between Ukraine and Nigeria is very robust.
Alege noted with interest Ukraine’s steady progress since its independence and its determined efforts in attaining economic growth and other reform measures aimed at improving the standard of living of the populace.
He said, “It is in recognition and support of these commendable efforts that Nigeria and Ukraine need to further elevate their bilateral relations to the next level for the benefit of our peoples.
“Your Excellency, since Nigeria established her diplomatic presence in Ukraine, our bilateral relations have been growing steadily but we believe that we can still do more in the areas of economic and trade, education, and defence. And indeed with this new dawn, we must do more.”
The ambassador revealed that Nigeria placed a lot of premium on its relations with Ukraine, which he said dated back to the early days of Nigeria as an independent nation.
He said Ukraine had played a key role in the infrastructural and human resource development of Nigeria as an important component state of the then Soviet Union.
Many Ukrainians, he noted, then took up position in various construction industries within Nigeria, adding that in a similar vein, many Nigerian youths were offered the use of educational facilities in the Soviet Union, as being experienced today in Ukraine.
Alege added, “It is very gratifying to note that many of those beneficiaries of Soviet education today occupy prominent positions in various fields of endeavour in Nigeria.
“Records indicate that today, there are over 6,000 Nigerian students pursuing academic knowledge in various discipline in Ukraine. There is no way Nigeria can afford not to appreciate and observe with interest the source and quality of its human resource development.”