Senate President Bukola Saraki yesterday urged the Russian Government to reckon with Nigeria as the central area of focus in Africa.
Saraki said the Russian Government should take a more serious view of its longstanding ties with Nigeria to expand its interests.
He insisted that countries desirous of expanding their interests in Africa must necessarily see Nigeria as the gateway to the continent.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Senate President, Sanni Onogu, said Saraki spoke when he addressed the Upper Chamber of the Russian Parliament known as the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, in Moscow.
The statement described the address as “historic” because Saraki was the first head of the Nigerian legislature to perform such a function in Russia.
Saraki also called for a stronger security, economic and cultural cooperation between Nigeria and Russia.