Prince Nawwaf bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, special adviser to King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, passed away late Tuesday night at the age of 83, Saudi Press Agency reported.
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The unnamed royal – identified only as one of the grandsons of the state’s founder, Abdulaziz Ibn Saud – believes that the 79-year-old king is not in control of Saudi Arabia and says that a number of people are anxious about his leadership.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai; His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces; sent similar cables to King Salman.
He added that he expected four or five of his uncles, Salman’s brothers and half-brothers, to meet shortly and discuss the issues he raised in his letters.
The first letter encourages the sons to “find out what can be done to save the country, to make changes in the important ranks, to bring in expertise from the ruling family whatever generation they are from”. “They say you have to do this or the country will go to disaster”, he said.
It was the second major tragedy this year for haj pilgrims, after a construction crane collapsed on September 11 at Makkah’s Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest site, killing 109 people including many foreigners.
On top of recent events, the global drop in the price of oil has also placed extra pressure on King Salman’s leadership, with reports the country has withdrawn as much as $70 billion from overseas investment funds to bolster the kingdom’s coffers.
Palestine emerged as a problem that threatened to escalate already high emotions in the kingdom as Saudi Arabia’s national soccer team is scheduled to play a 2018 World Cup qualifier against Palestine in the Faisal al-Husseini worldwide Stadium in Al-Ram, a town on the outskirts of Jerusalem.
According to sources close to the Saudi government, a secret investigation has been launched into the mistakes and errors of the Yemen War involving both Mohammed bin Nayef and Mohammed bin Salman.
Another issue causing great anger among Saudis is the country’s bombing campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen. But only one other senior royal has so far publicly endorsed the letter, which may be unsurprising given the Saudis’ brutal history of punishing political opponents.
“Allow the oldest and most capable to take over the affairs of the state, let the new king and crown prince take allegiance from all, and cancel the odd, new rank of second deputy premier”, the prince said. It has no legitimate political foundation and it is not what the people want.
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Saudi Arabia’s budget is based on a $90 a barrel oil price.
