President Goodluck Jonathan has admitted he has not spoken with King Mohammed VI, and ordered the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Aminu Wali, to fully investigate the claim which emanated from the Ministry that the President spoke with the Moroccan King.
Moroccan royal palace which recalled its ambassador to Nigeria last Wednesday had said last week that the Moroccan king declined a request for a telephone conversation with the Nigeria president accusing the Federal Government of trying to use the king of Morocco to win over Muslim voters ahead of the general elections in Nigeria. Moroccan foreign ministry, had in a statement said “Morocco confirms, in the clearest and strongest terms, that there has never been a phone conversation between King Mohammed VI and the president of Nigeria”.
But even as at the Thursday, Ministry of Foreign Affairs had insisted that President Jonathan spoke with the Moroccan King, but only on the subject of soliciting support for the bid of Nigeria’s Akinwumi Adesina, for the post AfDB president.
The President’s admission was announced through a statement by his Special adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati.
“The investigation is to identify all those who were responsible for the unacceptable act of official misinformation which has resulted in an unnecessary diplomatic row with another country and national embarrassment.It is also expected to unveil the motives of the culprits,” Abati said.
The order was the first public reaction by the presidency to row over telephone call with the Moroccan King.Jonthan in this statement admitted that the officials who claimed he had spoken with the king lied.
According to Abati, “President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is shocked, surprised and highly embarrassed by the controversy that has erupted over whether or not he had a telephone conversation with His Majesty, King Mohammed VI of Morocco.
“The regrettable furore that has developed over the matter is due entirely to misinformation as President Jonathan has neither spoken with King Mohammed or told anybody that he had a telephone conversation with the Moroccan Monarch.
“It is true that President Jonathan has been speaking with some African leaders to seek their support for Nigeria’s candidate for the position of President of the African Development Bank (AfDB).
“In continuation of his efforts in support of the candidacy of the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina for headship of the AfDB, President Jonathan indicated that he would like to speak with the King of Morocco, the President of Algeria and the President of Egypt.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was consequently directed to make necessary contacts with the embassies of the three countries and arrange for President Jonathan to speak with their leaders.
He added, “Since that directive was given, President Jonathan has spoken with the Prime Minister of Algeria and subsequently sent Vice President Namadi Sambo to Algiers as Special Envoy to follow-up on his discussions with the Algerian Prime Minister on support for Nigeria’s candidate in the coming elections for the AfDB Presidency.
“The President has, however, not yet spoken with King Mohammed VI and President Al-Sisi of Egypt as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must know.
“President Jonathan has also ordered that prompt and commensurate disciplinary action be taken against the culpable person or persons.
“ While awaiting the outcome of the investigations, President Jonathan urges Nigerians to disregard the vituperations of opposition elements, who have, true to type, latched on to the regrettable faux pas as a fresh opportunity to unpatriotically denigrate the government of their country and advance their irresponsible quest for victory at any price in the coming elections” Abati said.
