Nigeria considers row with Ramaphosa spokesman closed
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on P.M. News
Nigeria’s diplomatic mission in South Africa considers its dispute with Ramaphosa spokesman Vincent Magwenya closed, after he accused High Commissioner Femi Fani-Kayode of lying. It called the remarks provocative and said the South African president intervened to ease the dispute, according to P.M. News.
Nigeria’s diplomatic mission in South Africa called for restraint and reconciliation after remarks by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesman, Vincent Magwenya, targeting Nigerian High Commissioner Femi Fani-Kayode. It said it wanted to preserve cordial relations between the two countries, according to NAN.
The mission accused Vincent Magwenya of saying that Fani-Kayode had lied about Ramaphosa’s intervention in the dispute linked to the ceremony for presenting his credentials. It said the South African president had apologised to the Nigerian diplomat and assured him that the situation had been resolved, while considering that the disagreement should have been handled through diplomatic channels, according to NAN.
The row erupted after the South African presidency’s live broadcast on YouTube was interrupted when Fani-Kayode was due to deliver his speech in Tshwane. The broadcast resumed during Ramaphosa’s address to the ambassadors, according to NAN.
The Nigerian mission considers Magwenya’s remarks to have been intended to portray Fani-Kayode as dishonest and damage Nigeria’s image. It welcomed Ramaphosa’s intervention, saying the South African president had helped defuse the situation, according to NAN. The affair follows the Nigerian mission’s statements on Ramaphosa’s intervention, published on 14 November, followed by its criticism of Ramaphosa’s spokesman, on the same day.
