TheCable

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked President Goodluck Jonathan to come clean on the cause of the diplomatic row between Nigeria and Morocco, which has forced the north African nation to recall its ambassador to Nigeria.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Thursday by Lai Mohammed, its national publicity secretary, the party stated that Jonathan must, in particular, clarify the “thorny issue” of whether or not he spoke with Mohammed VI, the king of Morocco.

The Nigerian foreign affairs ministry had claimed that Jonathan spoke on the telephone with the Moroccan king, but the Kingdom, in a  scathing statement, said no such conversation took place and withdrew its Nigeria ambassador.

The kingdom expressed surprised at “the incredible twist given by Nigeria to an alleged phone conversation that never took place between HM King Mohammed VI and Nigerian President”.

APC described the Moroccan riposte as “very serious because, in effect, Morocco has called Nigeria a liar”.

“Therefore, it behoves President Jonathan to personally intervene to address such an international embarrassment,” it said.

“The questions seeking answers are: Did President Jonathan speak with the Moroccan King? If not, who is responsible for this egregious misrepresentation that has embarrassed a whole country and its leader?

The APC said that Nigeria, because of its much-acclaimed leadership role in Africa, must not allow such a diplomatic faux pas to go without being addressed, saying other countries are keenly watching the row between Nigeria and Morocco.

“Before anyone accuses us of politicising this issue, we make bold to say that we, the APC, and indeed all Nigerians are stakeholders in the Nigeria project. When Morocco branded Nigeria a liar over whether or not our president spoke with the North African nation’s King, it did not mention PDP or APC. It made a collective reference to Nigeria.

“This is why we feel strongly that this issue must be addressed urgently. Until then, all Nigerians, irrespective of their political leanings, will remain liars in the eyes of the international community.”