The Federal Government has summoned Richard Montgomery, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, in response to a petition lodged at 10 Downing Street by Yoruba Nation activist Sunday Adeniyi Adeyemo, commonly known as Sunday Igboho.
Eche Abu-Obe, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirmed this in Abuja in a press release statement.
AFRIPOST reports that Igboho was claimed to have petitioned the British authorities on behalf of Adebanji Akintoye, the head of the Yoruba Nation Movement.
The government said: “Following media reports on the petition submitted at 10, Downing Street by Sunday Adeniyi Adeyemo, also known as Sunday Igboho, The British High Commissioner in Abuja was invited to shed light on the issue. During the parlay, the high commissioner noted the concern that the matter had generated, indicating that the media reports were highly misleading.
“Furthermore, the high commissioner informed he was aware of the letter being delivered but added it was merely an established practice of allowing the delivery of letters and petitions to No 10. It was not endorsed by any agency of the UK government or the UK Parliamentary Petitions Committee.”
According to the government, the British High Commissioner stated that the UK government does not normally deal with petitions involving another country’s sovereign issues.
“He informed us that such petitions had been rejected by the UK Parliamentary Petitions Committee and the UK government in the past. In this regard, he agreed to continue liaising with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as needed, while reiterating the importance of the bilateral relations between the United Kingdom and the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the government further said.
Meanwhile, Montgomery informed the government that Adeyemo’s petition was not authorised by any UK government body.
