Julius OkorieNigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar has distanced himself from a purported apology claim by Libyan authorities over the widely condemned inhuman treatment of Super Eagles in Libya.
Libyan Newspaper, The Libyan Observer had led its sports page with a story claiming that the Nigerian government had offered unreserved apology for the incident for which they actually should be getting apology from Libya.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelRecall that Primebusiness.africa, had reported that the Nigerian Senate, demanded apology from the Libyan government, over the shameful incident but opted not to escalate it to full blown diplomatic row.
The Libyan newspaper had supported its publication with a picture of Nigerian foreign minister holding a phone on the right hand and appearing to be making a call.
In a statement from the minister’s Special Assistant on Media and Communication Strategy, Alkasim Abdulkadir, on Wednesday, it was explained that the report misrepresented a phone call between Tuggar and Libya’s Eastern-based Foreign Minister, Abdelhadi Lahweej.
Instead of an apology, Nigeria expressed dissatisfaction with the treatment of its national team and called for a prompt resolution to the issue.
“The fact of the matter was that the CDA of the Government of National Unity was summoned to the Ministry to seek an immediate end to the unfortunate incident.
“However, not much diplomatic headway was made during the meeting with the Acting Charge of Affairs, Imad Mohammed Matooq Aboud, as they insisted that it was not under the jurisdiction of Tripoli, which they represented, but that of the Eastern Government in Benghazi.
“This prompted the Minister to take immediate action by contacting the Foreign Minister of the Eastern Government, Abdelhadi Lahweej, to intervene and ensure that the detention ended,” the statement read.
According to Tuggar, he then went straight to the Benghazi administration in the East to step in and help. Following discussions, the situation was de-escalated and the Super Eagles were able to depart Libya when the required licenses were issued.
READ ALSO :Senate Demands Apology From Libya Over Inhuman Treatment Of Super Eagles
It added, “After that, the aircraft was given the necessary permits to fly, and aviation fuel was accessed. Both Ministers agreed that the matter should be de-escalated immediately. Even when Lahweej insisted on rehashing the untruth about the treatment of Libyan players in Nigeria, Amb Tuggar once again corrected the misinformation about the mistreatment of Libyan players during the Nigerian encounter.
The minister also addressed misinformation regarding the treatment of Libyan players in Nigeria by Lahweej, correcting the record but refusing to apologise for any actions, as the claims were inaccurate.
Nigerians did not hesitate to wave the purported apology to libya aside noting that it is indeed the Libyan authorities that should be apologising to Nigeria for their poor sportsmanship.
Omogoriola @waspery4love said” This is definitely another propaganda from Libya. I will never believe that our Minister for foreign affairs will sell us out like that”
Adewale@ALAWAYEQUDUS said “This people are just trying to be right by any means possible. We wait for CAF”
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
