The Federal Government on Tuesday said the petition by Yoruba nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, also known as “Sunday Igboho”, calling on the United Kingdom to consider the Yoruba nation was not endorsed by the UK government.
In a statement, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Eche Abu-Obe, described media reports on the petition as “highly misleading.”
“Following media reports on the petition submitted at No. 10 Downing Street by Mr Sunday Adeyemo popularly known as Sunday Igboho, the British High Commissioner in Abuja was invited to shed light on the issue.
“During the meeting, the High Commissioner noted with concern that the matter was overblown, indicating that the media reports were highly misleading.”
“Furthermore, the High Commissioner informed that he was aware of the letter being delivered but added that 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 nor the UK Parliamentary Petitions Committee.
“The UK government typically does not concern itself with petitions concerning the sovereign affairs of another country,” he said.
Abu-Obe noted that the High Commissioner explained such petitions had been rejected by the UK Parliamentary Petitions Committee and the UK Government in the past.
To him, the British envoy 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 Nigeria.
