The Federal Government of Nigeria has dispelled fears surrounding the petition submitted by Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, to the United Kingdom government.
The petition, aimed at advocating for the separation of the Yoruba Nation from Nigeria, was submitted at No. 10 Downing Street in London.
Reports on Sunday indicated that Igboho delivered the petition on behalf of the leader of the Yoruba Nation Movement, Prof. Adebanji Akintoye. This was confirmed by Igboho’s spokesman, Olayomi Koiki, who took to his X (formerly Twitter) page to disclose the development.
Koiki wrote, “At exactly 14:00 hrs, Dr. Chief Sunday Igboho delivered a petition to the UK Prime Minister on behalf of Prof. Adebanji Akintoye, leader of the YORUBA NATION movement, and Olayomi Koiki, his spokesman @10DowningStreet.”
However, the Federal Government, through a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, addressed the matter on Tuesday. The ministry’s spokesperson, Eche Abu-Obe, revealed that the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, was summoned to clarify the issue. Montgomery informed the Nigerian authorities that the UK government has not endorsed the petition.
The statement read in part: “The High Commissioner noted that the concern generated by the matter indicated that the reports were misleading. Furthermore, the British envoy informed the Nigerian government 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 or the UK Parliamentary Petitions Committee.”
The British High Commissioner also emphasized that the UK government typically refrains from involving itself in petitions concerning the internal affairs of sovereign nations. He further explained that such petitions had been previously dismissed by both the UK Parliamentary Petitions Committee and the UK government.
“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 Nigeria and the United Kingdom,” the statement concluded.
