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| Nigeria gets apology for diplomatic snub
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Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) -
The United Nations, the African Union and the Sudanese g
overnment have apologised to Nigeria over last Sundayâ?s incident, in which an a
ircraft conveying Senate President David Mark to Sudan was prevented from landin
g
.
Mark and his entourage were on their way to Sudan for a working visit to the Nig
erian Contingent to the United Nations/African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID)
w
hen they were informed that their plane, which was then overflying Chad, could n
o
t land due to repair work at the Khartoum airport.
Mark expressed disappointment at the incident and asked the Sudanese government
to thoroughly look into the matter and communicate with Nigeria.
In separate instances, the UN, AU, and Sudan tendered their apologies and promis
ed to investigate the matter .
Representatives of the Sudanese President, Dr. Ghazi Salahuddin Atabani, who is
also the majority leader of the Sudanese Parliament, Wednesday visited the Natio
n
al Assembly to personally apologise.
â?We apologise for this mishap. The Sudanese government is embarrassed because
it was not intended. We have ordered investigation into the mishap to unravel th
e
circumstances that led to the incident,â? he said, blaming the incident on comm
unication gap, since the Khartoum Airport had been under repairs between 8am and
3pm local time.
Atabani said the Sudanese government appreciated Nigeria's contributions to the
peacekeeping mission in Darfur, and expressed the hope that the incidence would
not mar the diplomatic relationship between both countries.
Also, UNAMID head Henry Anyidoho has apologised on behalf of the AU and the UN,
and urged the Nigerian Senate President to schedule another visit.
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| Abuja - 28/10/2009 |
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