British High Commissioner to Nigeria Richard Montgomery has said that the letter submitted to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Keir Starmer by Yoruba Nation agitator Sunday Adeyemo alias Sunday Igboho was only a formality which carried no significance.
Mr Montgomery was quoted in a statement on Tuesday by Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to have made the statement when he was invited to clear the air over the matter.
Sunday Igboho, according to his spokesman Olayomi Koiki, submitted a petition to Mr Starmer to consider the creation of an independent Yoruba nation.
He submitted the petition on behalf of the leader of the Yoruba Nation movement, Prof. Adebanji Akintoye
In the statement by the foreign affairs ministry, the envoy said the petition was not endorsed by any UK government agency or Parliament Committee.
The high commissioner was also quoted as saying the UK government typically does not concern itself with petitions concerning the sovereign affairs of another country.
The statement signed by the ministry’s spokesperson Eche Abu-Obe said: “Following media reports on the petition submitted at 10 Downing Street by Mr. 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 press reports were highly misleading.
“Furthermore, the High Commissioner informed 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 High Commissioner noted that the UK government typically does not concern itself with petitions concerning the sovereign affairs of another country.
“He informed 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.”
