President Muhammadu Buhari has demanded action from David Cameron rather than an apology after the British Prime Minister branded Nigeria “fantastically corrupt”.
Buhari made his frustration clear as he addressed a Commonwealth conference in London on Wednesday morning in the wake of Cameron’s gaffe.
Clutching a glass as he made small talk with the Queen at a Buckingham Palace reception, the UK leader was caught on camera being indiscreet about the countries he had invited to a key anti-corruption summit in London.
Cameron was heard saying Nigeria and Afghanistan are “possibly the two most corrupt countries in the world.”
Buhari refused to criticise Cameron directly when he was asked about the blunder at the conference on Wednesday.
Instead he said he expected the UK to help him reclaim Nigerian assets that had been fraudulently stripped from the country.
“I am not going to demand an apology from anybody,” he said. “What I am demanding is a return of assets.”
Using late former Governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, as example, Buhari told his audience “I have already mentioned how Britain really led and how disgraceful one of the Nigerian executives was. He had to dress like a woman to leave Britain and leave behind him his bank account and fixed assets, which Britain is prepared to hand over to us. This is what I am asking for.
“This is what I am asking for. What would I do with an apology? I need something tangible.”
