Nyesom Wike, the FCT Minsiter, has clarified his meeting with the Israeli ambassador to Nigeria on October 3 and vehemently denied false claims that he backed Israel against Palestine.
The minister stated that he lacked the constitutional authority to decide Nigeria’s diplomatic ties with foreign nations during a recent meeting with the Abuja National Mosque Management Board leadership. The President and Commander-in-Chief alone has this authority.
“I have heard from various social media platforms that we had a meeting, and we are doing this and that with Israel. I am here acting on delegation of powers on behalf of Mr President.
“I cannot determine the relationship between one country and another country. So, it is difficult for anybody to say I am doing this, I am doing that,” Wike said.
He clarified that the Minister of Foreign Affairs would be the one to write to him expressing the desire of the people to visit him if any foreign body wished to interact with Nigeria.
His comments come amid backlash from some Muslims over his recent meeting with the Israeli envoy in the heat of the standoff between IDF and Hamas forces.
The Herald recalls that popular Islamic cleric, Sheikh Gumi, strongly condemned Mr Wike for meeting with Israel’s envoy.
According to Mr Gumi, it is risky to put Nigeria’s national security in the hands of Southerners and Christians.
However, the Islamic cleric has come under heavy criticism for the comments, with many Nigerians faulting him for attempting to spark ethnic and religious divides.
Israeli forces have continued their attack on Gaza after Hamas forces earlier in October invaded Israeli cities, killing over 40 civilians and abducting many others.
However, the President Bola Tinubu-led government had, in the heat of the standoff, called for a cease-fire, asking the warring nations to resolve their conflict peacefully.