JONATHAN NOT SNUBBED IN S/AFRICA –PRESIDENCY

THE Presidency, on Tuesday, rejected claims that President Goodluck Jonathan was snubbed by South African authorities, as he was not given the opportunity to make a speech at the memorial service to honour late former President Nelson Mandela.
An online medium had published a report moments after the ceremony that Nigeria was not listed among the foreign leaders meant to speak on the occasion.
It claimed the apparent snub handed Jonathan also appeared to rubbish the effort played by Nigeria to bring an end to apartheid in South Africa, at a time when Western governments were pussyfooting to pressure the apartheid government to renounce its policy of segregation and its brutal abuses against the black majority.
However, responding to the allegation, in a statement, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, noted that “this is obviously a further indication of a rising, minority tendency to read the negative into every official item.”
He added that “this is a classic case of much ado about nothing. The question of President Jonathan not speaking at the Mandela funeral, which you claim is giving some of your readers headache, is a complete non-issue.”
He said it was not an occasion for political grandstanding or waving of flags, adding that out of about 100 world leaders at the event, only six spoke.
It was made clear on the occasion that the chairman of the African Union Commission, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, will speak on behalf of African leaders, and she did.
Source: Tribune