British Envoy Speaks On Yoruba Nation Petition
The United Kingdom has said that any petition concerning the sovereign affairs of another country is not a matter for the UK government but the country’s government and its legislature.
The UK High Commissioner, Richard Montgomery, said this in a statement issued on Tuesday, in reaction to a petition submitted by a Yoruba Nation activist, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, which was taken to the Prime Minister’s office in London.
The UK High Commissioner stated that the matter of Yoruba Sovereign Nation presented by Igboho in his petition is a matter for the government and legislature of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The High Commissioner noted that similar petitions had been rejected by the UK Parliamentary Petitions Committee and the UK government in the past.
The High Commissioner said, “Any petition concerning the sovereign affairs of another country are not a matter for the UK government.
“The High Commissioner underscored that this is a matter for the government and legislature of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and noted that similar petitions had been rejected by the UK Parliamentary Petitions Committee and the UK government in the past.”
The High Commissioner reassured Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs that Igboho’s petition was in no way endorsed by any official body of the UK government or the UK Parliamentary Petitions Committee.
The UK High Commissioner said, “The delivery merely reflected an established practice of allowing the delivery of letters and petitions to No10.”