President Bola Tinubu on Monday declined to personally receive a special delegation sent by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa over renewed xenophobic attacks on Nigerians, directing the team to meet instead with the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye.
The delegation, led by South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, arrived in Abuja on July 24 seeking an audience with Tinubu.
Presidency sources confirmed that while an initial meeting was considered, the President later instructed that discussions be handled at ministerial level.
The move comes as tensions rise between both countries following violent attacks on Nigerians and other African nationals in South Africa, which have forced the evacuation of hundreds of Nigerians.
Foreign Affairs Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, currently in Addis Ababa, reportedly advised that it was not the right time for Tinubu to meet the delegation directly.
Receiving the envoys, Enikanolaiye condemned the recurring violence, noting that “from 2022
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