Nigerian mission fires back at Ramaphosa’s spokesman

A diplomatic row has emerged between Nigeria and South Africa following accusations regarding the omission of Ambassador Femi Fani-Kayode’s speech from a televised diplomatic ceremony. The Nigerian High Commission in South Africa maintained that the ambassador was treated with contempt and claimed that President Cyril Ramaphosa personally intervened to address the complaint.

Vincent Magwenya, the spokesperson for President Ramaphosa, denied the claims and described the Nigerian mission's account as false. According to Daily Trust, Magwenya stated that the President had no constitutional authority to interfere with the editorial decisions of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and asserted that no such intervention occurred.

Punch Nigeria reports that the Nigerian High Commission has accused the presidential spokesperson of bringing his country into disrepute. In a response shared on X, Magwenya challenged the Nigerian mission to familiarize itself with South African constitutional provisions and the SABC editorial code.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch Nigeria, Punch, Daily Trust — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.