October 28, 2009 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese government issued a formal apology to Nigeria over an incident involving its senate president David Mark whose plane was denied land in Khartoum airport this week.
Mark along with other senators primarily from the defense committee at the senate received the necessary clearance and paperwork to visit Sudan’s western region of Darfur and inspect Nigerian peacekeepers that are part of the African Union – United Nations mission in Darfur (UNAMID).
When the plane carrying the Nigerian senators got to Chad airspace, the Sudanese authorities informed them that the airport will be closed for maintenance and as such they could not land.
“We apologize for this mishap; the Sudanese government is embarrassed because it was not intended” the Sudanese presidential adviser Ghazi Salah Al-Deen said.
“The incident was caused by communication gap, because for some time now, the Khartoum airport runway has been undergoing repairs between 8:00am and 3:00pm. However, the incident is regrettable” he said.
The chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Ayogu Eze told local Nigeria media that Mark got in touch with Nigeria’s ambassador to Sudan who confirmed that he had similar information.
“In fact, they said the airport would re-open by 3pm, meaning that the Senate President who was already in Chad would have to wait for another seven hours or thereabout” he added.
“So, at that point, the Senate President felt that the best thing to do was to return to Nigeria. We have already crossed- checked with the ambassadors; Nigeria’s ambassador and that of the Sudan”.
Some Nigerian officials sought to downplay the incident saying it does not amount to a diplomatic row but more of a communication breakdown.
But the lead Senator Mark said the incident “is totally unacceptable to Nigeria. We feel extremely disappointed over the incident because it was a scheduled visit.”
Back in Abuja a controversy erupted after it was revealed that Nigerian president Umaru Musa Yar’Adua invited Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir to the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) summit.
Bashir however decided to stay away and instead dispatched his 2nd Vice President Ali Osman Taha to represent Sudan.
(ST)
حركة العدل و المساواة السودانية
موقع متخصص بنقل آخر الأخبار و البيانات و القرارات لحركة العدل و المساواة السودانية