Presidency Reacts To Report That Emir Of Qatar Prevented Buhari From Visiting His Country

The presidency has rejected the trending reports that the Emir of Qatar rejected a proposed visit to his country by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The special assistant to the President on Digital Communications, Bashir Ahmad who made the clarification explained that what happened was not a rejection.

Earlier, a trending report had claimed that the Emir of Qatar turned down the proposed visit of President Buhari to his country.

The report claimed the Qatar Embassy in Abuja made the Head of State’s position known in a statement released on August 19.

The Emir had said that the dates picked by the Nigerian government were not suitable.

The Federal Government had proposed 11th and 12th September, 2022 for President Buhari to visit the country but the Emir asked for other dates in 2023.

The report came with the headline; ‘Emir Of Qatar Rejects Junketing Nigerian President, Buhari’s Planned State Visit To Oil-rich Country In September.’

However, Ahmad on Monday said the headline is incorrect and misleading. He explained further that for the visit to take place, the dates have to be suitable for both parties, hence it was not a rejection but a need to work out mutually feasible dates.

He wrote via his Twitter account: “This headline is entirely incorrect. Qatar didn’t reject the President’s visit. In fact, like you clearly stated it in your story, it’s Qatar that invited Nigeria and those familiar with diplomacy know how this thing works, the dates ALWAYS have to be suitable for both parties.”

ASUU Strike: FG Tells Nigerian Students To Apply For Scholarships Abroad

In the face of the prolonged strike action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the Federal Government through the National Universities Commission (NUC) has admonished qualified Nigerians to apply for scholarships abroad.

Naija News reports that public universities across the country have been closed for seven months now as a result of unsettled disputes between the government and lecturers over some demands by the lecturers.

While the strike lingers, a letter signed by the Deputy Executive Secretary, Administration of the NUC, Chris Maiyaki, and addressed to all vice-chancellors, admonished qualified students to embrace an initiative of the government of the United Kingdom to study abroad.

The letter explained that the British High Commission announced the call for applications for the scholarships to study in the UK, which opened on 2nd August 2022 and closes on 1 November 2022.