Xenophobic attacks: Ramaphosa calls Tinubu; President agrees to meet South African special envoy
Xenophobic attacks: Ramaphosa calls Tinubu; President agrees to meet South African special envoy
By Ndukaku Ihe
A major diplomatic row between Nigeria and South Africa was, yesterday, averted after President Bola Tinubu, who snubbed a special envoy of President Cyril Ramaphosa later agreed to meet them after a telephone call from his colleague(Ramaphosa).
The refusal by President Tinubu to meet with the South African delegation came amid growing concerns over the persistent xenophobic attacks on Nigerians living in South Africa.
The South African delegation, led by the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, had arrived in Abuja on Friday, July 24, 2026, and had been left stranded at the Trancorp Hilton, Abuja.
But AbeyaNews gathered from top diplomatic sources that following some back channel moves by the South African authorities, including a call initiated by Ramaphosa over the weekend, President Tinubu agreed to meet with the delegation.
The meeting, which will hold later in the day, will comprise of both sides, with the Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, playing a crucial role in the absence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who is currently away in Addis Ababa.
Odumegwu-Ojukwu had advised that it was not an appropriate time for President Tinubu to receive the South African envoy, citing the continued attacks on Nigerians, their businesses and properties in South Africa.
