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Ali in dilemma, major Western Nations reject his posting as Nigeria's Ambassador-National Daily

January 20, 2008

UK, USA, Canada may have rejected his envoy posting From OGBU NGENE, Abuja

ONE of the major riddles President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua is currently trying to resolve is to get a befitting country that will accept the ambassadorial posting of the out-going National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senator Ahmadu Ali.
National Daily's investigation reveals that Ali may have been rejected by choice countries to which the Federal Government had taken steps at sending him as the country's ambassador.


A reliable source close to Aso Rock explained that following pressure on the Presidency, it succumbed to a request to allow Ali to serve in any country of his choice, as a way of settling him for his immense contributions in the fortunes of PDP.
Consequent upon this, Ali was alleged to have initially indicated interest in serving in the United Kingdom (UK), a request to which Aso Rock allegedly gave its nod.


Our source revealed that Ali was shocked when UK authorities turned down his name when the Nigerian Government sought a preliminary clearance before its official confirmation back home.


National Daily gathered that he also suggested the United States of America (USA) and Canada, but in these countries, he suffered the same fate as both countries allegedly toed the line of the UK.


According to our findings, even though none of the countries gave any official reasons for their actions, it is being alleged that the countries based their actions on the fact that Ali's name was not on their records as a principal official that positively contributed to the growth of democracy in Nigeria during his tenure.


One of his associates however said both Aso Rock and Ali may have settled for South Africa although the out-going PDP National Chairman initially said he would not be quite comfortable serving there.


Until this matter is resolved, said a source, the development will continue to give Aso Rock serious concern, as it may be difficult to justify posting Ali to a country considered less strategic.


It would be recalled that Senator Ali, was among the high profile nominees cleared within the last quarter of last year by the Senate for ambassadorial appointment.


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