Malam Nasir El-Rufai, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, and Nigerians Everywhere: You can now walk without fear or doubt into any Nigerian Consular Office. And yes, you will be granted any consular assistance, including the re-issuance of your passport, because the Nigerian constitution grants you that right.
This reassurance was pronounced last night by the Federal Government. In a cable dated 13 October 2009, a copy of which has just been received by Saharareporters, the Federal Government thereby officially reversed the the memo of 17 September, by which the former government officials were denied consular services worldwide.
The cable denies that the originating memo had the enjoyed the authority of Yar'Adua, although it contained no apology. It asserted that passports and other consular assistance to Nigerians abroad are in line with "the avowed commitment of the present administration to democracy and the rule of law."
"This means that things are either about to change," said our analyst, or that, following widespread criticism over Yar'Adua's absence at the United Nations General Assembly, "the uproar over the passport fiasco was too much for him to bear."
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See new cable below:
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