US embassy cable - 05ABUJA2253

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 002253 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/17/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, KDEM, NI 
SUBJECT: CHARGE CONVOKED OVER PUNCH ARTICLE 
 
REF: ABUJA 2242 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Thomas Furey for Reasons 1.4 (b) & (d) 
. 
 
1.  (C)  Acting Under Secretary for Regions and International 
Organizations in Nigeria's Foreign Ministry (MFA) A. C. Ariyo 
convoked Charge during the evening of 17 November on 
instructions of the MFA's Permanent Secretary to relay a 
message from President Obasanjo.  Ariyo was anxious to meet 
an evening deadline, after which he had been instructed to 
"report to the Villa" (the Presidential Offices). 
 
2.  (C)  On arrival, Ariyo wasted little time saying that the 
"Punch" article was an "embarrassing topic to you and us" and 
that the GON wanted confirmation that "the letter exists." 
He protested the story and said that "such things should not 
come from our friends."  He "demanded" the Embassy issue a 
news item "dissociating itself from the news."  Commenting 
that President Obasanjo "does not respond to blackmail," 
Ariyo said the news item and the letter, if it exists, 
amounts to "interference in Nigeria's domestic affairs." 
 
3.  (C)  Charge assured Ariyo that no letter had been 
delivered and that the USG would undertake to clear up any 
misunderstanding caused by the news item. He speculated that 
the source for the article was the 24 October press 
conference by A/S Frazer (reftel).  Charge assured Ariyo that 
the Embassy would keep him informed of any press statement to 
be issued by the USG. 
 
4.  (C)  Separately, in a conversation with PolCouns, one of 
the Punch's senior editors in Abuja said that the article was 
sourced from a tape of the 24 October A/S Frazer press 
conference.  In the confusion after the death of Nigeria's 
first lady and the Bellview airline disaster, he said, the 
paper had not been able to follow up.  "We needed to add 
something to make it fresh, otherwise it would seem we were 
recycling old news," he said, explaining the decision to 
refer to a letter.  In spite of the ripples the article is 
still causing in Nigeria, until now the only international 
news agency to cover the story is Xinghua. 
 
5.  (C)  COMMENT:  The publication of this article is not 
notable by Nigeria's journalistic standards.  Journalists and 
editors are well versed in "spicing up" articles to attract 
an audience.  However, the importance the publication has 
reached within the Nigerian government and the strength of 
the GON's response cannot be explained absent a serious 
consideration of a third term bid by President Obasanjo. 
FUREY