On Wednesday afternoon, a report went viral on Social Media that Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was snubbed by South-Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa during his Second Term Presidential Inauguration ceremony in Pretoria.
The report was backed by footage showing what seems to be Ramaphosa ignoring Tinubu while shaking hands with different world leaders at the event. POLITICS NIGERIA, in pursuit of the truth, investigated the matter and discovered otherwise.
LATEST VIDEO: President of South Africa 🇿🇦 H.E Ramaphosa Snubs Bola Ahmed Tinubu During Inauguration in South Africa.
That’s the consequences of Rigging Democracy and elections in Nigeria.
This also has proven that the Nigerian President was not even received by President… pic.twitter.com/pQDXnHbhpd
— GRV PR (@IPrinceSaviour) June 19, 2024
CLAIM: President Cyril Ramaphosa snubbed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu while exchanging pleasantries with World leaders during his 2nd Presidential Inauguration.
VERIFICATION: Video Footage and Pictures made available to this newspaper showed that Ramaphosa exchanged pleasantries with President Tinubu.
Initial reports were based on a limited perspective as the video that went viral was recorded from an angle that seemingly showed Ramaphosa not acknowledging the Nigerian leader.
Furthermore, the first row at the inauguration was reserved for South African kings and Royalty. The South African President wasn’t expected to start greeting dignitaries at the time and had to hurriedly return to the podium to honour the National Anthem. After the Anthem, President Ramaphosa returned to greet the visiting presidents including President Tinubu who were all seated in the second row.
During events of this magnitude, brief and sometimes hurried interactions are common due to the number of dignitaries present.
A snapshot or incomplete video can easily misrepresent the situation. Moreover, Diplomatic relations between the two countries remain amicable, further casting doubt on the veracity of the snub claims.
VERDICT: The assertion that President Cyril Ramaphosa snubbed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at his 2nd Presidential Inauguration is FALSE.
