Foreign Affairs Minister excluded from UN Summit

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Fears of many Nigerians over what may become the lot of Nigeria due to the absence of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua at the ongoing United Nations Summit on Climate Change in New York were confirmed yesterday as the Foreign Affairs Minister, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, was not given the opportunity to speak the mind of the president at the plenary session of the conference.

Maduekwe's name was not listed on the programmes of the event as one of the speakers that presented papers during the summit.

Our correspondent gathered that the minister was not accorded the usual courtesies of a president because it had been noted from the onset that it was only presidents and heads of state that would be allowed to address the summit.

A source close to the minister, who pleaded anonymity, told Leadership that there was no way Maduekwe would have been allowed to speak at the event since it was only for presidents and heads of state.

"President Yar'adua would have been allowed to speak the mind of his government over the climate change incident if he had attended the event in person," he added.

However, a UN source told our correspondent that the minister would not be allowed to attend the African presidents' meeting with President Obama, slated for today, because his name and that of his wife were not yet confirmed.