Drama as Lebanese ambassador walks out on Reps

Drama ensued when the Lebanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Houssam Diab walked out of a meeting with the members of the House of Representatives.

Shortly after entering Conference  Room 236, New Building, House Wing of the National Assembly complex, Diab reportedly walked out on the Committee on Diaspora Affairs who he was supposed to meet.

Present at the meeting were the Director-General of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, Julie Okah-Donli; Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mr Zubairu Dada; officials of the Federal Ministries of Justice and of Labour, Employment and Productivity as well as Nigerians in Diaspora Commission.

The Lebanese ambassador expected to have a close-door meeting with the members of the House of Representatives only.

He was overwhelmed by the number of people present at the meeting venue and walked out around 10.50 am as the meeting was about to start in the open.

Chairman of the committee, Akande-Sadipe said,

“It was an informal meeting because the Ambassador was nice enough to join us at the meeting. There is no law that says he has to be here today but because he has an interest in the joint relationship between Nigeria and Lebanon.

We have a lot of Nigerians in Lebanon and we have a lot of Lebanese in Nigeria. We have a relationship with Lebanon from the 50s…

This meeting today has further reiterated that the Lebanese community and the Nigerian community always stand together to ensure that justice and respect for human lives is a priority, and we will work together to bring modern-day slavery to an end.”