The Family of Late Martin Luther King Jr’s Family has denied giving President Muhammadu Buhari a reportedly merit award on Tuesday, 27 March.
According to Coretta Scott King, an American author, activist, Civil Rights leader, and the wife of Martin Luther King, Jr. the award given to President Buhari was not given by ‘The King Center, at the request of The King Center or by the children of Martin Luther King Jr’.
Recall that Presidency on Tuesday disclosed that President Buhari received the family of the late African American civil rights activist, Martin Luther King (Jr), at the State House, Abuja and was also conferred with the 1st Black History Month National Black Excellence and Exceptional African Leadership Award 2018.
Eventually, all Nigeria local media carried the story, gripping on the presidencies report.
But on its official tweeter handle, @TheKingCenter, the official living memorial to #MLK, founded by #CorettaScottKing to educate on nonviolence and build the #BelovedCommunity. #Nonviolence365™. #Atlanta, it said “The award given to President Buhari of Nigeria was not given by The King Center, at the request of The King Center or by the children of #MLK and #CorettaScottKing. @MrFixNigeria,” it tweeted.
Conversely, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the senior special assistant to the president on foreign affairs and diaspora on Thursday submitted that the award was given by Naomi in a personal capacity and not on behalf of The King Centre.
In a statement made available to newsmen on Thursday Dabiri’s spokesman, Abdulrahman Balogun, said that the award was a commemorative plaque to appreciate Buhari’s fight against corruption in Nigeria.
Read the statement below:
“The members, led by the matriarch of MLK, Naomi Barbara King, were in Nigeria as part of the activities initiated to celebrate a low- key Black History Month in Nigeria as part of deepening partnership between Africa and its Diaspora.
“As part of the activities, they visited President Muhammadu Buhari and gave him a commemorative plaque for his fight against corruption and what they termed from the “Africania Diaspora” a term for Africans in Diaspora for which the oldest of them all Naomi.
“Barbara King was selected to present on behalf of the family (NOT MLK CENTER) as a sign of appreciation to the Nigerian President”, part of the statement read.
