Palestinian officials criticised Nigeria’s alleged last minute decision to abstain from voting on a United Nations Security Council resolution for recognition of Palestinian statehood last week.
“Even half an hour before the vote, Nigeria indicated it was committed to voting for the resolution," said a Palestinian source to The Guardian.
According to the paper, a US State Department spokesperson said that the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, had called a number of senior foreign officials, including the Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan, before the vote.
A senior Palestinian official at the United Nations, speaking under anonymity, told Anadolu Agency, “we believe that [Nigeria] was subjected to pressure that forced it to change its position."
"We knew the US and Australia would vote against the draft resolution, but we were very disappointed by Nigeria, which abstained from voting," he added.
The official added that the Palestinians had received confirmation from Nigeria’s delegation at the United Nations that it planned to vote in favour of the draft.
“45 minutes before the voting session, we were informed that Nigeria would abstain from voting," the official said.
Palestinian officials and other observers had thought Nigeria’s vote for the resolution would have delivered the nine vote majority to pass the resolution which would have required a US veto to be blocked.
The Palestinian Authority’s (PA) representative to the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) also criticised Nigeria for its abstention during a UN vote on Palestinian statehood last week, reports AllAfrica.com.
In a statement, Muhannad al-Akluk, said Nigeria’s abstention, despite being a member of the OIC, was a “clear contradiction,” to numerous resolutions that it had voted for at the Islamic organisation’s summits.
Related article: Palestinian statehood resolution fails at UN Security Council by one vote (31 Dec 2014)
“Even half an hour before the vote, Nigeria indicated it was committed to voting for the resolution," said a Palestinian source to The Guardian.
According to the paper, a US State Department spokesperson said that the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, had called a number of senior foreign officials, including the Nigerian President, Goodluck Jonathan, before the vote.
A senior Palestinian official at the United Nations, speaking under anonymity, told Anadolu Agency, “we believe that [Nigeria] was subjected to pressure that forced it to change its position."
"We knew the US and Australia would vote against the draft resolution, but we were very disappointed by Nigeria, which abstained from voting," he added.
The official added that the Palestinians had received confirmation from Nigeria’s delegation at the United Nations that it planned to vote in favour of the draft.
“45 minutes before the voting session, we were informed that Nigeria would abstain from voting," the official said.
Palestinian officials and other observers had thought Nigeria’s vote for the resolution would have delivered the nine vote majority to pass the resolution which would have required a US veto to be blocked.
The Palestinian Authority’s (PA) representative to the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) also criticised Nigeria for its abstention during a UN vote on Palestinian statehood last week, reports AllAfrica.com.
In a statement, Muhannad al-Akluk, said Nigeria’s abstention, despite being a member of the OIC, was a “clear contradiction,” to numerous resolutions that it had voted for at the Islamic organisation’s summits.
Related article: Palestinian statehood resolution fails at UN Security Council by one vote (31 Dec 2014)