Abia North Senator-elect, Orji Uzor-Kalu meets the embattled President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro, as he shares a photo of the two of them having a warm handshake on his social media page.
Nigerian Senator-elect Orji Uzor-Kalu who shared the photos did not say where he met with the Venezuelan leader, but given the security situation in Venezuela and also how the United States of America and President Donald Trump are looking to take him out as the President, it seems they met in his home country of Venezuela and not outside.
Venezuela, is no longer news have two different leaders, one being that of President Nicolas Maduro who has been labelled a dictator by most Western countries, and opposition leader Juan Guaido who has been recognised as the democratically and legitimate leader of Venezuela by most Western countries. But Nigeria and other African countries have not taken any decision as to who they are backing in the political drama in Venezuela.
Given how strategic and the important role Nigeria plays in International diplomacy, we cannot tell if the visit of Orji Uzor-Kalu to Venezuela was an official visit or a personal one, as the photo shared by the Abia North Senator-elect could be misinterpreted by outsiders, as Nigeria as a country already taking a side in the whole Venezuela issue.
Orji Uzor-Kalu who obviously was delighted to have met with one of the world most dangerous leaders shared the photo showing the Nigerian and Venezuela flags with this caption:
“It was a great pleasure meeting with the President of the Republic of Venezuela @NicolasMaduro.He extended his congratulations to President Muhammadu Buhari @MBuhari over his electoral victory. I am glad by his assurances to continue to deepen the Nigerian-venezuela Relationship.”
Maduro on his part wrote this on his Twitter page:
“I received brother Orji Uzor Kalu, Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I expressed my congratulations on the recent electoral victory of the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari. We ratify our willingness to continue to strengthen ties of friendship and cooperation.”