Oke Blasts ‘Smear Campaign’, Says Diplomatic Meetings Misrepresented

The Chairman, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Hon. Busayo Oluwole Oke, has dismissed what he described as a “malicious and orchestrated smear campaign” targeted at his person through online publications and social media posts.

In a statement issued on Friday by his media aide, Omolebi-Sunday Segun Tunde, Oke said the campaign—particularly a report credited to one Mr. John Akande and published by Newspot Nigeria—was a calculated attempt to misrepresent his official engagements and tarnish his reputation.

According to him, the publications falsely suggested that his recent diplomatic meetings were conducted in a manner contrary to Nigeria’s national interest. He, however, described the claims as “baseless, mischievous, and ignorant.”

“For the record, as Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, I routinely receive diplomatic delegations and envoys from various countries—East and West alike—as part of Nigeria’s ongoing parliamentary diplomacy,” Oke said.

He listed some of such engagements, including meetings with envoys from Israel in April 2025, the United Kingdom and North Korea in November 2024, and the Republic of Korea in January 2025. He noted that all these were official courtesy visits conducted in line with global parliamentary norms and properly documented.

“It is therefore malicious for anyone to twist a harmless diplomatic courtesy call into a baseless narrative of conspiracy or divided loyalty. Such fabrications only expose the ignorance and ulterior motives of their sponsors,” the statement added.

Oke emphasized that Nigeria’s foreign policy remains the prerogative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the Executive Arm of Government, while the National Assembly’s role is limited to oversight and legislation in support of national interest.

He reaffirmed his commitment to promoting Nigeria’s image through “legislative diplomacy, constructive engagement, and responsible leadership,” urging the public to disregard what he called acts of desperation by his detractors.