There is an ongoing diplomatic row between Nigeria and Morocco over whether or not Jonathan recently engaged the monarch in a telephone conversation. While the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement claiming that Jonathan spoke with the Moroccan king, authorities of the Kingdom denied the claim and thereafter recalled their ambassador to Nigeria.
President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday admitted that he had not at any time engaged King Mohammed VI of Morocco in a telephone conversation as claimed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He said he had also not told anybody that he spoke with the Moroccan monarch. Jonathan made the clarification in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati.
Abati, in the Friday statement, said Jonathan was highly embarrassed by the controversy that trailed the issue. The President ordered that commensurate disciplinary action should be taken against the culprit(s).