File Brig.-Gen. Oluwole Rotimi (rtd)

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Empowered Newswire sources said the inability of Maduekwe to get an accreditation to the Obama inauguration for the event, might have been the last straw.

US White House and State Department protocol officers had reportedly issued the Obama inauguration accreditation to only the resident ambassadors or diplomats who were the chiefs of missions.

The officers insisted that such accreditation could not be transferred to any other top government official from their home countries.

In the case of Nigeria, sources indicated that Maduekwe had expected to be the one to take the Nigerian accreditation, since he was in town, but embassy officials were said to have insisted that the regulations did not permit such a transfer.

But one of the US officials who spoke with Empowered Newswire, said it was not only Nigerian diplomats that had this problem since many government dignitaries from Europe also wanted to have such transfers.

There was no apparent confirmation of this last night.

But Rotimi has reacted to the controversy over his recall.

In a statement made available to our correspondent, Rotimi said that he did not call Madueke a tribalist as alleged in one of the accounts of the spat

He also said that the reference to the defeat of Biafra was completely taken out of context.

The statement reads in part, "I wish to acknowledge receipt of the message of the Minister of Foreign Affairs conveying the directive of President Umaru Yar'Adua recalling me as his principal representative in the United States of America. I will dutifully comply with this order.

"However, I wish to also seize this opportunity to correct some misconceptions and distortions attributed to Chief Madueke by the media.

"The little snippet of information released to the press stating that in the exchange of correspondence between us, I called him a tribalist is inaccurate. In addition, the reference to the defeat of Biafra was completely taken out of context.

"Moreover, I would like to assure all patriotic Nigerians that I have no intention to cast any aspersion on any ethnic community in Nigeria. I have always believed in and worked for and will continue to work for the unity of Nigeria even when I am not in the public service

"I have had the privilege and honour to serve under distinguished and gallant senior officers of different ethnic backgrounds in my service to the Nigerian Army. In addition, the God Almighty has blessed me with children whose mother is half Igbo and half Yoruba.

"Finally, let me state with all my heart that this distortion is deeply regretted and I honestly apologise to anyone who has felt slighted in any form."

"God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria."

The official noted that the US government made it clear that such dignitaries from the capitals were welcome to celebrate in their own way during the inauguration events even though they were not technically invited to the official inauguration.

While Maduekwe arranged for a special delegation from Nigeria including himself and some other eminent Nigerians like former Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku and former Nigeria Ambassador to the US Prof. George Obiozor, Rotimi had been reluctant to supporting the idea of a delegation in line with the procedure outlined by the US government.

Even US officials acknowledged the potential difficulty that was likely between Ambassadors and their principals since many delegations from other countries wanted to attend the inauguration, especially because the US itself normally sent presidential delegations to such inaugurations.