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General News of Friday, 14 November 2003

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Obasanjo did not storm out of meeting - ECOWAS

President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria did not angrily leave the consultative meeting of Heads of the Sub Region, which took place on November 11 in Accra as reported in the media.

A press release signed by Dr Adrienne Diop, Director of Communications of ECOWAS on Thursday said: "This is a false statement as can be seen from the following narration of what actually happened.

"On arrival in Accra, President Obasanjo had indicated to his colleagues that because of prior engagements back home, he would be leaving by 1600 hours.

"However, the meeting dragged on until 1830 hours, thereby running over President Obasanjo's departure schedule. He stayed beyond the appointed 1600 hours and only left shortly before the end of the meeting. This explains the Nigerian leader's departure before his colleagues, giving the impression that he was storming out in anger. " On the contrary, President Obasanjo played a crucial role in the convening of the meeting and was instrumental in narrowing the differences among the parties," the release said.