"THE Action Congress (AC) has asked the Federal Government to immediately sanction British Airways over its recent disrespectful treatment of the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Said Abubakar III, by the airline.
In a statement issued in Abuja Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said it was inexcusable that the monarch and his entourage could be left behind by the airline, while they waited at the VIP lounge of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport in Abuja.
"This recalcitrant airline can neither claim to be unaware of the fact that the Sultan and his entourage were waiting at the VIP lounge, nor pretend not to know they had not boarded as at the time the flight took off.
It said the reported apologies of the airline and the British High Commission is like medicine after death, as it will not reverse the shabby treatment meted out to the Monarch.
The party also said the fact that the airline is from a country where the Monarchy is held in high esteem means it cannot pretend not to know the importance of such a foremost Monarch like the Sultan of Sokoto.
AC said the British Airlines' action, coming on the heels of its recent maltreatment of several Nigerian passengers in London, has shown that the airline has nothing but absolute contempt for Nigeria and her citizens, no matter how lowly or highly placed.
"It is high time the Nigerian government signalled to the foreign airlines and missions in the country that it will no longer tolerate the shabby treatment of its citizens. If the British Airways had been heavily sanctioned after the recent London incident, it would have thought twice before daring to disrespect a highly-respected personality like the Sultan.
"In any case, it is also possible that the airline is taking a cue from the British High Commission in Nigeria which, like other foreign missions here, have made the humiliation of Nigerian citizens their past time, just because they dare to seek travel visas.
"If indeed the Nigerian citizen is of any importance to this administration, and if indeed the government is aware of its responsibilities to its citizens, then it must begin to show that the time to maltreat a Nigerian is long over," AC said."
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