Nigeria complains about Mugabe calling it corrupt

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — The official News Agency of Nigeria reports Zimbabwe's envoy has been called in for a complaint about President Robert Mugabe's remarks about corruption in Nigeria.

It says the ministry of foreign affairs on Thursday told Zimbabwean diplomat Stanley Kunjeku that Nigeria will not tolerate Mugabe's "vitriolic and denigrating" attack.

The row was sparked by comments Mugabe made March 15 bemoaning deepening corruption in Zimbabwe and asking, "Are we now like Nigerians where you have to reach into your pockets to get anything done?"

Firing back, Nigeria's Daily Trust newspaper this week noted most African leaders are too polite to criticize "the archetypal African despot" who has "run the once-prosperous country literally aground."

Transparency International lists Zimbabwe as more corrupt, at No. 157 of 175 countries with Nigeria at 144.