The Democratic Alliance (DA) has urged the South African and Nigerian governments not to engage in tit-for-tat tiff over the xenophobic attacks.

The DA’s shadow deputy minister of international relations and co-operation Sandy Kalyan said they should “put the interests of both countries and their citizens first‚ and to engage meaningfully on how they may improve relations between two of the continent's economic powerhouses”.

Kaylan made the call in reaction to media reports at the weekend which said the Nigerian high commissioner and general consul “were recalled to Nigeria‚ purportedly over the recent incidences of xenophobia in South Africa”.

While Kaylan noted the Nigerian foreign minister’s denial that they had been recalled‚ she said “inviting the high commissioner and the general-consul back home is‚ in diplomatic terms‚ unusual and only done in extreme circumstances as a last resort”.

“This will have placed further strain on already difficult relations between our two countries‚” Kaylan said‚ adding that she would table a motion to address this issue at the next sitting of the Pan-Africa Parliament.