• Mon. Oct 7th, 2024

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#SamoaAgreement: ‘Ratified Only to Boost Economic Growth, Social Development’ – Minister

Contrary to the fake news making rounds about Nigeria ratifying Samoa Agreement in order to promote LGBTQ earlier this July, the Office of the minister of Budget and Economic Planning has come out to debunk such misinformation.

SOME media reports have documented the reactions of clerics, civil society organisations (CSOs) and human rights activists condemning the signing of the Samoa Agreement by the Nigerian government saying it attempts to promote LGBTQ, transgenders among others.

The Samoa Agreement signed on 15 November 2023, is a framework agreement for cooperation between 27 countries of the European Union and 79 countries of the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS).

The agreement also has a trade component of $150 billion. Currently, 46 OACPS countries and 27 EU countries have signed it. For the agreement to be fully implemented, all 27 EU members must sign it.

The partnership agreement lays down common principles and covers the following priority areas: human rights, democracy and governance; peace and security; human and social development; inclusive, sustainable economic growth and development; environmental sustainability and climate change; migration and mobility.

Meanwhile, on Monday, July 1, the minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu confirmed the development at a reception organised by the European Union (EU) in Abuja.

report said that Bagudu’s media assistant, Bolaji Adebiyi, when contacted noted the documents signed by the federal government, which the minister of Budget referred to during the reception by the EU, were strictly for the economic development of Nigeria.

“He said nowhere in the documents were LGBT or same-sex marriage mentioned even remotely, and emphatically stating that it would be wrong for anyone to imply that Nigeria had accepted those tendencies,” the report noted.

The same report said the chairman, Human and Constitutional Rights Committee, African Bar Association (AfBA), Sonnie Ekwowusi,  noted that some articles of the Samoa Agreement promotes LGBTQ among others.  Ewowusi according to the report referenced Articles 2.5 and 29.5 of the agreement.

“The Samoa Agreement, named after the Pacific Island, Samoa, where it was signed on November 15, 2023 is a celebration of perversity. Certain Articles of the Agreement especially Articles 2.5 and 29.5 legalise LGBT, transgenderism, abortion, teen sexual abuse, and perversity in African countries.  The signing of the Agreement by Nigeria constitutes a threat to the sovereignty of Nigeria and Africa. It further debases our democracy.

“I can wager that neither Minister Atiku Bagudu nor the Nigerian officials or diplomats who signed the Samoa Agreement on our behalf, understand the import of the agreement to Nigeria’s sovereignty, let alone the destructive impact of the Agreement in Nigeria. This explains why many African bodies including the AfBA have condemned the agreement and respectfully urged African countries not to sign it.

By News Editor

Our News Editor, Muyiwa is an information management expert and Development Blogger with more than a decade experience in investigative reporting and journalism. He is passionate about human angle stories to all social issues in Nigeria and Africa.