The House of Representatives has called for the suspension of the Samoa agreement over the alleged LGBTQ clause inclusion
Just as predicted in OrderPaper‘s Legislative Intelligence Forecast Entry (LIFE), the House of Representatives has called for the suspension of the implementation of the Samoa agreement.
Rep. Aliyu Madaki (NNPP Kano), made this call on Tuesday while leading the debate on the urgent motion he sponsored. He stressed that the Samoa agreement contravenes Nigeria’s ethics and value.
Adding to the debate, the House Minority Leader, Rep. Kingsley Chinder (PDP Rivers), said the parliament was not carried along: ” The parliament should have been carried along. The problem is the lack of information. At this stage we are not condemning; wether it’s important or not. Let’s allow the motion pass since it is an investigative motion.”
OrderPaper recalls the Samoa agreement was signed by Nigerian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the European Union, Obinna Onowu, as shared on his X handle on June 28, 2024.
In the post, the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS) confirmed that Nigeria has joined other member states to sign the pact.
The post reads: “Nigeria today signed the Samoa Agreement, joining 72 fellow members of the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS), in a pledge to enhance OACPS-EU relations international cooperation.
“Ambassador Obinna Chiedu Onowu represented his country to sign the Samoa Agreement at the OACPS Secretariat in Brussels. The majority of the 79 OACPS member states signed the agreement in Apia, Samoa, on November 15, 2023, which has been provisionally applied since 1 January 2024.
“The Samoa Agreement serves as a vital legal framework for cooperation between the OACPS and the European Union, with the aim of promoting sustainable development, fighting climate change and its effects, generating investment opportunities, and fostering increased collaboration among OACPS member states at the international stage.
This development sparked swift reactions from Nigeriana as a national newspaper stoked the fire by reporting that the agreement contains clauses that mandate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender rights.
But the report was dismissed by the minister of information and national orientation, Mohammed Idris, who stated that there was no clause that created rights and support for LGBTQ in Nigeria in any of the articles in the agreement.
More details later:
