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Samoa Agreement Had Nothing to Do with LGBTQ Rights – FG
Samoa Agreement Had Nothing to Do with LGBTQ Rights – FG
The Federal Government has dismissed a newspaper report claiming that the Samoa partnership agreement signed on June 28 endorses the rights of LGBTQ people in Nigeria. The government also refuted the claim that Nigeria would receive $150 billion for entering into the deal.
Minister of Budget and Planning Atiku Bagudu clarified at a press conference in Abuja on Saturday. He was joined by his counterpart from the Ministry of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, to address the Daily Trust Newspapers report.
The report alleged that the Federal Government signed an agreement containing clauses that required Nigeria to endorse the rights of LGBTQI people, and claimed that the country would receive $150 billion for signing the deal. This report has sparked social, religious, and cultural tensions, becoming the subject of sermons in mosques and churches.
Bagudu recalled that the agreement, commonly called the Samoa Agreement, was signed at the Organisation of Africa, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) Secretariat in Brussels, Belgium, on June 28. The partnership is between the European Union and its member states on one side, and members of the OACPS on the other. Negotiations for the agreement began in 2018, and it was signed on November 15, 2018, by all 27 EU member states and 47 of the 79 OACPS states.
The African Regional Protocol on the deal consists of two parts: a framework for cooperation and areas of cooperation, including sustainable economic growth, environment, and human rights protection.
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Reacting to the report, Bagudu stated it was untrue. He emphasized that the agreement did not mention $150 billion or LGBTQ rights. He assured President Bola Tinubu, a proud Nigerian, that he would never sign any document that could harm Nigeria’s laws and constitution.
Bagudu clarified that the agreement aims to foster cooperation between the EU’s 27 members and the OACPS’s 79 nations, focusing on trade agreements, human rights, and environmental promotion. Nigeria signed the agreement after extensive reviews and consultations by an interministerial committee involving the Ministries of Budget and Economic Planning, Foreign Affairs, and Justice.
He reiterated that any provision inconsistent with Nigerian laws would be null and void, emphasizing that the government had clarified this. He referenced the existing law against same-sex marriage since 2014 and assured Nigerians that the Tinubu administration would not enter into any international agreement detrimental to the country’s interests.
Bagudu highlighted the benefits of other international agreements Nigeria had entered into, including water, sanitation, education, and agriculture improvements. He reiterated that the Samoa Agreement focuses on economic development, security, environment, migration, mobility, climate change, investment opportunities, sustainable development, and mutually beneficial cooperation. He stressed that no article in the agreement supported LGBTQ rights and that everything signed was in line with Nigerian laws.
Bagudu assured President Tinubu that he respects Nigeria’s diversity and will not authorize any agreement that undermines the constitution or laws. He urged the media to be truthful and patriotic in their reporting to protect national interests and avoid discouraging international investors.
He reminded the media of the importance of supporting Nigerians working to secure foreign investments and cooperation and urged them not to undermine these efforts through inaccurate reporting.
Samoa Agreement Had Nothing to Do with LGBTQ Rights – FG
News
Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name
Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name
Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has directed the immediate freezing of all state-owned bank accounts.
In a statement issued on Thursday by his Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, the governor stated that the accounts would remain frozen until further notice.
He instructed commercial banks, ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to comply with the order immediately or face severe consequences.
The statement reads: “All state bank accounts with commercial banks have been frozen. Commercial banks must comply with this order and ensure that not a single naira is withdrawn from government coffers until further notice.
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“Heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies must ensure full compliance without delay.
“Following necessary investigations and reconciliations, the governor will take appropriate action and decide on the way forward. For now, this order remains in effect.”
Okpebholo also directed relevant agencies to revert the name of the Ministry of Roads and Bridges to its previous title, the Ministry of Works, a change made during the Godwin Obaseki administration.
“It is odd to name a government institution the Ministry of Roads and Bridges, especially when not a single bridge was built by the previous administration — not even a pedestrian bridge.
“In the coming days, we will examine further actions taken by the previous administration and make decisions that serve the best interests of the state,” the statement added.
Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name
News
Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi
Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi
Prominent Islamic scholar Dr. Ahmad Mahmud Gumi has criticized the widely discussed two-state solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict, calling it a “deception.”
His remarks followed a recent summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Riyadh, where President Bola Tinubu and other leaders condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza and urged an end to hostilities.
In an interview with Daily Trust at his Kaduna residence, Gumi argued, “This Two-State Solution is a deception. No Israeli will allow a Palestinian to survive, and Palestinians will never allow Israel to survive.
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The only solution is to dissolve the two states and create a democratically electable region.”
Gumi commended the OIC’s support for Palestine, noting that Muslims and Arabs worldwide increasingly see the treatment of Palestinians as “genocide” and accuse Israel of human rights abuses.
He also called for a return to the pre-1948 structure, where Palestinians, Jews, and Christians lived together, suggesting a single, inclusive state that allows peaceful coexistence.
“When I hear people talking about Two-State Solutions, I know they are just deceiving themselves,” Gumi added, advocating for a unified region where people of all faiths can live together, similar to the multi-faith coexistence seen in countries like the United States.
Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi
News
Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll
Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll
The Labour Party candidature of Olusola Ebiseni for the upcoming gubernatorial election in Ondo State has been nullified.
The nullification follows the sacking of Ebiseni by the Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday.
The governorship election of the southwest State will hold on Saturday, 16 November 2024.
The judgement disqualifying Ebiseni was unanimously delivered by the three members of the panel and read out by the chairman of the panel, Justice Adebukola Banjoko.
The judgment granted the prayer of the Labour Party who preferred the case against Ebiseni.
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Justice Banjoko held that, “the appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/1172/2024 brought by the Labour Party against Chief Olusola Ebiseni and two others is allowed.”
Justice Banjoko further stated that the Certified True Copy of the judgment would be provided to the parties involved in the appeal as soon as possible for their review.
Recall that Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to accept and recognize Olusola Ebiseni and Ezekiel Awude as the Labour Party’s governorship and deputy governorship candidates for the November 16 Ondo State governorship elections.
Justice Nwite confirmed that the second primary election conducted by the Labour Party, which resulted in Ebiseni and Awude being selected as candidates, was valid and should be upheld by INEC.
However, the appellate court has now overturned the judgment of the trial court’s judgment.
Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll
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