- Reps Ask FG To Suspend Implementation, Call For Investigation
- Blame FG For Not Carrying N’ Assembly Along In Deal Signing
- Agreement Expressly Made Subject To The Local Laws, Sovereignty- NBA
The recently signed $150bn Samoa Agreement keep throwing up controversies each day.
The latest outrage is coming from the hallowed chamber as the National Assembly (House of Representatives) has called for a halt to the implementation of the deal.
This is even as the house also resolved to investigate the agreement signed by the federal government on June 28, 2024.
Furthermore, the legislators lamented that there was no lack of information as the national assembly was not carried along in the signing of deal.
Trouble started when Nigeria signed the Samoa Agreement, which according to the European Council is the overarching framework for European Union (EU) relations with African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries.
The agreement serves as a new legal framework for EU relations with 79 countries, including African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries.
The agreement was officially signed on November 15, 2023, by the EU and its member states and Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS) members in Samoa, a country in Oceania.
The Samoa Agreement, signed between Nigeria and the European Union, has sparked widespread criticism and outrage, with many interpreting it as recognizing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) rights, which contradicts Nigeria’s 2014 law criminalizing same-sex relationships.
Despite the backlash, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, and Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, had defended the agreement stating that Nigeria would not enter into any agreement that violates its constitution, religious, and cultural sensibilities.
READ ALSO: Samoa Agreement: FG Spits Fire
The claims have since been established to be false.
However, at plenary on Tuesday, June 8, 2024, a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Sani Madaki, the minority whip, and 87 other lawmakers.
During the motion’s presentation, Madaki argued that the agreement violates the nation’s laws regarding LGBTQ issues and same-sex marriage. Ghali Tijani from Kano supported the motion, urging the House to reject the Samoa Agreement entirely.
Bello Kumo, the majority whip, suggested the federal government should rescind the signing and apologise to Nigerians.
Kingsley Chinda, the minority leader (PDP, Rivers), and co-sponsor of the motion, emphasised that the motion was not about approving or condemning the agreement but rather calling for an investigation.
He blamed the federal government for the controversy on the agreement, adding that it was a case of lack of information.
He said the executive arm should have carried the lawmakers along in the negotiation of the agreement.
“Because this is an investigative motion, I will caution that we should not be judgmental in our argument. It is clear, when the federal government is going into any agreement, by virtue of section 12 of the 1999 constitution, the parliament ought to be carried along.
READ ALSO: Samoa Agreement: FG Spits Fire
“If the parliament had been carried along, this argument, even for the people we represent, would not have come up because Nigerians would have been better informed. The problem is about the lack of information. As parliament, we want to be satisfied that what the government told Nigerians is actually the truth. That is all we are arguing for,” he said.
Majority leader Julius Ihonvbere attempted to reassure his colleagues that there is no portion of the agreement that supports LGBTQ rights, but his statement was met with interruptions and shouts of “no” from other lawmakers.
After the long debate, the presiding officer, Deputy Speaker Ben Kalu, put the motion to a vote, and member voted in support of it.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has said there is no provision in the SAMOA agreement which requires Nigeria to accept or in any way recognise LGBTQ or gay rights, either as a pre-condition for a loan of $150bn or at all.
A statement signed by the President of the Association, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Yakubu Maikayau says instead, the agreement was expressly made subject to the local laws and the sovereignty of the contracting Nations.
“That is to say, the SAMOA agreement recognises, for instance, Nigeria’s Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, 2023 and of course, the Supremacy of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended)”.
READ ALSO: FG Under Fire Over $150bn Samoa Deal As Tinubu Ministers Deny LGBT Provision
The NBA says if this were not the case, it would have since advised the Federal Government not to enter or engage in any form of partnership or agreement that has the ability to undermine the sovereignty of the country in any way.
The Association also calls on the government to continue with the public enlightenment already being undertaken and for other stakeholders to join in doing so, to counter the negative perception being promoted on the agreement.
It urged the public to at all times, query newspaper and social media posts to determine the veracity of information contained in them.
