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Bagudu and Idris Mohammed at speaking at the press conference on Samoa Deal
Next Stay Stunned by thousands of storks flying over the sky in Gia Viễn dike, Ninh Bình – Nếm TV 40 42 00:00 00:00 / 00:00 10 Sec Published By: Ayorinde Oluokun
…Storm over Samoa deal
By Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja
Nigerians and Nigeria are not strange to conspiracy theories most times based on rumors that have no basis whatsoever. Perhaps one of the most prominent of such conspiracies in the recent past was the wild rumour that trailed return of former President Muhammadu Buhari return to Nigeria from one of his trips for treatment abroad. Unable to fathom reason (s) for the seeming turnaround in health and robust outlook of the former president on his return to the country, some of those who had speculated that he had passed on while undergoing treatment abroad began set off the conspiracy theory that the man who returned to Nigeria as the occupier of Aso Rock presidential villa was actually one Jubril of Sudan.
Jubril of Sudan, according to purveyors of the rumour is a ‘body double’ who was sent to continue ruling Nigeria after the real Buhari died and was buried during his treatment abroad. As foolish as it sounded, the conspiracy travelled wide, with many who would be regarded too educated, exposed or enlightened to be taken in by it willing to swore by their mothers’ grave that the man who was in Aso Rock then was Jubril of Sudan. Of course, many other Nigerians dismissed the claim of Buhari’s body double as stratospheric foolishness.
The conspiracy theory now being woven around the agreement between the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the European Union, EU, otherwise called the Samoa deal and the alleged Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, Transgender and Queer, LBSGTQ as signed by the administration of President Bola Tinubu in Nigeria would have been similar regarded as another extreme form of foolishness by the purveyor. After all, fact checking by media organisations and a prominent columnist had indicated that contrary to the claim of Daily Trust report on the issue, the Tinubu administration did not commit to promote or allow the practice of LGBTQ in Nigeria as a condition for benefitting for loans under the agreement.
Daily Trust itself failed to cite any part of the agreement that mandate Nigeria to allow or encourage the practice of LGBTQ in Nigeria. Instead, the newspaper had heavily relied on an opinion article by one Sonnie Ekwowusi, a Lagos-based lawyer in its report. “But a fact check by the Premium Times revealed that Ekwosusi lied in his widely circulated opinion article. Contrary to what was reported in sections of the media, there are no LGBT clauses in the new Samoa Agreement recently signed by Nigeria, according to PREMIUM TIMES findings.
The Daily Trust report did not present any clause in the agreement that mandates LGBT rights beyond quoting the opinion of Mr Ekwowusi, despite also quoting the administrative secretary of the NSCIA as saying the council did not find same-sex marriage in the draft shared with it by the government before signing the agreement. In addition, the interpretation of Mr Ekwowusi, the Lagos-based lawyer whose opinion article the media outlets relied on for their reporting, is misleading,” Premium Times said.
Irresponsible reporting
However, the claim by Daily Trust has gained a dangerous traction, especially in the Northern part of the country where politicians have seized on its to advance their fortunes ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Even more concerning as the Minister of Information and National Orientation told journalists on Saturday, was the fact that religious leaders have lapped up the falsehood about the agreement, especially at the Northern part of Nigeria with some Imams making it the subject of their last Friday’s sermon.
The fact is that the report by Daily Trust is already engendering religious and social tensions in the country as different political interests seek to gain political capital out of it directly or through their proxies to the disadvantage of the Tinubu’s administration.
Hence, it was not a surprise that the Tinubu administration, at a press conference on Saturday expressed concern over the Daily Trust report at the press conference addressed by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Idris Mohammed and Atiku Bagudu, the Minister of Budget and National Planning on Saturday.
Speaking at the press conference, Idris accused the newspaper of consistently and deliberately publishing “fake and mischievous,” report against the Tinubu’s administration, citing two instances before before the publication on the Samoa deal.
“We, however, did not envisage that Daily Trust and people behind it could descend to the reckless level of attempting to set the country on fire by falsely accusing the government of signing a deal to promote LGBTQI. We found that despicable and wicked because the allegation is nowhere in the document signed,” the Information Minister said while vowing that the Federal Government will drag the newspaper to the Court and Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria(NPAN) Ombudsman over its publication on the Samoa agreement. The Information Minister accused the newspaper of “irresponsible reporting.”
“Surprisingly, the paper put forward no evidence nor provided the agreement allegedly signed to prove their point. “The baseless and sensational story unfortunately formed a basis for khutba (sermons), by some of our respected imams who were misled by the story, thereby raising tempers,” he said.
“The insidious and inciting publications by the Daily Trust these past months have come across as nothing but a deliberate effort to brush the government with a tar.
“On many occasions, we have restrained ourselves from believing that this was the case but the consistency of the mischievous publications leaves us with no option.
“In the aftermath of the coup in Niger Republic, Daily Trust championed a jaundiced narrative that the Federal Government was driving the country into a war and twisted it with regional sentiment to cause disaffection.
“The same newspaper gave a banner headline to a baseless accusation that the Government was working on siting foreign military bases in the country.
” Neither Daily Trust nor originators of that imaginative allegation provided any shred of evidence.
“Then just two weeks ago, Daily Trust concocted and popularised a lie that the Federal Government had renamed the Murtala Mohammed Expressway in Abuja to Wole Soyinka Way.
“In all those instances, all that the paper depended on were falsehood and hearsays. They also showed no remorse or the humility to recant,’ the Minister said while restating that the Tinubu’s administration will continue to respect freedom of the press.
He said, however, that government would continue to toe the path of civility by restraining itself from seeking self-help or adopting draconian measures.
“While past governments clamped down on the media for infractions much lower than this, we are, however, toeing the path of civility and the rule of law,” he said.
“The President and this administration will not in any way, in any way, I repeat, the President will not sign or cause any office official to sign anything that will harm our nation, not in any way.
“So to all those who come on in that there is a signature out there that gives away our country as an LGBT-compliant country or seeking to do that, it is mischaracterization, misrepresentation.
“The current government insists that our laws will be respected, our norms will be respected, our traditions will also be respected and our values will be respected.
“The two major religions here are against it.
There is a law existing against the issue of LGBT. The current government of Nigeria would not go against that.
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“I think it is important that we put this out there for those who have reacted largely due to ignorance.
“There is also a Surah, Surah Al-Hujurat in the Holy Quran.
“Before you put out any information out there, it is important that you cross-check and be sure of your facts.”
The Minister also called on religious leaders to show understanding, while promising that the government will continue to engage with them.
No LGBTQ, no $150 billion deal
However, the lot fell on the Minister of Budget and National Planning to prove to journalists at the press briefing that contrary to the claim of the newspaper, the Samoa partnership agreement signed by Nigerian on June 28 did not mandate the country to allow the practice of Lesbians, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer(LGBTQ) in Nigeria.
Bagudu also dismissed the claim that Nigeria would receive 150 billion for entering into the deal.
Mr Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and planning, made the clarification at a press conference in Abuja on Saturday.
The minister recalled that negotiations on the agreement began in 2018 and it was signed on Nov. 15, 2018 by all 27 EU member-states and 47 of the 79 OACPS states while the African Regional Protocol on the deal consists of two parts – framework for cooperation, and areas of cooperation that include sustainable economic growth, environment and human rights protection, among others.
Bagudu was emphatic that there was nowhere in the document where 150 billion dollars, LGBTQ or the rights of people involved in such activities were mentioned in the agreement.
The Minister added that President Bola Tinubu was a proud Nigerian and would never sign any document that could hurt its laws and constitution.
He said that the agreement was seeking to foster cooperation between EU’s 27 members and OACPC with 79 nations.
“The partnership is about trade agreements, human rights and environmental promotion,” he enthused.
Bagudu also informed that there was extensive reviews and consultations by the inter-ministerial committee convened by the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and that of justice before the agreement was signed and Nigeria had made it clear that any provision that is inconsistent with the laws of Nigeria shall be null and void, and that is, thus, what government has to say on the issue of same-sex marriage.
“There is an existing law against that since 2014. It is necessary to assure Nigerians that Tinubu’s administration, being a rule-based government, will not enter into any international agreement that will be detrimental to the interest of the country and its citizens,” he said.
He pointed out that the Samoa agreement is focused on economic development, security, environment, migration, mobility and climate change.
Other areas included investment opportunities, sustainable development and mutually beneficial cooperation, among others.
“President Tinubu is non-apologetic about his respects for our diversities and wouldn’t want to do anything that will hurt anyone.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Idris Mohammed “President Tinubu did not authorise any agreement that can undermine our constitution or laws.
“We did not sign anything that has a clause that challenges our laws.
“We are always conscious of our sovereignty; we respect our two religions,” he declared.
“The Samoa Agreement is a veritable instrument for Nigeria’s development cooperation with the EU beyond aid. The OACPS – EU Partnership is one of the most diverse and multifaceted development pact in the international system. It is therefore pertinent for the Public to consult the relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for clarity on the far-reaching issues relating to multi-sectoral provisions of the Agreement,” said the Minister.”
He urged the media to be truthful and patriotic in the handling of reports so as to protect national interest.
The Minister also urged the media to be sensitive to the fact that development partners were also sensitive to media reports.
“Let us not ridicule ourselves and scare international investors. Nigerians should be allowed to know the truth,” he said.
He reminded the media that there were hardworking Nigerians helping the nation to secure foreign investments, support and cooperation.
“We should not undermine their efforts and discourage them from putting in their best for the nation,” he said.