July 14, (THEWILL) – The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria has called on the Federal Government to propose amendments to the Samoa Agreement or withdraw from the pact if the European Union rejects the proposed changes.
The statement was made available to the media by Rev. Fr. Michael Umoh, the National Director of Social Communications, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, on Thursday .
The Samoa Agreement signed on June 28, 2024 is an economic partnership between the European Union and African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries.
It addresses democracy, human rights, economic growth, climate change, social development, peace, security, and migration among the agreement partners drawn from African, the Caribbeans and European Union.
The Bishops in a statement titled Threat to the Sovereignty and Value of Nigeria in the Samoa Agreement issued by their President, Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, in Abuja, was made available to THEWILL
In it, they contend that the “treaty does not have a glossary of terms or a definition section to ensure that all parties have the same understanding of terms, which may pose a problem in its implementation and evaluation phases.” It took exception to areas dealing with Gender equality, gender perspectives and gender mainstreaming; sexual and reproductive health rights, saying that “gender is no longer an innocent term as there are over 100 genders that would claim a stake in the term gender equality.”
CBCN argued that the agreement includes “post-modern secularistic ideologies” that undermine Nigeria’s moral, cultural, and religious beliefs.
As a way forward, the CBCN urged that the federal government to propose an insertion of a substantive article in the general Agreement and the African Regional Protocol, thus: “Nothing in this binding Agreement can be interpreted to include any obligation regarding sexual orientation, gender identity, comprehensive sexuality education, abortion contraception, legalisation of prostitution, same-sex marriage or sexual “rights” for children.”
It said Nigeria should withdraw from the Agreement if the EU rejects the Amendment.
