July 09, (THEWILL) – The House of Representatives has directed the Federal Government to suspend the implementation of the Samoa Agreement until all controversial clauses are addressed and spelt out.
This followed a motion of urgent national importance sponsored by 88 members and moved at plenary on Tuesday.
Moving the motion on behalf of the sponsors, a member of the House, Aliyu Madaki, drew attention to the clause which highlights “gender equality” and describes it as a Trojan horse which could violate the morals of the country.
The House also mandated its relevant committees to investigate the controversial provisions of the agreement.
Nigeria had on June 28, 2024, signed the Samoa Agreement at the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS) Secretariat in Brussels, Belgium. The partnership agreement is between the EU and its Member States, on one hand, and the members of the OACPS on the other.
Earlier, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said in negotiating the Agreement, Nigerian officials strictly followed the mandates exchanged in 2018 between the EU and the OACPS for the process. He assured Nigerians that the President Bola Tinubu 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.
