The federal government’s decision to sign a $150 billion Samoa Deal has been met with controversies over claim of LGBTQ clause.
According to reports, the agreement reportedly includes clauses that require underdeveloped and developing nations to support LGBTQ rights as a condition for receiving financial and other forms of support from advanced countries.
Named after the Pacific Island Samoa, where it was signed on November 15, 2023, the agreement is gaining traction despite opposition from many countries that uphold Islamic and Christian values and are sensitive to their cultural norms.
News of Nigeria’s ratification of the agreement emerged on Monday, July 1, when Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, the minister of budget and economic planning, confirmed the development at a European Union (EU) reception in Abuja.
However, Bagudu’s media assistant, Bolaji Adebiyi, clarified on Wednesday that the documents referenced by Bagudu during the EU reception pertained strictly to economic development and did not mention LGBTQ or same-sex marriage.
Adebiyi insisted that Bagudu signed an agreement related to a $150 billion trade component, not LGBT issues.
Speaking on the controversy surrounding the Samoa Agreement, Kamarudeen Ogundele, spokesman for the attorney general of the federation and minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi SAN, indicated he needed to gather more information and did not provide further details by press time.
Meanwhile, Clerics, rights activists, and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Nigeria are expressing outrage over the controversial deal.
A Lagos-based lawyer and chairman of the Human and Constitutional Rights Committee of the African Bar Association (AfBA), Sonnie Ekwowusi raised concerns in an article on Wednesday.
He criticised the signing of the Samoa Agreement, describing it as “nauseating” and questioned the judgment of Nigerian officials.
