*To drag Daily Trust to NPAN, court
WorldStage Newsonline– The Federal Government of Nigeria has dismissed Daily Trust report claiming that the Samoa partnership agreement signed June 28 has endorsed the rights of Lesbians, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer(LGBTQ), people in Nigeria.
Mr Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and planning who made the clarification at a press conference in Abuja on Saturday also rejected the claims that Nigeria would receive 150 billion for entering into the deal.
The minister, along with his information and national orientation counterpart Mohammed Idris, had called the conference to react to a report by the Daily Trust Newspapers.
In the report, the medium claimed that the Federal Government signed an agreement with clauses requiring Nigeria to endorse the rights of LGBTQI people.
It further said that the populous African nation would pocket 150 billion dollars for endorsing the deal.
The report has sparked off social, religious and cultural tension with the allegations becoming the topics for most sermons in Mosques and Churches.
The minister recalled that the agreement, generally referred to as the Samoa agreement, was signed at the Organisation of Africa, Caribbean and Pacific States(OACPS), Secretariat in Brussels, Belgium, on June 28.
Details of the agreement indicated that the partnership is between the European Union and its member-states on one hand, and members of OACPCS on the other.
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.
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.
Reacting to the medium’s report on the matter, Bagudu said that there was no iota of truth in it.
He said that there was nowhere in the document where 150 billion dollars was mentioned.
He also said that the agreement made no reference to LGBTQ or the rights of people involved in such activities.
He declared 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.
He said Nigeria signed after extensive reviews and consultations by the interministerial committee convened by the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and that of justice.
He said 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 Nigera had entered into many other agreements most of which had benefited the country in the areas of water, sanitation, education, agriculture, among others.
According to him, 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 cooperations, among others.
He said that no article supported rights of LGBTQ, declaring that everything signed was in tandem with Nigera’s laws.
“President Tinubu is non-apologetic about his respects for our diversities and wouldn’t want to do anything that will hurt anyone.
“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.
He urged the media to be truthful and patriotic in the handling of reports so as to protect national interest.
Bagudu reminded the media 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.
TO DRAG DAILY TRUST TO NPAN, COURT
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has indicated that it will drag the Daily Trust Newspapers to the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria(NPAN) over its publication on the Samoa agreement.
Mr Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information and National Orientation, who gave this hint said that government would also approach the court over the report he described as “fake and mischievous.”
Reacting to the medium’s report on the matter, the minister described it as gross falsehood.
He said it followed a pattern that Daily Trust had become used to since the Bola Tinubu administration came on board.
While noting that Tinubu had maintained a good relationship with the media in line with his philosophy as an avowed democrat, he said it was “disheartening that some elements are abusing this free environment guaranteed by the government.”
“We are alarmed by the level of reckless reporting and statements by some media organisations and individuals that border on national security and stability.
“While we sometimes view and treat those occasional reporting as part of media’s normal work, we have now seen a pattern that is difficult to be wished away as normal journalism.
“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.
“We, however, did not envisage that Daily Trust and people behind it could decend 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.
“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.
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 minister said that the Federal Government would drag the medium to the NPAN Ombudsman “on this irresponsible reporting.”
In addition, the Federal Government will use every lawful means to seek redress in the court of law, he added.
Idris restated government’s friendly policy toward ethical media and free speech, but warned that it would not accept fake news and disinformation that could injure the peace of the nation and hurt national security.
