MPs call on the Federal Government to suspend the implementation of the Samoa Agreement

The House of Representatives has called on the federal government to suspend the implementation of the Samoa Agreement.

The House also decided to investigate the agreement signed by the Federal Government on 28 June.

The Green Chamber passed the resolution following the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance, sponsored by Minority Whip Sani Madaki and 87 other MPs.

The agreement recently sparked controversy after reports emerged that some provisions relating to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people had been included in the pact.

WHAT IS THE SAMOA AGREEMENT?

According to the European Council, the Samoa Agreement provides the overarching framework for the European Union’s (EU) relations with the countries of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

The agreement serves as a new legal framework for the EU’s relations with 79 countries, including states in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

The agreement covers six priority areas: democracy and human rights, sustainable economic growth and development, climate change, human and social development, peace and security, and migration and mobility.

The agreement was officially signed on 15 November 2023 by the EU and its Member States, as well as the members of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), in Samoa, a country in Oceania.

Nigeria did not initially sign the agreement because the government said it was still reviewing the pact.

The new agreement replaces the Cotonou Agreement signed in 2000.

The signing of the agreement was accompanied by allegations that the agreement would force developing countries to support the LGBTQ movement.