Alex Ikwechegh, Federal House of Representatives member for Aba North/Aba South Federal Constituency, Abia State, has criticized the Samao Agreement, describing it as irrelevant to Nigerians facing pressing issues of insecurity, hunger, and injustice. Speaking in the Green Chamber on Tuesday, Ikwechegh emphasized the agreement’s controversial clauses, particularly concerning LGBTQ rights, which have sparked widespread debate.
The $150 billion agreement, also condemned by the Kaduna State Council of Imams and Ulama, reportedly includes clauses advocating for LGBTQ rights, which Ikwechegh and others argue are incompatible with Nigerian cultural values and laws.
At a Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu, reiterated that the government is not obliged to implement the LGBTQ clause. Despite this, Ikwechegh maintained, “This Samao agreement has certain clauses that happen to be in variance with our way of life. We are Africans, we are not Westerners.”
Ikwechegh urged a focus on more pertinent issues affecting Nigerians, such as hunger, insecurity, and injustice, dismissing the LGBTQ clause as irrelevant and “useless” to the Nigerian populace.