 |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Olugbenga Ashiru |
The Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Ambassador Olugbenga Ashiru, has insisted that Nigeria will not succumb
to external pressure to legalise same-sex marriage.
The minister was reacting to an
accusation by the Christian Association of Nigeria, based on a statement
credited to him, where he was alleged to have said Nigeria would accept
gay diplomats and their “spouses”, if posted to the country.
In a statement made available to our
correspondent on Sunday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said at no time
did Ashiru make reference to gay diplomats in any of his statements or
interviews.
The statement read, “The attention of
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been drawn to stories on gay rights
issues and Nigeria’s position on the matter.
“At his meeting with the diplomatic
community on Friday July 19, the Foreign Affairs Minister, in his
statement read to the meeting, where journalists and media executives
were present, said foreign countries should not impose their values on
Nigeria.
“While Nigeria is not against any
country legalising gay marriages, no country should force that on
Nigeria. Nigeria and majority of Nigerians are against gay rights and
marriages, as they are not part of our customs, religion or law. At no
time did the minister make reference to gay diplomats in his statement
or interview.”
Commenting on gay rights, Ashiru had
said at the meeting with foreign diplomats, “We don’t tell other
countries how to live their lives. We don’t impose values on any
country. Other countries too should not impose their own values on us.
We don’t oppose any country that has put in their constitution the gay
rights to allow two men or two women to marry themselves. But for
Nigeria and a number of other African countries, it is not part of our
culture yet.”
0 Comments