•Nigeria denies signing Samoa Pact
Senator Iroegbu
President Bola Tinubu has arrived in Berlin, the German capital, to attend the G20 Compact with Africa Conference scheduled for Monday.
The President, whose official plane, the Nigeria Air Force 1 touched down at the Willy Brandt Berlin Brandenburg International Airport in Berlin at about 1.17 am on Sunday, was received by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar and Charge D’Affaires of Nigeria’s Embassy in Germany, Ambassador Ingekem Regina Ocheni.
Ambassador Tuggar who was the erstwhile envoy in Germany before his appointment as Nigeria’s foreign Minister will set Nigeria’s agenda as President Tinubu drives Nigeria’s participation at the G20 Compact with Africa (CwA) Conference on Monday, November 20, 2023, being hosted by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
This was disclosed in a statement on Monday by the media aide to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alhaji Alkasim Abdulkadir.
Tuggar will facilitate bilateral agreements with partners, Heads of International Organizations to deliberate on the immediate enhancement of economic and business cooperation with a view to outlining concrete measures to boost investments in critical areas such as energy, trade, infrastructure, and new technologies, among others.
The G20 CwA Conference will be taking place simultaneously with the Fourth G20 Investment Summit, co-hosted by the German government and German business associations.
In view of President Tinubu’s globally recognized drive for foreign direct investment in Nigeria, the President will sustain the momentum and advance the mission further as he leads Nigeria’s delegation to participate in the investment summit.
This visit also affirmed President Tinubu’s commitment to diplomatic reciprocity as the invitation to Germany from the German Chancellor is being honoured following the visit of the German Chancellor to Abuja and Lagos, Nigeria, from October 29 to October 30, 2023.
Leveraging on the opportunity presented by the Fourth G20 Investment Summit, the Nigerian delegation will follow up on productive meetings previously conducted with high-ranking representatives from German business organizations who were part of the official delegation of the German Chancellor to Nigeria.
In another development, Nigeria has debunked publications on the implication of Nigeria signing the New Partnership Agreement, known as the Samoa Agreement between the Member States of the Organization of Africa, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the European Union (EU).
The Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Francisca Omayuli, in a statement on Monday, stressed that Nigeria was not represented at the signing of the pact.
Omayuli stated that the Samoa Agreement covers six key priority areas of Human Rights, Democracy and Governance; Peace and Security; Human and Social Development; Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change; Inclusive Sustainable Economic Growth; and Development, Migration and Mobility.
“The Agreement supersedes and replaces the Cotonou Agreement (2000), which in turn was preceded by several other agreements aimed at bolstering relations between the OACPS and EU.
“The general public is invited to note that Nigeria was not represented at the Signing Ceremony, which took place in Samoa on Wednesday, November 15, 2023, and hence has not signed the Agreement. Relevant Nigerian stakeholders are currently studying the Instrument with a view to ensuring that its provisions do not contravene Nigeria’s domestic legislation,” part of the statement read.