Catholic Bishops Kick Against Samoa Agreement

Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has called on the federal government to withdraw from the recently signed Samoa agreement or propose an amendment to protect the nation’s sovereignty.

The bishops advised that beyond the juicy and attractive economic benefits the agreement with the EU and African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries portends for Nigeria, the agreement had hidden ideologies that were not just against Nigeria’s values but also threatened the nation’s sovereignty.

In a document jointly signed by the president of CBCN, Lucius Ugorji, and the secretary, Donatus Ogun, Nigeria was advised to take a cue from South Africa, which withdrew from the Cotonou Agreement in 2023. This was replaced by the Samoa Agreement, signed off by 44 ACP states out of 79-member countries on November 15, 2023, in Apia, Samoa.

According to the document released to journalists by the National Director of Social Communications of CSN, Very Rev. Fr. Dr Michael Umoh yesterday in Abuja, the Samoa Agreement gives international law status to sexual orientation and gender identity, comprehensive sexuality education, and abortion.

The statement reads in part: “The press has drawn our attention to Nigeria’s signing of the Samoa Agreement on 28 June 2024. This economic partnership agreement between the EU and African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries covers six main areas, including democracy and human rights, sustainable economic growth, climate change, human social development, peace and security, and migration and mobility.

“The agreement looks innocuous and attractive on the surface but underneath it is carefully blended with post-modern secularistic ideologies that significantly undermine the moral, cultural, and religious beliefs of Nigerian citizens.”

The bishops said that they are concerned that Nigerian civil authorities may not be fully aware of the implications of the nuanced language in the document, which threatens the national sovereignty and values.

“We, the Catholic Bishops of Nigeria, as watchmen and guides, deeply committed to the sound moral, religious, and cultural growth of our dear country, at this moment highlight what the Samoa Document portends for the future of Nigeria and Nigerians and call on our government to, as a matter of urgency, propose an amendment of the Agreement or withdraw from it,” they said.

They further said that given that Nigeria has signed the Samoa Document, they call on the government to propose an insertion of a substantive article in the general Agreement and the African Regional Protocols.

“Nothing in this binding Agreement can be interpreted to include any obligations regarding sexual orientation, gender identity, comprehensive sexuality education, abortion, contraception, legalisation of prostitution, same-sex marriage, or sexual ‘rights’ for children,” they said.