Nigeria is set to overhaul its foreign policy framework to align it more closely with global best practices, the National Assembly has revealed.
Speaking after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the State House in Abuja on Friday, Senate Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, Senator Abubakar Sani Bello, stated that Nigeria will soon witness major changes in its foreign policy thrust as efforts were made to improve and modernise it.
He pointed out that the President has already taken steps to ensure that.
Bello, who is the immediate-past governor of Niger State! stated: “Essentially, we discussed our foreign policies and how to improve and have a robust clear foreign policy for the understanding of everyone and for the benefit of Nigerians and Nigeria as a country.
“We strongly believe that necessary steps must be taken to improve the image of Nigeria and Nigerians in the international scene. And I am glad Mr. President has taken bold steps towards ensuring that.
“So, going forward in the next coming months, hopefully, we’ll start seeing some changes with regards to our foreign policies that will be clear and well understood by all concerned to ensure that Nigeria and Nigerians are given the right place in international scene.
“So, essentially, without waste of time, that is the reason we saw Mr. President today, and I think we had a very good meeting. And we agreed to join hands between the executive arm and the legislative arm to work together towards achieving these goals.”
Speaking specifically on how the changes will affect Africa as the centerpiece of the policy, Bello added: “You know, like I said, Mr. President is very much interested in changing dynamics of our foreign policy which has been, if you may call it for a while now, obsolete. There hasn’t been any major review in foreign policies.
“The time has come now to take the bold step towards working out some of our foreign policies to have them in line with best practices and to international standards.
“So, yes, I believe going forward, we’re going to be working very hard with the executive arm to look at all our previous agreements and treaties or what have you, to see those ones that need to be amended or those one that need to be implemented.
“So yes, there’s there’s a lot of work to be done. And by God’s ways, I think we’ll sail through.”
Corroborating the Senate Committee chairman, the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Hon. Abdulmumuni Jibrin, in his remarks, said they advised the president on how to improve the policy.
He explained: “Building from where my colleague stopped, we commended the President for his very articulate and dynamic foreign policy captured in the four Ds – democracy, development, demography and of course, diaspora.
“Everybody who is a follower of International Relations and foreign policy will agree that it’s a well articulated foreign policy. And we assured him of all the necessary support from the National Assembly and gave some advice on one or two things, how things can be improved, which of course, my colleague has already delved into into that.”
The Kano State legislator said he used the opportunity of the meeting with the president to discuss the political crisis in his state arising from the last gubernatorial tussle, hoping that it can be amicably resolved even before the final determination by the apex court.
Jibrin said: “But of course, you know, he’s my Baba, everybody knows my relationship with him. There’s no how I will come here without also discussing politics.
“So, I also had my own chat with with him and particularly on how to ensure that we continue to have peace and harmony in Kano and also proffer some recommendation in that regard. Hopefully we believe that the burning crisis in Kano as regards the governorship seat will be resolved amicably without prejudice to the cases that are in court.”
He stressed that the President was interested in peaceful resolution of the crisis, noting that the stakeholders will support him to achieve it.
“Well, of course, you know, the President, what he wants is peace and he will continue to support and encourage peace,” Hon. Jibrin added.
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