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Nigeria has not signed any document on Islamic Alliance Against Terrorism, says Onyeama

By Bridget Chiedu Onochie
25 March 2016   |   2:51 am
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor Geoffrey Onyeama, yesterday debunked speculations that President Muhammadu Buhari has dragged Nigeria into...
 Geoffrey Onyeama

Geoffrey Onyeama

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor Geoffrey Onyeama, yesterday debunked speculations that President Muhammadu Buhari has dragged Nigeria into membership of Islamic Alliance Against Terrorism.

The minister who noted that belonging to such an alliance would require signing some documents however said so far, his office was not aware of any of such documents being signed on behalf of the country.

He, however, cautioned that Nigerians should be careful not to bring religious sentiments into an issue that was of general human concern.

He said: “The first point is that we should be careful not to give religious tag to things that are not religious. We know what the country is going through in tackling terrorism. A lot of countries were not ready to give support. A friend in need is a friend indeed.

“The issue of terrorism is a serious one and we all have to work together. We should see it as affecting our lives and not a religious issue.

“We support the objective of fighting terrorism but we in the Ministry have not signed in to anything in that context, but it is normal that we support any attempt at fighting terrorism”.

The minister also stated that contrary to insinuations that President Buhari has abandoned governance at the expense of his many travels, immense progress has been made in attracting direct foreign investments for the country.

This, he stated, could only be facilitated by the president.

Onyeama also informed that President Buhari’s foreign policy is in the context of domestic objective and reality of the government of the day.

“This government focuses on the economy , security and tackling of corruption which is a barrier to economic development. We want a better life for our people. So, the foreign policy aspect has to fix into it.”

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