Republic of Benin does not seek to be part of Nigeria – Foreign Ministry

THE REPUBLIC OF BENIN DOES NOT STRIVE TO BE A PART OF NIGERIA

The Foreign Ministry’s attention was drawn to misleading media reports that the Republic of Benin is aiming to become the 37th state of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The Honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeffrey Onyama, in the presence of his colleague from the Republic of Benin, gave an interview to the press after a very fruitful meeting between the ministerial delegations of both countries and stated that “… the President of the Republic of Benin has stated that he would like the relations between the two countries to be as close as if Benin was the 37th state in Nigeria ”.

The Federal Republic of Nigeria has no territorial ambitions and has never sought to make Benin or any other country part of Nigeria.

Thus, the foreign minister was quoted out of context and the public should politely ignore disinformation.

Signed
Ferdinand Nwonier
Press secretary
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja

Saturday, 20 February 2021