Same sex marriage: Nigeria should respect human rights —EU

Posted by admin Africa & World Politics, Headlines Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

THE European Union delegation to Nigeria, on Tuesday, urged Nigeria to respect international treaties and conventions on freedom of individuals.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, head of the delegation, Ambassador David MacRae, said his group was worried with some provisions of the draft law on gay marriage but, however, said the delegation was not dictating to Nigeria on how to handle the matter.

In Europe, he went on, the issue was handled on individual country basis, with some legalising it and other countries not legalising the practice.

Sexual orientation, Ambassador MacRae further said, was a private matter in European countries, but acknowledged that the reverse was the case in most of Africa and Asia.

On fuel subsidy, the ambassador said most Nigerians were opposed to the withdrawal, blaming the development more on mistrust of the people against their leaders rather than on the demerit of the removal.

He advised the government and the mass media to enlighten the people more on the benefits of the withdrawal of the subsidy so as to win the support of the people.

Ambassador MacRae, however, said that he was of the opinion that petroleum products were not the kind of things the government should subsidise for the benefit of the majority of its people.

According to him, sectors like education, if subsidised, were more likely to be beneficial than petroleum products, which in his opinion, should be heavily taxed to raise fund for social services that would benefit people.

-Tribunewp_posts