Sunday 19 January 2014
The furore arising from President Goodluck Jonathan’s assent to the bill prohibiting homosexual marriage reverberated on the diplomatic circles, yesterday, as it emerged that Canada has cancelled a scheduled state visit to that country by President Jonathan.
The cancellation was described as a reaction to President Jonathan’s decision to give assent to the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill 2013 which penalizes homosexual partnerships in the country.
The cancellation nonetheless, Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak upheld the president’s action, saying that there was no way gay marriages will accelerate the nation’s socio-economic progress.
Despite the challenge from the diplomatic arena, further commendations came the way of the President for assenting to the bill. The latest commendation came from the Prelate and Moderator of the General Assembly of The Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, Most Rev. Emele Uka who described it as a bold step aimed at reforming the society along godly ethics.
The president’s visit to Canada which is at the instance of the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper was scheduled for February.
The cancellation follows the harassment of Nigeria’s diplomatic staff in the Nigerian High Commission in Canada by the homosexual lobby in that country.
The decision to cancel President Jonathan’s state visit to Canada was communicated through the Nigeria High Commissioner to the Supervising Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor Viola Onwuliri who in turn passed on the message to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim.
