Buhari govt makes U-turn, denies saying Benin Republic wants to be Nigeria’s 37th state

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, has denied ever saying the Beninois President, Mr. Patrice Talon, told President Muhammadu Buhari, that his country is ready to be part of Nigeria as the Federation’s 37th state.

IDOMA VOICE reports that news making round on online media credited a statement to Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, as haven said Beninois President, Mr. Patrice Talon told President Buhari in a visit to Aso Rock a few weeks back that his country wants to be part of Nigeria.

However, the minister in a statement issued on Saturday, by the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ferdinand Nwonye, clarified that Benin Republic, one of Nigeria’s closest neighbours, was never interested in dissolving into the Federal Republic of Nigeria as suggested in some media reports. Instead, President of Benin Republic, Mr. Patrice Talon said that he wanted Nigeria and the francophone state to be close as though the latter was the 37th state of the former.

It stressed that the Minister was quoted out of context.

It urged the public to disregard the wrong information, adding that the Federal Republic of Nigeria “has no territorial ambition and has never aspired to make Benin or any country as part of Nigeria.”

The statement read in part: “The attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been drawn to misleading reports in the media that the Republic of Benin is aspiring to be the 37 State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

It added; “The Minister of Foreign Affairs, in the presence of his counterpart from the Republic of Benin granted a press interview after a very fruitful meeting between ministerial delegations from both countries and stated therein.

“The President of Benin Republic said he would like the relations between the two countries to be so close as if Benin was the 37th State of Nigeria”.

A large population of the Republic of Benin has some cultural similarity with the Yoruba people in the Southwest geopolitical zone, Nigeria, and much of the country was once conquered by the old Oyo and Benin empires in modern day Nigeria.